Eighteen Earth-sized exoplanets discovered

a reply to: BrianFlanders

You're dead-on.

Mankind isn't going anywhere! Earth is it.

The human being is not suited to being deconstructed down to the atomic level and then re-assembled again. And this is what would be required for long distance space travel.

Never going to happen. Just fantasy.

originally posted by: Archivalist

originally posted by: BrianFlanders

originally posted by: Archivalist
a reply to: BrianFlanders

We'll have the technology to go interstellar within the next century.

High confidence on that statement.

Yeah, OK.

We MIGHT have the capability to send unmanned craft to the closest stars. MIGHT. We're not sending humans to another solar system in less than a century. We might be sending some kind of frozen embryos or something that will get there in the distant future when everyone who is living now is long gone.

We can't even sent people to Mars. And when we do, they are just going there to touch the ground and come back (assuming they make it back). We have the technology to get there. We don't have the money. We don't have anything close to the technology to send a human out of the solar system.

Fusion drive will be done cooking in my lifetime. They're pretty far along on that. We understand next generation propulsion, and what it will require.
We're pretty far along on sustainable food and water technology, as well.

The final major issues involved,, are likely to be solved by a combination of advanced computing and genetics.

Biotech scientists know what they're about.
There are organisms on Earth, that can survive the trip.
So, we know it's biologically possible. The follow up questions to that, how can we get the necessary genes into us?

Frozen embryos is a little weird. I find that to be a possibility, but not a necessary technological stage.

If a human can't survive the trip, we either find a way to accommodate a human with artificial technology, or, we engineer a human that can.

That mockumentary about the Minerva mission may happen, but if we get to that point, why not wait the extra 10-20 years for genetics to allow the mission to be manned?

You have to ask yourself a single fundamental question...Why?

What is the benefit of sending man to another star? What's in it for mankind? Nothing. And there's your answer for why it won't happen.

Even IF you could accomplish it, there would be no benefit in doing it for those who remained back home on Earth. To travel those distances, even IF it were possible (which it won't be), by the time someone returned to Earth civilization as we know it would be long gone.

Let's say you developed a spaceship which could travel at 99% the speed of light, and let's pretend you figured out how to put a person in some kind of suspended animation for 1,500 years. Let's say you traveled traveled to a solar system 1,000 light years away and found a planet which was pure utopia, made of gold and diamonds with free energy, sugar, spice and everything nice, and one of the nice residents there handed you a book with the solution to every problem mankind has here on Earth. So you hop in your spaceship and speed back to Earth to give them the great news, right?

When you return to Earth, all you will find is a sign which says "Sorry, Game Over...Thanks for playing!"

The Earth will be millions of years older.

The only person who can benefit from long distance space travel is the space traveler himself. Everything else is just dust from a distant past.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

What is the benefit of sending man to another star? What's in it for mankind?

There is no other habitable planet in this solar system so for survival of the species we need to find Earth 2.0 , if no other external threats population growth will dictate we create other colonies.

The work we do now helps those in our future.

a reply to: Soylent Green Is People

Could also be we're not listening in the right spot.

a reply to: gortex

We can terraform planets but it would be energy intensive.

a reply to: gortex

There is no other habitable planet in this solar system ...

Well, you got that right! Yet, some are looking at Mars???? Hmmmmm...seems if life could exist there, it already would.

...so for survival of the species we need to find Earth 2.0...

So, there's two scenarios with this thought...

1. This other Earth 2.0 you speak of is already inhabited by intelligent life forms who, when they see mankind coming, will blow them out of the heavens and stomp on any of the burning embers just to keep mankind from decimating their planet like he did to his own. Or...

2. There is no life, but there is a planet like Earth which, when man comes to it, will be like mankind going back to the Stone Age. And truthfully, I have absolutely zero confidence that 3,000 years later mankind will have learned from history and won't be looking for Earth 3.0!

It's depressing, yes, I know...but it is also sadly true. Mankind needs to figure out how to not just destroy everything and then move on. Until they learn this lesson, Earth 2.0 should not even be a consideration.

originally posted by: Archivalist

originally posted by: BrianFlanders

originally posted by: Archivalist
a reply to: BrianFlanders

We'll have the technology to go interstellar within the next century.

High confidence on that statement.

Yeah, OK.

