Survival of the Species

The Stars and the Odds

The above article discusses the idea that as our technological society is able, we should attempt to move off planet, to spread our species to the stars, in the hope of forestalling any mass extinction level events - such as those 250 million years or so, ago.

While it's unlikely that any event would extinguish life on earth completely, there are a vast number of events that would change life for our species completely, perhaps reverting the earth to a time of invertebrates and bacteria. The only logical conclusion, if our species is to survive, is for us to expand our ecological niche to include other planets and settlements such as on the moon.

reply to post by Inannamute

The universe so frequently sends the message that we humans are not entirely special...The recent ‘rare Earth’ hypothesis does challenge the idea that our planet is of a kind likely to be found elsewhere.

I immediately triggered on the "Rare Earth" hypothesis. Here is a link.

I think people take a lot of comfort in believing the Universe teams with life. It makes what happens on this planet less critical. But what if we are actually alone?

Face it -- so far, there is NO PROOF at this time to suggest OTHERWISE! That includes a lot of data from SETI, and no single alien artifact that has been released to a famished and desiring public.

If the “Rare Earth” hypothesis is true, then our survival is a huge imperative. It is an obligation that goes far beyond anything we normally consider.

Perhaps, if we are extinguished, nobody will ever observe the Universe again!

So I am all for colonizing the Universe. Let's get started today!

Essentially though, whether we are alone in the universe or not, the simple fact is that it is our duty as a species, as and when we are able, to propagate ourselves to the stars. We may even end up doing something right, that way.

I'm a big sci-fi fan, and as such (and also as a human being) I always find myself incredibly disappointed that trillions is wasted on war instead of being spent on exploration of our solar system.

No other planet in our system can support life as we know it, and yet it is essential to start, because this type of exploration is a gateway to bigger and better things.

Mankind did not reach to the far reaches of our planet by being shy about it.

We should be the same about the planets and betond.

Originally posted by budski
No other planet in our system can support life as we know it, and yet it is essential to start, because this type of exploration is a gateway to bigger and better things.

I think that Mars could support human life permanently, in a closed artificial eco-system, given the proper infrastructure, and some work.

We could dig down underground, use nuclear reactors, synthesize water and oxygen. I think it is a proper and quite reasonable engineering project.

In particular, I don't think it would be a big challenge to compress the existing Martian atmosphere to standard Earth pressure. And we know that water exists on Mars....

We should be able to colonize! I don't know why there is no universal will to make this happen.

I think the first steps would actually be sea-bed habitats - learn what you can on earth, create the correct technology where it's easier to road test and fix.. Then the moon, then Mars, and beyond. The journey of a thousand light years starts with a single step, after all.