A civilization that turns away from discovery and growth stagnates. Kennedy pointed out that while humans still have problems to resolve on Earth including civil rights violations and wealth inequality, Forgoing opportunities to expand our presence into the cosmos to achieve better outcomes here at home hasnt eliminated these scourges. We shouldnt avoid exploring space based on the false dichotomy of fixing Earthly problems first. Pro 1 Humans have a right and a moral duty to save our species from suffering and extinction. Last Exit: Space is a new documentary on Discovery+ exploring the possibility of humans colonizing planets beyond Earth, reports Ars Technica.. "Since it is produced and narrated by Werner Herzog and written and directed by his son Rudolph, however . Astronauts who have spent just a year in space have demonstrated irreversible health problems. 28, 2008, Rahul Rao, India's Human Spaceflight Plans Coming Together Despite Delays, space.com, June 17, 2021, Daniel Oberhaus, The US Hitches Its Final Ride to Space From Russiafor Now, wired.com, Apr. N NASA's Griffin: 'Humans Will Colonize the Solar System. Indias planned human space flights have been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but they may launch in 2023. The speculation is that hot, hydrogen-containing balloons would be used to suspend large masses at roughly Earth gravity. To know the unknown and explore new wonders of the Universe. 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. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech) Book of Mars: $22.99 at Magazines Direct. Its gravity is only around a third that of Earth; it is unknown whether this is sufficient to support human life for long periods. Alternatively, the waste heat can be used to melt ice on the poles of a planet like Mars. See full answer below. Ever since the 1800s science fiction writers have been speculating about what it would take to reach other worlds. Orbits close to Earth can be reached in hours, whereas the Moon is days away and trips to Mars take months. Colonization of the entire Solar System would take hundreds or thousands of years. The solar energy available (in watts per square meter) at distance d from the Sun can be calculated by the formula E = 1366/d2, where d is measured in astronomical units. The greatest obstacle for the Space Movement has been credibility. Wind energy is an important plank in Norway's green energy transition. The Moon's low surface gravity (about one-sixth g) is also a concern. This argument assumes that money not spent on space would automatically go toward socially beneficial projects. Get the weekly Five Books newsletter. Sleeper ship: A hypothetical starship in which most or all of the crew spend the journey in some form of, Embryo carrying Interstellar Starship (EIS): A hypothetical starship much smaller than a generation ship or sleeper ship, transporting human. If your thoughts have not changed, list two to three ways your better understanding of the other side of the issue now helps you better argue your position. Musk argues that in order for humans to survive, it's necessary for the species to become "spacefaring" and "multiplanetary." But colonizing is no innocent practice: Humans have been reckoning with. Accessed February 21, 2023. https://www.procon.org/headlines/space-colonization-top-3-pros-and-cons/, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Colonizing Mars could speed up human evolution Colonizing Mars could speed up human evolution High radiation, low gravity and other environmental pressures could spur martian humans to mutate. Then the planet must be made to produce oxygen so humans and other mammals can breathe, which will take about 100,000 years or more. 28, 2018, Robert Matthews, When Will Earth Become Uninhabitable?, sciencefocus.com (accessed July 27, 2021), Joe Mascaro, To Save Earth, Go to Mars, aeon.com, May 11, 2016, George Dvorsky, Humans Will Never Colonize Mars, gizmodo.com, July 30, 2019, Matt Williams, The Future of Space Colonization -- Terraforming or Space Habitats?, phys.org, Mar. Air pressure on Mars is very low; at 600 Pascals, its only about 0.6 percent that of Earth. John Traphagan, PhD, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, argued, Colonization has the odor of running away from the problems weve created here; if we do that, we will simply bring those problems with us. Why Werner Herzog Thinks Human Space Colonization 'Will Inevitably Fail' (arstechnica.com) 179. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. Pro/Con Arguments | Discussion Questions | Take Action | Sources | More Debates, 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. 