We MIGHT have the capability to send unmanned craft to the closest stars. MIGHT. We're not sending humans to another solar system in less than a century. We might be sending some kind of frozen embryos or something that will get there in the distant future when everyone who is living now is long gone.

We can't even sent people to Mars. And when we do, they are just going there to touch the ground and come back (assuming they make it back). We have the technology to get there. We don't have the money. We don't have anything close to the technology to send a human out of the solar system.

Fusion drive will be done cooking in my lifetime. They're pretty far along on that. We understand next generation propulsion, and what it will require.
We're pretty far along on sustainable food and water technology, as well.

The final major issues involved,, are likely to be solved by a combination of advanced computing and genetics.

Biotech scientists know what they're about.
There are organisms on Earth, that can survive the trip.
So, we know it's biologically possible. The follow up questions to that, how can we get the necessary genes into us?

Frozen embryos is a little weird. I find that to be a possibility, but not a necessary technological stage.

If a human can't survive the trip, we either find a way to accommodate a human with artificial technology, or, we engineer a human that can.

The whole point of interstellar travel would be to eliminate the threat of human extinction if anything happens to this planet. If we could engineer a human that can survive interstellar travel, we could more easily engineer a human that could survive almost anything an earth disaster could throw at it.

But the need to make a "species backup" (so to speak) would still exist. A more realistic goal would be to put an actual thriving colony on a planet that's actually in our solar system. And even that won't (probably) happen within the next 50 years. And of course, that's still not a very reliable back up because it still depends on the solar system to survive anything that might happen to make earth go kaput.

So. If we can (perhaps) terraform Mars within the next couple hundred years, that would be an ambitious goal that we MIGHT be able to eventually accomplish. All kinds of other engineering problems come into play when you start talking about making a "portable" colony on a "starship". Not the least of which is artificial gravity. Gravity is just as important as air and water. You're not going interstellar without solving the gravity problem.

a reply to: BrianFlanders

Mankind needs to realize, and accept, there is no Earth 2.0...there never will be.

Not for "mankind" anyway...perhaps for a select few (IF our wildest science fiction dreams come true...which they won't).

I can only see a religious reason to think there will be a Earth 2.0, and that is a feeble thought quite frankly, and honestly.

Sorry to be a buzz-kill, but that's just how it is.

ETA - Earth is "it"; we will live here...and we will die here. Come what may.

Yay...we found water on Mars!

So what?

Mankind will never live there, on Mars, because mankind doesn't live there now. If the planet was habitable, then humanoid creatures would be living there now.

Solar systems, and galaxies, away. Forget about it!!

Not going to happen; not now, not tomorrow...not ever!

Sorry!

As long as humanity doesn't destroy itself or imprison itself with space junk then colonization of the solar system is inevitable. Baring self-destruction humanity is certain to spread across the galaxy at some point as well.

originally posted by: Grimpachi
As long as humanity doesn't destroy itself or imprison itself with space junk then colonization of the solar system is inevitable. Baring self-destruction humanity is certain to spread across the galaxy at some point as well.

This is probably true. But it's gonna be baby steps. And the first ones are gonna suck. If we're going to put a human colony anywhere else besides earth, people are going to die making it happen. Probably a lot of people. Even Mars. We can probably make a Mars colony happen (eventually) but people are going to die building it and gazillions of dollars are going to be spent on something that is not going to make a profit. That's a very hard sell.

a reply to: BrianFlanders

Probably. Space is unforgiving so like you said baby steps, but IMO totally worth it. I think the biggest step in actual colonization of space will be setting up the first manufacturing facilities. The moon should be the first goal then a lunar space station manufactured on the moon and from there, things should grow exponentially.

Some of my favorite vids on the industrialization of the moon and space.

a reply to: Zeropinion

"For centuries the greatest minds in the world thought the sun revolved around the earth."

That's a myth.

Perpetuated by organized religious practice.

The ancients knew more than we ken they did about astronomy and then some.

originally posted by: andy06shake
a reply to: Zeropinion

"For centuries the greatest minds in the world thought the sun revolved around the earth."

That's a myth.

Perpetuated by organized religious practice.

The ancients knew more than we ken they did about astronomy and then some.

