Space colonization
Artist's conception of a space habitat called the Stanford torus
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2 Location 3 Justification 4 Advocacy 5 Fictional depictions 6 Related articles 7 External links |
The relationship between organisms, their habitat and the non-Earth environment can be:
It could be argued that the establishment of a colony would be Earth's first act of self-replication.
See also: von Neumann probe, von Neumann machine, clanking replicator, self-replication
A much smaller inital population of two female humans should be viable as long as human embryos are available from Earth. Use of a sperm bank from Earth also allows a smaller starting base with negligible inbreeding.
The location of colonization can be:
Small asteroids have the advantage that one passes closer than Earth's moon several times per decade. In between close approaches to Earth, 1/2 billion kilometers from Earth is not unusual.
Disadvantages are significant gravity, a population of more than ten and self sufficiency may be far in the future on/in very small asteroids. Unmanned supply craft should be practical with little technology advance even at 1/2 billion kilometers. The colonists would have a strong interest in making sure their asteroid did not hit Earth or anything else of significant mass.
The most famous attempt to build an analog colony is Biosphere 2, which attempted to duplicate Earth's biosphere.
Many space agencies build testbeds for advanced life support systems, but these are designed for long duration human spaceflight, not colonization.
Mars is a frequent topic of discussion. Its size and mass are similar to Earth, it has large water reserves, and has carbon (locked as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere). It may have gone though similar geological and hydrological processes as Earth and contain valuable mineral ores, but this is debated. Equipment is available to extract in situ resources (water, air, etc.) from the Martian ground and atmosphere.
However, its atmosphere is very thin (averaging 800 Pa or about 0.8% of Earth sea-level atmospheric pressure) and the climate is colder. There is also the problem of native bacteria, which may live on Mars. Mars is often the topic of discussion regarding terraforming to make the entire planet or at least large portions of it habitable.
See : Exploration of Mars
Due to its proximity and relative familiarity, Earth's Moon is also frequently discussed as a target for colonization. It has the benefits of close proximity to Earth and lower gravity, allowing for easier exchange of goods and services. A major drawback of the Moon is its low abundance of volatiles necessary for life such as hydrogen and carbon. Water ice deposits thought to exist in some polar craters could serve as significant sources for these elements.
See also : Moon colonization.
The Artemis Project designed a plan to colonize Europa, one of Jupiter's moons. It would use igloos made of ice refrozen melted by the microwaves on the surface. For submarine/drill would be use for drilling into the Europan ice crust, as well as any sub-surface ocean. It also discusses use of "air pockets" for human inhabitation.
A space habitat, also called space colony and orbital colony, is a space station which is intended as a permanent settlement rather than as a simple waystation or other specialized facility. They would be literal "cities" in space, where people would live and work and raise families. No space habitats have yet been constructed, but many design proposals have been made with varying degrees of realism by both science fiction authors and engineers.
Most of the real work on space habitats was carried out in the 1970s by workshops led by Gerard K. O'Neill in the post-Apollo highs at NASA. Several designs were studied, some in depth, with sizes ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 people. Attempts were made to make the habitats as self-supporting as possible, but all of the designs relied on regular shipments from Earth or the Moon, notably for volatiles. However, more recent research has indicated that certain asteroids contain significant amounts of volatives such as water and ammonia, making it possible to reduce this reliance considerably.
One problem with the design that was not considered in any real depth is why any of them would be needed. The stated problem was to house workers needed for the construction of solar power satellites, which they predicted would require a peak of about 25,000 workers. However if this was the purpose, the habitat designs were certainly not utilitarian; they all contained housing for complete families, huge open spaces, and considerable parkland. An oil platform would appear to be a better model for such purposes. The workshops appeared to work in reverse, inventing the "solution", and then casting about for a need. Of course, this objection applies to colonies located on planets and moons as well.
Designs proposed include:
A colony ship would be similar to a space habitat, except with major propulsion capabilities and independent power generation.
Concepts proposed in hard science fiction include:
In 2001, the space news website SPACE.com asked Freeman Dyson, J. Richard Gott and Sid Goldstein for reasons why some humans should live in space. Their respective answers [1] were:
The scientist Paul Davies also supports the view that if a planetary catastrophe threatens the survival of the human species on Earth, a self-sufficient colony could "reverse-colonize" the Earth and restore human civilization.
The author and journalist William E. Burrows and the biochemist Robert Shapiro proposed a private project, the Alliance to Rescue Civilization, with the goal of establishing an off-Earth backup of human civilization.
Space advocacy organizations:
Films and books that depict space colonies of Earth include:
Method
Life support
For humans to live permanently outside Earth, the habitat must maintain variables within an appropriate range, ie. homeostasis. The habitat must contain non-human species--for example, microorganisms and crop plants.
A combination of the above is also possible.Self-replication
Self-replication is an optional attribute, but highly desirable because it allows an exponential increase in colonies.Population size
In 2002, the anthropologist Dr. John Moore estimated that a population of 150-180 would allow normal reproduction for 60-80 generations--equivalent to 2000 years.Location
Location is a frequent point of contention between space colonization advocates.Planet, natural satellite or asteroid
Earth (analog)
Mars
The Moon
Europa
Space
Space habitat
Spaceship
Justification
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. [1]Advocacy
Fictional depictions
Related articles
External links