Space will remain the final frontier, I think;

[LuisDantas]

It is simply way too expensive to leave the atmosphere with any regularity at all.

And as this article humorously illustrates, space travel can hardly be expected to spare humanity the trouble of dealing with this planet once it is too troubled to live on.

Everybody Out

 

[Bunyip]

It is simply way too expensive to leave the atmosphere with any regularity at all.

And as this article humorously illustrates, space travel can hardly be expected to spare humanity the trouble of dealing with this planet once it is too troubled to live on.

Everybody Out

I so hope that you are wrong.

Bring on the space elevator.

 

[columbus]

The human race doesn't have what it takes to live in the biosphere we evolved into. Pretending that we'll do better outside of it is total fantasy.

We'll just be spreading our dysfunction out where the universe is less forgiving.

The dynamics of choosing who gets to leave the mess behind and who is stuck in the mess won't improve the human situation. Especially not in the modern world of suicide bombers and nano weapons.

Tom

 

[Parsimony]

Maybe in the future we can crack the riddle of nuclear fusion and find a way to shrink the reactor down small enough to fit aboard a single-stage-to-orbit spaceplane as the energy source to accelerate a propellant (like an advanced, nuclear variant of the Skylon proposal).

 

[Jeremy Mason]

All the more reason to cohabitate with Earth.

 

[illykitty]

How about we first learn to live with each other and in harmony with the planet?

 

[Revoltingest]

Even with a space elevator, travel out there will still be really really expensive & dangerous.
Moving people won't be practical. But it's relatively cheap to produce new people, so if we
are ever able to terraform Mars, we could just populate it the way we did Earth. Perhaps we
could just do a better job of it. At least there are no rain forests to destroy.

 

[BSM1]

[

quote=LuisDantas;3799907]It is simply way too expensive to leave the atmosphere with any regularity at all.

And as this article humorously illustrates, space travel can hardly be expected to spare humanity the trouble of dealing with this planet once it is too troubled to live on.

Everybody Out

[/QUOTE]

Man hardly ever explores anything because it's practical. Man explores because it's there.

 

[Valjean]

There's also the problem of surviving in space. The human body starts deteriorating rapidly in zero-G, then there is the cosmic radiation to contend with, the occasional meteor and who knows what other unanticipated problems.

 

[Revoltingest]

There's also the problem of surviving in space. The human body starts deteriorating rapidly in zero-G, then there is the cosmic radiation to contend with, the occasional meteor and who knows what other unanticipated problems.

Those are solvable problems, but are cost prohibitive.

 

[LuisDantas]

Man hardly ever explores anything because it's practical. Man explores because it's there.

That is one way of putting it, but I wanted to emphasize how inconsequential and often all-out unsustenable human efforts are.

Besides, the way you put it one would think humans usually or often seek opportunities and go after them just because. That is not quite true. In practice, considerations of profit, confort and status tend to overrule such idealism. There is a reason why there are so many lawyers and politicians, and it sure isn't because they are productive or needed.

 

[LuisDantas]

Those are solvable problems, but are cost prohibitive.

Indeed. But doesn't that amount to much the same thing when all is said and done?

Cost, after all, is an abstration to represent what is realistically possible.

 

[BSM1]

That is one way of putting it, but I wanted to emphasize how inconsequential and often all-out unsustenable human efforts are.

Besides, the way you put it one would think humans usually or often seek opportunities and go after them just because. That is not quite true. In practice, considerations of profit, confort and status tend to overrule such idealism. There is a reason why there are so many lawyers and politicians, and it sure isn't because they are productive or needed.

I was thinking more in line with people like Sir Edmund Hillary, Amelia Earhart, and James T. Kirk.

 

[Cardboard]

Every time, this discussion comes up , anywhere, you have these three general groups against it, 1) the we need to get our world and society in order before we go out and colonize other planets, 2) The physics will not allow for it or that it will never be economically viable to do so. 3) The Human race is doomed anyway just enjoy the ride while we are here.
I disagree with all of these, the simple fact in is that regardless of what obstacles are in our way, we must as a species over come them and colonize other planets and eventually other solar systems or we will DIE!! All of us, as a species will die. That is the reality that is the truth of it.
So, we will never get all our social issues perfect, probably never be a utopian society, the physics problem, we must overcome or work around, quantum theory is trying right now. The physical barrier can be overcome, with time effort and properly allocated resources. As far as “we are a doomed species” stance, well if there were more people like them, we would be.
God will not will not save us, we must save ourselves..

