why space colonization is important

NSS Mission: "to promote social, economic, technological, and political change in order to expand civilization beyond Earth, to settle space and to use the resulting resources to build a hopeful and prosperous future for humanity." NSS Rationale - Why Our Mission is Important: Survival, Growth, Prosperity, and Curiosity Explain your answer(s). This requires fairly large radiator areas. NASA's Mars Perseverance rover will search for signs of past microbial life. ProCon.org is the institutional or organization author for all ProCon.org pages. Propellant launched from the Earth is likely to be prohibitively expensive for space colonization, even with improved space access costs. 4. The benefits to humanity created by the resources and knowledge create a moral obligation to colonize space. [22], Sheri Wells-Jensen, PhD, Associate Professor of English at Bowling Green State University, argues that the moral imperative goes even further than simple preservation: [W]e have a moral obligation to improve: that is, to colonize yes, but to do it better: to actively unthink systems of oppression that we know exist. Should Humans Colonize Space? [12], Paul Eckart wrote Lunar Base Handbook in 1999;[13] M. Dyson wrote Home on the Moon; Living on a Space Frontier in 2003;[14] and Harrison Schmitt published Return to the Moon, written in 2007.[15]. This argument assumes that money not spent on space would automatically go toward socially beneficial projects. As of Feb. 2020, Russian Valery Polyakov had spent the longest continuous time in space (437.7 days in 1994-1995 on space station Mir), followed by Russian Sergei Avdeyev (379.6 days in 1998-1999 on Mir), Russians Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov (365 days in 1987-1988 on Mir), American Mark Vande Hei (355 days on ISS) Russian Mikhail Kornienko and American Scott Kelly (340.4 days in 2015-2016 on Mir and ISS respectively), and American Christina Koch (328 days in 2019-20 in ISS). For both solar thermal and nuclear power generation in airless environments, such as the Moon and space, and to a lesser extent the very thin Martian atmosphere, one of the main difficulties is dispersing the inevitable heat generated. It is even said by some that the objective of colonizing space adds fuel to the patriotic dogma of conquest, and thus reinforces negative national prejudice rather than helping to unify Earth. . Subscribe today. Humans are soft and squishy and they die. Could We Do It?, popsci.com, May 4, 2017, Eric Niiler, Are Moon Colonies Possible or the Fantasy of Billionaires?, onezero.com, July 30, 2018, Shannon Hall, The Moon Is a Hazardous Place to Live, nytimes.com, July 8, 2019, James Doubek, "NASA Wants to Return to the Moon by 2024, but the Spacesuits Won't Be Ready," npr.org, Aug. 21, 2021, Catherine Shoard, "Film Studio in Space Planned for 2024," theguardian.com, Jan. 20, 2022, Jackie Wattles, "A SpaceX Tourism Mission Just Arrived at the ISS. We may have people making habitats on asteroids I know that humans will colonize the solar system and one day go beyond. 8, 2022, a SpaceX capsule launched, carrying three paying customers and a former NASA astronaut on a roundtrip to the International Space Station (ISS). These colonies would be positioned to construct massive solar power satellites to provide clean power to the Earth, as well as set up industries that on Earth create much environmental damage. [35], Humans would have a host of illnesses to deal with due to climate differences on Mars or the Moon: cancer, radiation illnesses, reproductive problems (or sterility), muscle degeneration, bone loss, skin burns, cardiovascular disease, depression, boredom, an inability to concentrate, high blood pressure, immune disorders, metabolic disorders, visual disorders, balance and sensorimotor problems, structural changes in the brain, nausea, dizziness, weakness, cognitive decline, and altered gene function, among others. Mars is a desolate wasteland with very little atmosphere, less gravity and no radiation protection. Some people believe we should not spend our money, time and resources on this enterprise, because there are problems on Earth we still haven't fixed. Science journalist Shannon Stirone said that SpaceX founder Elon Musk "is absolutely out into space" when it comes to the "unrealistic" colonization of Mars and listed the myriad of ways . The Moon's low surface gravity (about one-sixth g) is also a concern. Some assert that leaving Earth in shambles proves we are not ready to colonize space in terms of cultural, social, or moral infrastructure, regardless of technological advancements. Proper citation depends on your preferred or required style manual. To protect life, settlements must be surrounded by sufficient mass to absorb most incoming radiation. Astronauts spend an average of 182 days (about six months) aboard the ISS. It has the benefits of close proximity to Earth and lower escape velocity, allowing for easier exchange of goods and services. Many small asteroids in orbit around the Sun have the advantage that they pass closer than Earth's Moon several times per decade. Maybe future humans. Astronauts have demonstrated moving multi-ton satellites by hand. And those two steps can only be taken once Mars is thoroughly investigated for water, carbon dioxide, and nitrates. Weightlessness makes construction of large colonies considerably easier than in a gravity environment. Colonization of the entire Solar System would take hundreds or thousands of years. However, if such a goal were to imply human self-replication, it would treat people as machines, requiring genetic experimentation on humans and expecting that human nature and the human desire for a spouse and family life can be by-passed in some cavalier fashion. If the resources of space are opened to use and viable life-supporting habitats can be built, the Earth will no longer define the limits of growth. Humans living in space is pure science fiction. According to one proposed scenario, "self-replication" could be an "ultimate" goal, on the assumption that it would lead to a more rapid increase in colonies, while eliminating costs to and dependence on Earth. The Living Universe Foundation has a detailed plan in which the entire galaxy is colonized. However, NASA ended its space shuttle program in 2011 when the shuttle