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 The Another reason used to justify space colonization is the effort to increase human knowledge and technological abilities. It increases our knowledge. Above Earth's natural protection, radiation exposure increases cancer risk, damages the central nervous system, can alter cognitive function, reduce motor function and prompt behavioral changes. Zero-g recreation is available on orbital colonies, but not on the Moon or Mars. NASA's Mars Perseverance rover will search for signs of past microbial life. Thus, the pressure vessels necessary to support life would be very similar to deep-space structures. Space Colonization. In between these close approaches to home, the asteroid may travel out to a furthest distance of some 350,000,000 kilometers from the Sun (its aphelion) and 500,000,000 kilometers from Earth. In my view, as long as we bring the [idea] of human exceptionalism with us to other worlds, we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes we have made here. [23], As novelist Andy Weir explained, The problem is that you still dont want to send humans to the moon. It is disingenuous to say that the goal of space exploration is the colonization of Mars. Diseases will go havoc, pollution will destroy the environment, and world war 3 can become a nuclear war and numerous . Even colonization advocates would be happy with colonization of the Moon, the asteroids, and many other destinations. Saturn 's largest moon Titan is one of several candidates for possible future colonization of the outer Solar System, though protection against extreme cold is a major consideration. To access extended pro and con arguments, sources, and discussion questions about whether humans should colonize space, go to ProCon.org. Weightlessness makes construction of large colonies considerably easier than in a gravity environment. Unmanned supply craft may be practical with little technological advance, even crossing 1/2 billion kilometers of cold vacuum. It is sheer hubris to even consider the question of whether we should go or not go as if we are deciding which movie to see this weekend because we really are not in a position to make that choice What objective person would hire humanity to colonize a virgin planet, given its abysmal past performance in caring for the Earths ecosystem (overpopulation, climate change, mass extinctions)? [23]. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here: The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia: Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed. Their answers included the following points:[7], Louis J. Halle, formerly of the United States Department of State, wrote in Foreign Affairs (Summer 1980) that the colonization of space will protect humanity in the event of global nuclear warfare.[8]. Dreams of space settlement hit a zenith in the 1950s with Walt Disney productions such as Man and the Moon, and science fiction novels including Ray Bradburys The Martian Chronicles (1950). Importance of Space Colonization: First of all, it's human nature to go beyond. The Space Frontier Foundation promotes strong free market, capitalist views about space development. [9] [10] [11] [12] [13], Richard Branson launched himself, two pilots, and three mission specialists into space from New Mexico for a 90-minute flight on the Virgin Galactic Unity 22 mission on July 11, 2021. [24], Humans are not a species of stagnation. However, the fact that Lagrange points L4 and L5 tend to collect dust and debris, while L1-L3 require active station-keeping measures to maintain a stable position, make them somewhat less suitable places for habitation than was originally believed. Distinct cultural important (hard to define) is probably good reason. Is the Internet Making Us Stupid? Is Artificial Intelligence Good for Society? Far from messing up environments that exist now, we would be creating them, with extraordinary attention to environmental sustainability. [23], Space Ecologist Joe Mascaro, PhD, summarized, To save the Earth, we have to go to Mars. Mascaro argues that expanding technology to go to Mars will help solve problems on Earth: The challenge of colonising Mars shares remarkable DNA with the challenges we face here on Earth. If the goal of space colonization is to create another civilization that is viable independently of the continued success of Earth-based civilization, there will be enormous challenges putting in place the large infrastructure necessary for an industrial civilization. As an alternative or addendum for the future of the human race, many science fiction writers have focused on the realm of the "inner-space," that is the (computer aided) exploration of the human mind and human consciousness. CLEMSON, S.C. Space might be the final frontier, but as China announces plans to build a moon base, NASA begins working on manned missions to Mars and spaceships continue