 

[Runewolf1973]

Every time, this discussion comes up , anywhere, you have these three general groups against it, 1) the we need to get our world and society in order before we go out and colonize other planets, 2) The physics will not allow for it or that it will never be economically viable to do so. 3) The Human race is doomed anyway just enjoy the ride while we are here.
I disagree with all of these, the simple fact in is that regardless of what obstacles are in our way, we must as a species over come them and colonize other planets and eventually other solar systems or we will DIE!! All of us, as a species will die. That is the reality that is the truth of it.
So, we will never get all our social issues perfect, probably never be a utopian society, the physics problem, we must overcome or work around, quantum theory is trying right now. The physical barrier can be overcome, with time effort and properly allocated resources. As far as “we are a doomed species” stance, well if there were more people like them, we would be.
God will not will not save us, we must save ourselves..

Great post! I agree.

 

[LuisDantas]

Every time, this discussion comes up , anywhere, you have these three general groups against it, 1) the we need to get our world and society in order before we go out and colonize other planets, 2) The physics will not allow for it or that it will never be economically viable to do so. 3) The Human race is doomed anyway just enjoy the ride while we are here.
I disagree with all of these, the simple fact in is that regardless of what obstacles are in our way, we must as a species over come them and colonize other planets and eventually other solar systems or we will DIE!! All of us, as a species will die. That is the reality that is the truth of it.
So, we will never get all our social issues perfect, probably never be a utopian society, the physics problem, we must overcome or work around, quantum theory is trying right now. The physical barrier can be overcome, with time effort and properly allocated resources. As far as “we are a doomed species” stance, well if there were more people like them, we would be.
God will not will not save us, we must save ourselves..

Of course we as a species will die. What else could possibly happen?

The Earth itself will be destroyed at some point when the Sun begins to grow, and there is really no way to survive that or to flee the Solar System.

 

[Amechania]

There's also the problem of surviving in space. The human body starts deteriorating rapidly in zero-G, then there is the cosmic radiation to contend with, the occasional meteor and who knows what other unanticipated problems.

The problem with zero-G is that even if you could create centrifugal force equivalent to one-G in something like a revolving space station the simulated gravity would always be variable as soon as you left the inner floor of the wheel. We really don't know what effects variable gravity would have on someone long term. Then there is the problem of the coriolis effect in spin-simulated gravity.

 

[Runewolf1973]

Of course we as a species will die. What else could possibly happen?

The Earth itself will be destroyed at some point when the Sun begins to grow, and there is really no way to survive that or to flee the Solar System.

We'll probably be hit by a giant, unstoppable asteroid or comet by then, or the Yelowstone supervolcano will erupt, or some other globally threatening disaster will occur. We might have to flee this Earth sooner than we think.

Consider an asteroid the size of Alaska was heading our way... There is no way to deflect it or to stop it due to it's immense size. (I'm not sure what size asteroid would be actually unstoppable or incapable of being deflected, so let's just say we were unable to stop it hypothetically.) We know it will destroy all life on Earth. The catch is we have 50 years before this asteroid actually hits the Earth. Will humans just sit idly and wait for the inevitable, or will they move into action?

 

[Cardboard]

Of course we as a species will die. What else could possibly happen?

The Earth itself will be destroyed at some point when the Sun begins to grow, and there is really no way to survive that or to flee the Solar System.

You really cant imagine, that in our future, we could possible work out the barier of FTL travel and colonize other worlds, outside our solar system ? Yes by our understanding, today, there is not viable or possible way to colonize other solar systems, But this is our challange , this is our task, we must , go forward , we must try.

If you cant, or wont, and the populus stays thinking that same way, then yea, what else could happen?

 

[Amechania]

You really cant imagine, that in our future, we could possible work out the barier of FTL travel and colonize other worlds, outside our solar system ? Yes by our understanding, today, there is not viable or possible way to colonize other solar systems, But this is our challange , this is our task, we must , go forward , we must try.

Okay our descendants have warp-drive, and worm-hole com/nav, and force-field protection, and artificial gravity with inertia dampening, and fusion reactors, and nanotech and AI, and genetic-engineering, but we've polluted the environment and depleted our resources to the point that Earth is unlivable. We would still have the problem of getting billions of people off Earth. Some would survive. Most would perish. Probably would be better to deal with the problem of making the Earth more livable.