Will we colonise space in our lifetime?

I agree that everybody should be able to enjoy a certain standard of living, but frankly that's not happening for a while.

The space race birthed technologies that we find indispensable today (link), so it follows that new pioneering space races to Mars, Europa and beyond should also gift us new technological breakthroughs, which in turn should help raise the general standard of living on Earth. So if you think about it, getting out among the stars and planets is the thing to do.

I'd love to live to see the day that we colonise the solar system but I don't think I'll live to be over 200 so doubt it.

Moggy wrote:I'd love to live to see the day that we colonise the solar system but I don't think I'll live to be over 200 so doubt it.

Maybe we'll get to see if the deeds to all those plots of lunar and martian land sold over the internet these past 25 years will hold weight in court.

Last edited by Meep on Sat Mar 11, 2017 2:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

No. I have long since been forced to come to the conclusion that humans are just too biologically tied to the Earth. Our needs are very specific to this planet because we have been evolving here since our ancestors were single celled organisms. I think the only way you could live away from Earth long term is if you were able to exactly match Earth conditions, maybe by building orbital megastructures that have centrifugal forces exactly equal to 1 gravity and replicating the normal atmospheric conditions as close as you can; including microbes too prevent the environment become too sterile. We are a long way from being able to build anything like that so until then we will only be able to spend short durations in space without it seriously impacting our health (as all current space exploration has shown).

The only other way is to follow the path to transhumanism and shed/alter your body to the extent that you are able to survive away from Earth indefinitely. Again, nowhere near that kind of technology.

Barring either of those two possibilities, we are biologically shackled to the Earth whether we like it or not. Which is why it is so important we take care of it. There are no lifeboats coming along anytime soon if the HMS Terra goes to gooseberry fool.

Alvin Flummux wrote:
Moggy wrote:I'd love to live to see the day that we colonise the solar system but I don't think I'll live to be over 200 so doubt it.

Maybe we'll get to see if the deeds to all those plots of lunar and martian land sold over the internet these past 25 years will hold weight in court.

Would you like to buy a few acres of prime Martian real estate off of me?

7256930752

Oblomov Boblomov wrote:
Karl wrote:That said, I hope we'll see a man on Mars soon. It'll just be a few chaps living in the hull of the spaceship that brought them there, but it'll still be super cool.

You sexist pig!

I read it as "a few chavs" assuming that was a dig from Karl against a different branch of science :lol:

I doubt very much that anyone alive today will see routine space travel or space colonisation become a reality during their lifetimes. It might happen in a few hundred years time but I feel humanity is still in its infancy at the moment, there's still too much greed and conflict in the world for us to reach the required level of technological, scientific and ethical enlightenment needed for such a daunting task.

I don't think it's fair to say humankind is in its infancy. Think about how absurdly far we've come from where we began.

If forced to use a metaphor I'd suggest we're in our late teenage years. Insecure, rapidly developing and changing, prone to making rash decisions and finding ourselves with the means to significantly alter the path we're on for better or worse...

No, I doubt it very much. Hopefully we'll get to the point of putting people on Mars in the next 20-30 years though. Interested in seeing where commercial space travel gets us, would love to see the Earth from space but I doubt it'll get cheap enough soon enough.

To make it worth colonising there has to be something of value there to make it worthwhile. Why spend trillions of pounds to create a colony that requires trillions more in upkeep and supplies.

They would need to be self sufficient or at least creating something of demand... unobtanium? :shifty:

I do think space stations will become more and more affordable and used by governments and large organisations.
I can foresee stations with the same capacity as Nimitz class carriers with people doing year long stints on them as that's a whole lot easier than going to the moon or Mars while still having some of the advantages of being in space.

Last edited by Peter Crisp on Sat Mar 11, 2017 6:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.

FatDaz wrote:To make it worth colonising there has to be something of value there to make it worthwhile. Why spend trillions of pounds to create a colony that requires trillions more in upkeep and supplies.

They would need to be self sufficient or at least creating something of demand... unobtanium?

The moon has a worthwhile resource in Helium-3.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3

Also if they can find a way to beam the power back to earth it could be a great place for vast solar farms.

Mars has loads of red dirt if you need it for some unknown reason :shifty:

.

FatDaz wrote:To make it worth colonising there has to be something of value there to make it worthwhile. Why spend trillions of pounds to create a colony that requires trillions more in upkeep and supplies.

They would need to be self sufficient or at least creating something of demand... unobtanium?

There's a huge amount of metals contained in asteroids. Set up a permanent base near the asteroid belt and mine the gooseberry fool out of them. There's an absolute fortune to be made.

Moggy wrote:
FatDaz wrote:To make it worth colonising there has to be something of value there to make it worthwhile. Why spend trillions of pounds to create a colony that requires trillions more in upkeep and supplies.

They would need to be self sufficient or at least creating something of demand... unobtanium?

There's a huge amount of metals contained in asteroids. Set up a permanent base near the asteroid belt and mine the gooseberry fool out of them. There's an absolute fortune to be made.

Nasa is looking into it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_Redirect_Mission

Peter Crisp wrote:
Moggy wrote:
FatDaz wrote:To make it worth colonising there has to be something of value there to make it worthwhile. Why spend trillions of pounds to create a colony that requires trillions more in upkeep and supplies.

They would need to be self sufficient or at least creating something of demand... unobtanium?

There's a huge amount of metals contained in asteroids. Set up a permanent base near the asteroid belt and mine the gooseberry fool out of them. There's an absolute fortune to be made.

Nasa is looking into it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_Redirect_Mission

strawberry float NASA, it's my idea and so I should be King Iron of the asteroid belt.

Will OP have sex in our lifetime?

Dual wrote:Will OP have sex in our lifetime?

I doubt it.

Peter Crisp wrote:
Dual wrote:Will OP have sex in our lifetime?

I doubt it.

What if we arranged for you to do it in zero g?

This is a very interesting and easily digestible article on Space X's colonisation plans for Mars. It all sounds very exciting, if a little pipe-dreamy.

From what I remember Elon Musk plans to retire to a fledgling colony. And what that man wants he seems to get - which gives me hope.

Moggy wrote:
Peter Crisp wrote:
Dual wrote:Will OP have sex in our lifetime?

I doubt it.

What if we arranged for you to do it in zero g?

Can I just fly about like superman instead? Zero g sex sounds like it will just be even more awkward than sex on earth what with all the needing to prop ourselves against things and all the other logistical nightmares. No wonder they aren't doing it on the space station it takes 5 hours just to get ready by which time the mood has been completely destroyed.

Will we colonise space in our lifetime?

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