Atlantis landed at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 21. [29], A 2018 NASA study concluded that, based on the levels of CO2 found on Mars, the above plan is not feasible. While this is not the first time paying customers or non-astronauts have traveled to ISS (Russia has sold Soyuz seats), this is the first American mission and the first with no government astronaut corps members. Scientists were to inhabit igloos and drill down into the Europan ice crust, exploring any sub-surface ocean. N This would test if thousands of humans can survive a century on their own before sending them beyond the reach of any help. The closest terrestrial analogue to space life support is possibly that of Nuclear submarines. Is space colonization necessary? Provide entertainment value, to distract from immediate surroundings. All rights reserved. One pragmatic argument suggests that if even half the money of space exploration were spent for terrestrial betterment, there would be greater good for a greater number of people, at least in the short term. By. in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. Effective population size Ne depends on the number of males Nm and females Nf in the population, according to the formula: Location is a frequent point of contention between space colonization advocates. Lead author Bruce Jakosky, PhD, Professor of Geological Sciences at the University of Colorado at Boulder, stated, terraforming Mars is not possible using present-day technology. [30]. It is a major theme in science fiction, as well as a long-term goal of various national space programs. Yes, it may be very important in the future. Number Ten: Technology. Space colonization (also called space settlement, space humanization, or space habitation) is the concept of permanent, autonomous (self-sufficient) human habitation of locations outside Earth. It may be possible to colonize the three farthest gas giants with "floating cities" in their atmospheres. The argument of cost: Many people greatly overestimate how much money is spent on space, and underestimate how much money is spent on defense or health care. Recycling of the carbon dioxide has been approached in the literature using the Sabatier process or the Bosch reaction. NASA astronauts going into space afterward rode along with Russians until 2020 when SpaceX took over and first launched NASA astronauts into space on Apr. Harvard Univ., $29.95 By 20th century expectations, we are way behind schedule on colonizing the solar system. There are plenty of creatives who . Remote research stations in inhospitable climates, such as the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station or Devon Island Mars Arctic Research Station, can also provide some practice for off-world outpost construction and operation. Opponents say AI poses dangerous privacy risks. We need a major change in how we think about what it means to be humanwe need to stop seeing our species as special and start seeing it as part of a collection of species. The argument of need: The population of Earth continues to increase, while its carrying capacity and available resources do not. Space fantasies flourished after Jules Vernes From Earth to the Moon was published in 1865, and again when RKO Pictures released a film adaptation, A Trip to the Moon, in 1902. 10, 2017, NASA Mars Exploration Program, Mars Terraforming Not Possible Using Present-Day Technology, mars.nasa.gov, July 30, 2018, April Glaser, Elon Musk Will Need One Million Mars Colonists to Get the Ticket Price down to $200,000, vox.com, Sep. 27, 2016, Dave Mosher, "NASA Says It Needs a $1.6 Billion 'Down Payment' from Congress to Send Astronauts Back to the Moon within 5 years," businessinsider.com, May 14, 2019, Sarah Fecht, Stephen Hawking Says We Have 100 Years to Colonize a New Planet-- Or Die. Source : Futurism. And space exploration with colonization of other planets is the only solution in the long term. [28]. While humans have long thought of gods living in the sky, the idea of space travel or humans living in space dates to at least 1610 after the invention of the telescope when German astronomer Johannes Kepler wrote to Italian astronomer Galileo: Let us create vessels and sails adjusted to the heavenly ether, and there will be plenty of people unafraid of the empty wastes. For example, as of June 13, 2006, over $320 billion had been allocated by the U.S. Congress for the war in Iraq. Richard Branson launched himself, two pilots, and three mission specialists into space [as defined by the United States] from New Mexico for a 90-minute flight on the Virgin Galactic Unity 22 mission on July 11, 2021. To be sure there are many daunting challenges facing prospective space colonists such as protection from exposure to deadly radiation levels, the impact on the human body while living and working in cramped, low-gravity environments for extended periods of time and the psychological toll of isolation, confinement and separation from one's family The clouds could be a possible source for the extraction of water. Humans have time to explore and colonize space at the same time as we mend the effects of climate change on Earth. By colonizing space, humankind could . The Expanse does a really good job with that. Over the next six decades, NASA would launch space stations, land rovers on Mars, and orbit Pluto and Jupiter, among other accomplishments. Explain why or why not, using evidence from the passage. Earth is the home of all life in the. Transportation of large quantities of materials from the Moon, Phobos, Deimos, and Near Earth asteroids to orbital settlement construction sites would probably be necessary. RSS. Quotes tagged as "space-exploration" Showing 1-30 of 221. Binary asteroid in Jupiter's orbit may be icy comet from solar system's infancy. And the majority (63%) stated NASAs top priority should be monitoring Earths climate, while only 18% said sending astronauts to Mars should be the highest priority and only 13% would prioritize sending astronauts to the Moon. The Colonize the Cosmos site advocates orbital colonies. Very little can be achieved on Mars that isn't already possible on Earth. Author and journalist William E. Burrows and biochemist Robert Shapiro proposed a private project, the Alliance to Rescue Civilization, with the goal of establishing an off-Earth backup of human civilization.