When do you think Humans will start colonizing other planets?

[jim_steer]

About 10 years after the Chinese make a semi-serious stab at it, national prestige and paranoia are much better motivators for national space programs than economic or scientific reasons.

Even tWit can understand and sell the My 'rocket' is going to be god damn bigger and better than your evil commie 'rocket' argument.

[OzzyKP]

Originally posted by One_more_turn
Space colonization is a darn risky and costly undertaking without much evidence of real returns. There must be some very good reasons for us Terrans to get off our craddle.

I can think of following reasons:

1. Life for some people is becoming unbearable on Earth. These people however do have access to capital, resources, and technologies; and they want to get out.

2. A competition among political or economic entities have broken out. This scenario could be the remniscence of the Imperialism/Colonialism on the Earth from 1500-1900.

3. Someone has found something very useful in our solar system, and kicks off the competition, sort like after Cortez and Pizarro found gold in America, suddenly everyone wanted a piece.

4. A combination of the above.

Currently several billionaires, including Jeff Bezos of Amazon and Richard Branson of Virgin Holdings, are exploring their own initiatives of space exploration. They might actually find something useful on the Moon or Mars in 20 years.

You're asking the right questions.

Answering the why is far more important than answering the how. Nanotechnology, fusion engines, blah blah, whatever. If we want to do it, we'll find a way. As it has been pointed out, if we really, really wanted to we could colonize Mars or the Moon right now. So the only question that matters is why bother?

Originally posted by One_more_turn
1. Life for some people is becoming unbearable on Earth. These people however do have access to capital, resources, and technologies; and they want to get out.

If someone now wanted to live in a hostile environment that would take a large investment of resources to support life away from any formal political jurisdiction, why not Antarctica? It would be a lot cheaper than Mars. Just take a boat down there, no space elevator or fusion drives required. If 30,000 people were seriously intent of breaking away from everyone it'd be a lot smarter to just go south.

Originally posted by One_more_turn
2. A competition among political or economic entities have broken out. This scenario could be the remniscence of the Imperialism/Colonialism on the Earth from 1500-1900.

This is what got us to space in the first place. A lot of factors have to align to make it happen (its not happening now), but this is definitely possible. I'm skeptical though whether the colonies that would result from such a push and motivation would really be the kind of real colonies the people on this thread think of. Most likely they will be isolated peculiarities like the space station. A couple people rotate in and out, do a few experiments, and thump their chest to the rest of the world. No one is gonna go raise a family on a cold lump in space.

Originally posted by One_more_turn
3. Someone has found something very useful in our solar system, and kicks off the competition, sort like after Cortez and Pizarro found gold in America, suddenly everyone wanted a piece.

If something very useful were found, then yes this very much could spark it. I don't have sufficient imagination to picture what it could be or how it could be so useful that harvesting it would be cost effective, but if it happens it happens. Then again we could strike oil at the South Pole. Which woud get exploited first?

I'm not some luddite trying to rain on everyone's parade. I'm just saying people need to take off their Spock ears, put down their phasors and put space into the context of the real world. I think it'd be fricken sweet if we set up space colonies. I've followed the events around SpaceShipOne with much interest and every other space rumor or initiative. But learning to speak Klingon and dreaming about pulsar drives and utopian one world governments of people singing Kumbaya and investing trillions of dollars to colonize barren rocks, just isn't helping. Thanks

Tourism as I said is gonna be the most realistic way into space. Things like "Virgin Galactic" have real potential. There are enough nerds out there with cash to pay to go into space. The more nerds shipped out to space the cheaper that shipping will become and the more who will afford to go. Then the next frontier will be a space station resort for tourists to go and spend more time at. That could, as I mentioned, turn into small things on the moon perhaps. If really successful these places may expand and require permanent support staff.

That really seems to be the most plausible scenario. But that won't happen quick or easily.

[Geronimo]

I think people might choose a distant planet over antarctica or any other terrestrial environment simply because they crave isolation from the rest of humanity. Antarctica is multiple orders of magnitude closer to the rest of humanity than even the moon, much less mars.

Another reason people might not choose antarctica would be because while the moon and possibly even mars will prove to be totally and utterly devoid of life, antarctica and all other remote terrestrial environments will be seen as pristine areas with unique and supposably fragile microbial ecosystems that need protection from intrusion by colonists. People might want to settle there but would find their efforts stymied by global opposition to the move.

[Seeker]

"utopian one world governments"

I don't think the idea is impossible...we move more and more each day towards a post-national, post-sovereignty world...trade barriers are falling everywhere, the old 'national' industries supported by the national government are falling, trading blocks are expanding.

The logical outcome of the political and economic process of the last 60 years is world a world without nation-states. And a world government really is a pre-requisite for any serious large scale colonization, IMO. Anything else is just tourism or worse, 'flags and footprints' missions.

[DaShi]

Outer space will be ruled by ruthless corporations bent on cloning aliens to use them as weapons against other corporations. Meanwhile, on the edge of the galaxy, the evil Zargons wait patiently.

[_BuRjaCi_]

Originally posted by Sandman


So they'd need a pressurised habitat, a supply of food and some sort of energy source. Just like humans.

Read the thread Sandman.
I was responding to a post, that nature's nanobots (life) need water ( wich artificial ones probably won't ), and I said that even if they did need, water that is, it would be easy since, ice is on Mars all you would have to do si melt it, to prevent it evaporating the nanobots would have nano-pressurized water tanks- they are robots they don't need a presurized enviroment!