to probe deep space, one group of scholars is asking: are human colonies in space ethical? The fully automated, unpiloted Blue Origin New Shepard rocket launched on the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing and was named after Alan Shepard, who was the first American to travel into space on May 5, 1961. To travel to other planets, to mine the asteroids, creating an artificial biosphere, constructing a city on Mars' barren surface, exploring the life on the Moon, living in the darker skies, and observing stars in outer space. Project Orion: A concept proposed by Freeman Dyson that could use nuclear bombs to propel a starship. At the same time, it can also serve as a laboratory in space - a purely scientific enterprise, existing with the help of a regular supply of necessary resources from Earth. Moreover, in practice, international collaboration in space has shown its value as a unifying and cooperative endeavor. Spread life and beauty throughout the universe. Mankind has been dealing with challenges since the first days of its existence. e Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. 1996. Also, seeing the Earth as a single, discrete object instills a powerful sense of the unity and connectedness of the human environment and of the immateriality of political borders. Humans have made a mess of Earth. The International Space Station alone has generated scores of medical innovations with uses on Earth, such as a method for delivering cancer-fighting medication directly to tumors; gadgetry that a nurse can hold to perform ultrasounds and transmit the results to a doctor thousands of miles away; and a robotic arm that can perform delicate surgery Another seminal book on the subject was the book, The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space, by Gerard K. O'Neill[11] in 1977, which was followed the same year by Colonies in Space by T. A. The late physicist Stephen Hawking believed that humanity needs to colonize another planet within the next century, if it is to avoid the threat of extinction [source: Kharpal ]. 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. And the radiation on the Moon is about 200 times higher than on Earth, in addition to other problems colonizing the Moon would cause humans. "Man has gone out to explore other worlds and other civilizations without having explored his own labyrinth of dark passages and secret chambers, and without finding what lies behind doorways that he himself has sealed.". SEE plans to host film and sports events, as well as content creation by Dec. 2024. For lunar materials, one well-studied possibility is to build electronic catapults to launch bulk materials to waiting settlements. In Jan. 2022, Space Entertainment Enterprise (SEE) announced plans for a film production studio and a sports arena in space. The flight marked the first time that passengers, rather than astronauts, went into space. Jma calls what's happening "green colonization," a term the Norwegian . Earth is in trouble, but space is deeply inhospitable to humans. Technological advancement into space can exist alongside conservation efforts on Earth. Tsiolkowsky had his space travelers building greenhouses and raising crops in space.[10]. Wrtie a essay based on your outline from lesson 2. your essay will be about the same topic. Why Space Exploration Is Important. Such a space habitat could be isolated from the rest of humanity for a century, but near enough to Earth for help. It has the benefits of close proximity to Earth and lower escape velocity, allowing for easier exchange of goods and services. 2019, Fred Kennedy, To Colonize Space or Not to Colonize: That Is the Question (For All of Us), forbes.com, Dec. 18, 2019, Matthias Dpfner, Jeff Bezos Reveals What It's Like to Build an Empire and Why He's Willing to Spend $1 Billion a Year to Fund the Most Important Mission of His Life, businessinsider.com, Apr. Solar energy in orbit is abundant and reliable, and it is commonly used to power satellites today. Planetary colonization advocates cite the following potential locations: Mars is often the topic of discussion regarding "terraforming"the process of making the entire planet or at least large portions of it habitable. Robots are hard and nobody gets upset when they die. [34], Bioethicist George Dvorsky summarized the hostile nature of Mars: The Red Planet is a cold, dead place, with an atmosphere about 100 times thinner than Earths. . in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. Famed British cosmologist Stephen Hawking sees only one way for humanity to survive the next millennium: colonize space. And he's probably right. However, its atmosphere is very thin, averaging 800 Pa, or about 0.8 percent of Earth's sea-level atmospheric pressure. Can Alternative Energy Effectively