Go back to before the Sumerians and I agree, I also agree that the global elite used religion as their primary mechanism of control.
But the statement stands.
Today tptb have many mechanisms at their disposal to repress innovation, electronic media mounting massive global propaganda campaigns, myriad brain chemistry altering drugs that doctors pass out like candy to children, harmful chemicals in just about everything in the grocery store, flouride, led.
They can slow it down but they cannot stop it.
We'll get there.
If they don't burn down the house.

What we need is to be able to transfer our conscience to a machine, become cyborgs or fully robots (Transformers anyone?) then we will have all the time in the world... be able to transfer our conscience from inorganic to organic manufactured beings that can live on any planet or to reproduce and create new consciousness.

I think that is what will take for us to get off this rock...

a reply to: ATSAlex

Getting off planet is not that far away. Going to another solar system there are a few ways already (theoretically) a generation ship could be built with current tech. It would have to be huge but could be done. There is also research being done on cryo sleep and some tests have had people under for close to a month. Not fully frozen they basically lower the body temp to make a person hibernate slowing their systems. Once they start messing with human chemistry they is sure to extend the time frame.

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
a reply to: BrianFlanders

You're dead-on.

Mankind isn't going anywhere! Earth is it.

The human being is not suited to being deconstructed down to the atomic level and then re-assembled again. And this is what would be required for long distance space travel.

Never going to happen. Just fantasy.

Actually, I also thought that maybe something could be done with powerful laser beams but that's still limited by the SOL. And the distances involved (beyond the closest stars) are so enormous that even the SOL seems slow.

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
Yay...we found water on Mars!

So what?

Mankind will never live there, on Mars, because mankind doesn't live there now. If the planet was habitable, then humanoid creatures would be living there now.

Solar systems, and galaxies, away. Forget about it!!

Not going to happen; not now, not tomorrow...not ever!

Sorry!

Apart from being a "buzzkill", your arrogance is astounding.
Try spouting your 'facts' as an opinion, they become more palatable.

originally posted by: BrianFlanders

originally posted by: charlyv

originally posted by: BrianFlanders
Maybe I'm a bit sadistic and misanthropic but it kind of amuses me to watch humans struggle to find a planet around another star that they have no hope of ever getting to.

It's kind of refreshing after living a life dominated by people who act like they know everything and can do anything. And all that nonsense about how you can do anything you set your mind to if you try hard enough.

Really? LOL

Let's see how long it takes them to actually put one human on Mars for more than a few hours or a couple of days or something.

IT is the proof that all stars have planets, that came out of this.
Everything else is some very crude elemental analysis.

The quantum observation will lead to a way to actually image them someday.

LOL

I think you missed my point but oh well. Yes. I'm interested in space and astronomy. I was just commenting on the fact that it amuses me how puny us humans actually are.

I do not think I missed your point at all. You were actually making fun of our collective achievements, as if they were some kind of ego stunt. That is fine, however history shows that we cannot tolerate insufficient data. We eventually obtain it, create our own space, and then step into it. It is going to be a wild ride.

originally posted by: charlyv

originally posted by: BrianFlanders

originally posted by: charlyv

originally posted by: BrianFlanders
Maybe I'm a bit sadistic and misanthropic but it kind of amuses me to watch humans struggle to find a planet around another star that they have no hope of ever getting to.

It's kind of refreshing after living a life dominated by people who act like they know everything and can do anything. And all that nonsense about how you can do anything you set your mind to if you try hard enough.

Really? LOL

Let's see how long it takes them to actually put one human on Mars for more than a few hours or a couple of days or something.

IT is the proof that all stars have planets, that came out of this.
Everything else is some very crude elemental analysis.

The quantum observation will lead to a way to actually image them someday.

LOL

I think you missed my point but oh well. Yes. I'm interested in space and astronomy. I was just commenting on the fact that it amuses me how puny us humans actually are.

I do not think I missed your point at all. You were actually making fun of our collective achievements, as if they were some kind of ego stunt. That is fine, however history shows that we cannot tolerate insufficient data. We eventually obtain it, create our own space, and then step into it. It is going to be a wild ride.

It's OK. You can think you didn't miss my point and still have missed it anyway. I was making fun of our lack of collective achievements. Kind of like a dog that's been locked in a room full of mirrors growling and snarling at it's own reflection for most of it's life. LOL