They don't need food, that was a comparison to those who think each nanobot must be self-suficient, I was talking about an artificial chemical energy source, this is another comparison, think batteries but much more efficient -chemichal energy into electrical- and no humurus remarks about Duracell bunnys- they keep teraforming and terraforming...

The only thing right in your remark is the need for a power source wich I coverd as well.

[_BuRjaCi_]

Originally posted by OzzyKP

If something very useful were found, then yes this very much could spark it. I don't have sufficient imagination to picture what it could be or how it could be so useful that harvesting it would be cost effective, but if it happens it happens. Then again we could strike oil at the South Pole. Which woud get exploited first?

I'm not some luddite trying to rain on everyone's parade. I'm just saying people need to take off their Spock ears, put down their phasors and put space into the context of the real world. I think it'd be fricken sweet if we set up space colonies. I've followed the events around SpaceShipOne with much interest and every other space rumor or initiative. But learning to speak Klingon and dreaming about pulsar drives and utopian one world governments of people singing Kumbaya and investing trillions of dollars to colonize barren rocks, just isn't helping. Thanks

Tourism as I said is gonna be the most realistic way into space. Things like "Virgin Galactic" have real potential. There are enough nerds out there with cash to pay to go into space. The more nerds shipped out to space the cheaper that shipping will become and the more who will afford to go. Then the next frontier will be a space station resort for tourists to go and spend more time at. That could, as I mentioned, turn into small things on the moon perhaps. If really successful these places may expand and require permanent support staff.

That really seems to be the most plausible scenario. But that won't happen quick or easily.

First of all it's good to see somebody take the time to make a good post .
Too bad I don't agree with it.
And I don't ware Spock ears, that's too geeky!
I'm wearing my Darth Vader voice changer helmet.

1.) There is oil on the sout pole, as is cole and lots of metals -however there's an international treaty that forbids mining and other development (non-reashearch and turism that i ) for 50 years, it think it was sined in the 70's , but if you want to talk about that start a new thread.

2.)I agree with you that it won't be easy and that space turism is the way to go.

3.)I can imagine somethin real waluable- Room temparature superconductors, last weak I read that there are large asteroids in the asteroid belt betwen Jupiter and Mars taht are 90% X- metal ( copper, iron ,...)
Imagine a nasa probe stumbles on an 20-30 kilometer asteroid that's 90% supercondugting metal or you can even imagine a much smaller asteorid with just traces of it. Human logic, will folow that there must be more asteorids like that, and a strong desire by any
self-respecting moneygrabing corporation to discover why that X material is superconducting ( if its mix of diferent substances ) or if it's a new element to mine it or get it throug nuclear fission-fussion on Earth
( I estimate international law will alow corporations to wage war and conduct nuclear tests by 2060 ).
This will cause the formation of minig or reashearch stations in the belt. With a solid industry in space they'll star thinking how to reduce costs
( spacedocks- don't drag it from Earth man! Make it there, re-fueling stations on Mars that make some methane for you and so on ...).

Plus the absence of any law in space, makes room for some "unethical" ( what does that mean anyway ) experimentations on humans ( mind control- sell more, facial creams, artificial diseases and their cures- make the sick then make them healthy for a price...).

[_BuRjaCi_]

The last point is unlikley thoug ( got caried away ) but not unimanigable. Someone once said that the universe is the greatest lab of all... why not room temperature superconductors... or unethical experimentation in orbit.

[_BuRjaCi_]

Originally posted by DaShi
Outer space will be ruled by ruthless corporations bent on cloning aliens to use them as weapons against other corporations. Meanwhile, on the edge of the galaxy, the evil Zargons wait patiently.

( Good sense of humor. too bad you are right )

Yes and with room tempatature superconductors we shall crush the rebelion once and for all... Ending this destrucive conflict and bringing order to the galaxy.

I realy should take my Darth Vader helmet off.

[joncha]

Originally posted by _BuRjaCi_



Read the thread Sandman.

Where's the fun in that?

[_BuRjaCi_]

Originally posted by _BuRjaCi_


First of all it's good to see somebody take the time to make a good post .

I suppose you didn't read that too ?
Please post something meaningfull. I'm bored.

[Sandman]

Originally posted by _BuRjaCi_



Read the thread Sandman.
I was responding to a post, that nature's nanobots (life) need water ( wich artificial ones probably won't ), and I said that even if they did need, water that is, it would be easy since, ice is on Mars all you would have to do si melt it, to prevent it evaporating the nanobots would have nano-pressurized water tanks- they are robots they don't need a presurized enviroment!

They don't need food, that was a comparison to those who think each nanobot must be self-suficient, I was talking about an artificial chemical energy source, this is another comparison, think batteries but much more efficient -chemichal energy into electrical- and no humurus remarks about Duracell bunnys- they keep teraforming and terraforming...

The only thing right in your remark is the need for a power source wich I coverd as well.

A 'nano-pressurized water tank' is a grossly inefficient engineering solution, not to mention complicated as hell and functionally useless - the nanobots need to exist within liquid water to function, not carry it with them.

Could you outline how your 'canister' scenario will work in more detail? Would the canister contain a wind turbine or solar panel to power the nanomachines, or just a supply of chemical energy? How would the nanobots move in the absence of liquid and in freezing temperatures?

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by binTravkin
I think when Space Elevator, will be done, which some estimate at 2020

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[joncha]

Originally posted by _BuRjaCi_


I suppose you didn't read that too ?
Please post something meaning full. I'm bored.

I heartily apologise. It is, after all, my life's work to keep you entertained.

[DRoseDARs]

Originally posted by _BuRjaCi_


I suppose you didn't read that too ?
Please post something meaning full. I'm bored.

You've never stepped foot in the OT before, have you?