SERIOUS WONDER | The Very Present Future of Space Colonization

With new space-race contestants, both countries and private corporations, human colonization in the inner Solar System is a common conversation. According to some prominent scientists, like Stephen Hawking, space colonization will represent the only way of saving mankind within the next thousand years, unless colonies are established in space.

“There is no way back into the past; the choice, as Wells once said, is the universe—or nothing. Though men and civilizations may yearn for rest, for the dream of the lotus-eaters, that is a desire that merges imperceptibly into death. The challenge of the great spaces between the worlds is a stupendous one; but if we fail to meet it, the story of our race will be drawing to its close.” – Arthur C. Clarke

There are companies, like Mars One, that plan to establish a permanent human settlement on Mars starting in 2024. Crews of four will depart every two years. The companies has scheduled the first unmanned mission for 2018.

What about possible targets? A few have been proposed as possible destinations for future human settlements in space.

“It is essential that we colonize space. I believe that we will eventually establish self-sustaining colonies on Mars, and other bodies in the solar system, although probably not within the next 100 years. I am optimistic that progress within science and technology will eventually allow humans to spread beyond the solar system and out into the far-reaches of the universe.” – Stephen Hawking

The moon has been one of the first to be considered for colonization, for obvious reasons of proximity, but Mars has been attracting greater attention.

Yet more targets, even farther away, have been imagined for medium-term human colonization. Europa, one of the main moons of Jupiter, is one of the favorites for its geophysical features—a possible ocean under its glaciers—hinting at some likelihood that human life can be sustained. But others, more exotic, have been proposed, like Ceres. The dwarf planet located between Mars and Jupiter has some interesting characteristics, including a supposed abundance of water on its surface.

10 Ways the World Could End (and how space can save us)

FUTURE IMPLICATIONS

Challenges to space colonization are formidable, in terms of resources needed and overall feasibility. Distance is the first—even for Mars, the nearest destination once you discard the Moon—but not the only one, with factors like synodic periods, length (in months) of the travels and environmental conditions on the target settlement ranking high.

May 30, 2014 By Stephen P. Bianchini

About the author

Stephen P. Bianchini is a statistician and a social scientist working in higher education. Based in rainy UK. Passionate about astrophysics, space security, SF and technical diving. Blog: http://earthianhivemind.net/ Twitter: @SPBianchini

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SpacePort Terra

nice article… if I may present to you the opening of my soon-to-be-released novel. It fits nicely with this :-)

Opening to my Novel: Mulching Mars
“To all shall see these presents…Greetings.

(Wait for applause)

To terraform Mars.
That was the simple goal from the beginning. The reasons, however, to terraform Mars were much more complicated.

Way back in the year 2014, the world was in chaos. Perpetually high unemployment, horrible economies, civil liberties being eroded away by spy organizations, and protests and riots all across the planet. The people on Earth were losing hope. Something had to be done. Something had to change.

Then one day that year, a man had a dream. A vision of the future.

A future in which like mined individuals would come together and would not be judged by the color of their skin, their gender, whom they chose to love, or how much money they or their family had or did not have. A group of people who would cast off mysticism, ignorance, hatred, and personal greed and embrace logic, knowledge, love, and could work together towards the common goal. But above all else, they would share one common trait. The trait of the child-like wonderment of exploration. A sense of adventure and the spirit of curiosity that has guided mankind from the times when they first set sail on unknown oceans to the time they first set foot on the moon. And they would do it for peace. They would do it for all mankind.

(Wait for applause)

A future in which the exploration of the heavens of space was not limited to just corporations employing a vast number of robots, to only those who had aerospace engineering PhD’s., or those lucky enough to have financial clout or lucky enough to win a contest to space. In his vision, he envisioned an organization in which the common person of average intelligence or greater would gladly bid farewell to his previous uninspiring life, be trained by the organization in a needed skill and work towards the common goal with all of his heart in exchange for a guaranteed right of the necessities of life and the opportunity to boldly go where no person had gone before.

(Wait for applause)

He knew back then that there would be many obstacles that they would face. And there were. From the initial doubters and naysayers, to the political arena and the powers that be, to the great meteor strike and all the chaos that ensued, the people of the organization rose to meet the challenges.
He knew from the beginning that such an organization could not take place in any existing country. In order for this grandest experiment to be successful, they had to have complete autonomy, so he created a new country. Our country.
Spaceport Terra

(Wait for applause)

And here we are in the year 2059. Just look at us. From the huge nitrogen gathering stations on Titan. To the water extraction plants on Europa and Callisto. Our way stations on Ceres and Vesta. To the agricultural colonies floating in Venus’s atmosphere. All the supply ships in orbit around the sun. To our great flagship space station, the Pantheist and all of its manufacturing plants at L5. To our moon station and geostationary and low Earth orbit stations and of course to our little island in the sea back on Earth.

We stand here together, in orbit of Mars, on this momentous day to complete that goal that was set so long ago by that great man. Although the Supreme Commander gave his life in a vain attempt to stop the meteor his spirit, his memory, and his vision lives on. On a personal note, although he has been called many a names: the Supreme Commander, one the greatest men to ever live, even a prophet, I just call him the grandfather I never got to know.

(Wait for applause)

So it it is with great honor that I will relay the message from my mother, the Pro Tempore of Spaceport Terra, that she received from the Supreme Commander prior to his death that he thought should mark this glorious occasion.

‘Let’s begin the terraforming of Mars by, from orbit, thickening the atmosphere by dropping large of bales of hemp in it. The bombing begins in 5 minutes.’

May knowledge be with you”