Replace Fossil Fuels? N As I mentioned in the introduction, Musk and SpaceX hope to create the first city-like colony on Mars by . Somewhere around 5-10 tons of material per square meter of surface area is required. And if we had a trillion humans, we would have a thousand Einsteins and a thousand Mozarts and unlimited, for all practical purposes, resources and solar power unlimited for all practical purposes. [25], Space, in particular, is connected to exploration and growth in the human imagination. Many space agencies build testbeds for advanced life support systems, but these are designed for long duration human spaceflight, not permanent colonization. ProCon.org. Number Ten: Technology. Much of the current terrestrial communications already pass through satellites. But once we spread out into space and establish independent colonies, our future should be safe. Astronauts have demonstrated moving multi-ton satellites by hand. Ross Andersen, Exodus: Elon Musk Argues That We Must Put a Million People on Mars if We Are to Ensure That Humanity Has a Future, aeon.co, Sep. 30, 2014, Anne Collins Goodyear, Space Travel Was a Dream for Artists Long before Armstrong Stepped on Moon, business-standard.com, July 15, 2019, Authors Calendar, Savien Cyrano de Bergerac (1619-1655), authorscalendar.info (accessed July 23, 2021), Mike Wright, Article on Von Braun and Walt Disney, nasa.gov, Aug. 3, 2017, Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, Yuri Gagarin, eb.com, Mar. Astronauts spend an average of 182 days (about six months) aboard the ISS. SpaceX is a commercial space travel business owned by Elon Musk that has ignited commercial space travel enthusiasm and the idea of space tourism. Richard Bransons Virgin Galactic and Jeff Bezos Blue Origin have generated similar excitement. Rockets or mass drivers can perhaps be installed on asteroids to direct their paths along safe courses. November 3, 2020 2522 views 1. Why colonize space [20]. Dreams of space settlement hit a zenith in the 1950s with Walt Disney productions such as Man and the Moon, and science fiction novels including Ray Bradburys The Martian Chronicles (1950). But instead, there are thousands of snark-drenched tweets sneering at how crackpot, masculinist, and even childish Elon's dream is. Following from that premise, Brian Patrick Green, Director of Technology Ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, concluded, Because space settlement gives humankind the opportunity to significantly raise the chances of survival for our species, it is therefore a moral imperative to settle space as quickly as possible. [21], Some theorists, including Gonzalo Munevar, PhD, interdisciplinary Professor Emeritus at Lawrence Technological University, believe colonizing space will increase clean energy on Earth, provide access to the solar systems resources, and increase knowledge of space and Earth. Technological advancement into space can exist alongside conservation efforts on Earth. Colonizing space is one method of doing so. Particularly in the weightless conditions of space, sunlight can be used directly, using large solar ovens made of lightweight metallic foil so as to generate thousands of degrees of heat at no cost; or reflected onto crops to enable photosynthesis to proceed. Transportation to orbit is often the limiting factor in space endeavors. As of June 17, 2021, three countries had space programs with human space flight capabilities: China, Russia, and the United States. It is a major theme in science fiction, as well as a long-term goal of various national space programs. Space colonization is important because humanity cannot stay on Earth forever if we are to survive as a species. The Moon has nights of two Earth weeks in duration and Mars has night, dust, and is farther from the Sun, reducing solar energy available by a factor of about 1/2-1/3, and possibly making nuclear power more attractive on these bodies. In the 1950s and 1960s, Dandridge Cole and Krafft Ehricke published their ideas. Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon.com who traveled to space in 2021, asserted that exploring space would result in expanded human genius: The solar system can easily support a trillion humans. We're in the infancy of it I'm talking about that one day, I don't know when that day is, but there will be more human beings who live off the Earth than on it. We may have people living on the moons of Jupiter and other planets. Proponents say artificial intelligence can improve workplace safety. Proper citation depends on your preferred or required style manual. You want to send robots. [T]he first argument against human travel . It has been suggested that Mercury could be colonized using the same technology, approach, and equipment that would be used for colonization of the Moon. Colonies on the Moon and Mars could use local materials, although the Moon is deficient in volatiles (principally hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen) but possesses a great deal of oxygen, silicon, and metals such as iron, aluminum, and titanium. Colonizing other bodies in the solar system (or building our own orbiting habitats) is a way to create a "backup" of humanity that will survive no matter what happens to Earth. Energy has been suggested as an eventual export item for space settlements, perhaps using microwave beams to send power to Earth or the Moon. And we can do this while also pursuing colonization. [23], Jeff Bezos suggested that we move all heavy industry off Earth and then zone Earth for residences and light industry only. According to this view, there is nothing in space that is really needed, adding that moving beyond the solar system is totally impractical in any "reasonable" time scale. Although the surface of Venus is far too hot and features atmospheric pressure at least 90 times that at sea level on Earth, its massive atmosphere offers a possible alternate location for colonization. O'Neill's plans for the colonies originally appeared in the . What was science fiction began to look more like possibility. The Mars Desert Research Station has a habitat for similar reasons, but the surrounding climate is not strictly inhospitable. Present-day launch costs are very high$25,000 to $78,000 per kilogram from Earth to Low Earth Orbit (LEO). This would also help preserve the rest of terrestrial life presumably something the critics would approve of. Large structures would be needed to convert sunlight into significant amounts of electrical power for settlers' use. Returning to the Moon would have cost an estimated $104 billion in 2005 (about $133 billion in 2019 dollars), or almost 7 times NASAs entire 2019 budget. Humans living in space is pure science fiction. [26], Brian Patrick Green stated, Furthermore, we have to realize that solving Earths environmental problems is extremely difficult and so will take a very long time. The Artemis Project plans to set up a private lunar surface station. Can Alternative Energy Effectively Replace Fossil Fuels? 32% believed long-term habitable space colonies will be built by 2068. The fact that we have destroyed our home planet is prima facie evidence of this assertion. One of the major arguments for Martian colonization is its contribution to our science and technological development. According to Cassini data from 2008, Titan has hundreds of times more liquid hydrocarbons than all the known oil and natural gas reserves on . We may have people making habitats on asteroids I know that humans will colonize the solar system and one day go beyond. The Space Movement began in 1975. The main disadvantage of orbital colonies is lack of materials. Human beings across civilizations have had to come up with solutions for everyday problems. Propellant launched from the Earth is likely to be prohibitively expensive for space colonization, even with improved space access costs. Binary asteroid in Jupiter's orbit may be icy comet from solar system's infancy. However, NASA ended its space shuttle program in 2011 when the shuttle Atlantis landed at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 21. Make money from solar power satellites, asteroid mining, and. Space + Science World Africa . In another scenario proposed in 2002, anthropologist John H. Moore estimated that a population of 150180 would allow normal reproduction for 60 to 80 generationsequivalent to 2,000 years. After the Russians put the first person, Yuri Gagarin, in space on Apr. You might as well be exposed to the vacuum of space, resulting in a severe form of the bendsincluding ruptured lungs, dangerously swollen skin and body tissue, and ultimately death. Opponents say AI poses dangerous privacy risks. 23, 2021, Devin Coldewey, Virgin Galactic and Richard Branson Celebrate Launch of First Passengers into Space, techcrunch.com, July 11, 2021, Jonathan Amos, Sir Richard Branson Takes off on 'Extraordinary' Space Flight, bbc.com, July 11, 2021, Marcia Dunn, Jeff Bezos Blasts into Space on Own Rocket: Best Day Ever!, apnews.com, July 21, 2021, NASA, Who Was Alan Shepard?, nasa.gov, Aug. 7, 2017, Paul Rincon, Christina Koch: Nasa Astronaut Sets New Female Space Record, bbc.com, Feb. 6, 2020, NASA, International Space Station Facts and Figures, nasa.gov, May 13, 2021, Pew Research Center, Majority of Americans Believe It Is Essential That the U.S. 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 . Humans will face overpopulation in the not too distant future which would cause lack of resources, starvation, poverty, and thirst. There are also proposed projects such as building a space elevator or a mass driver.