both are not mutually exclusive
Yep. People definitely want to colonize the first one. The only thing keeping apartments off that location is strict governmental regulation of space like that. The desire is definitely there though.
I don’t think space travel is inherently a bad idea. But I don’t think it’d be the billionaires to get us there, especially not someone like Elon.
He very definitely would pull the same shit as the bad guys in Total Recall while pretending he’s a hero
It’s not about prime real estate, it’s about increasing the redundancy of humanity’s survival. Two planets are better than one.
There seems to be a large amount of overlap between people who say things like “It’s hubris to think that humans can change the atmosphere of the earth enough to make a noticeable difference in 400 years” and “we can make Mars inhabitable by humans in 50 years”
It’s also not about Terraforming! That’s a goal for a few thousand years down the line. For now, just spreading out our habitats is a good idea.
In order to colonize mars, having a good space station in orbit would help out immensely. We’re talking big enough to stretch out and hold a few hundred people.
The station would need to grow crops and have minor but flexible manufacturing.
At that point, why would you colonize mars vs just make more stations?
For real, resource extraction is a big one. Finding ice means they can make, besides water, oxygen and rocket fuel. Not to mention that shelters for radiation are incredibly hard to make without a huge amount of mass, which we cannot efficiently get into orbit without a space elevator. Hence being able to extract it from the location of the colony, say dig into the ground or build thick walls with bricks made from soil, is necessary for long term survival of the inhabitants. I think it is cool that due to these reasons having air balloons over Venus might even be a better option due to it having a protective atmosphere.
You can make a radiation field by running a large motor that would save you from the solar radiation.
In space you always have access to the sun. A cheap form of power. You need a lot more batteries if you’re on the planet.Venus is a much better idea over mars.
Didn’t know that it was feasible to create a radiation field by running a large motor. Not that I doubt you, but if you have a source I would be very happy to read more about it.
I heard about it on one of Isaac Arthur’s videos. I can’t remember which one, but the analogy he used was that earth’s magnetosphere is essentially a big motor created by earth’s metal core spinning. (Oversimplified) So you should be able to build a motor that would shield a station
Mining is a big reason. And radiation shielding, as others have said.
Right now, even with water recycling systems, we still have to ship water to the ISS. A planet or moon also offers way more radiation protection by tunneling underground than any spacecraft at this time could provide.
I’d say we go for Deimos and Phobos first and set up mining operations there before spreading to the Martian surface. Their super-low gravity will make shipping materials easier. They essentially are natural space stations, just add infrastructure.
Space colonies are cool but we’re nowhere close to being able to make a self-sustaining colony
While I fundamentally agree, it’s inevitable that Earth and Mars would go to war in that scenario.
Okay, but The Planet Crafter is really cool for exactly that reason. You slowly but surely make a barren wasteland livable, it’s extremely rewarding
Edit: I may have misunderstood the intention of this meme, but I still stand behind Planet Crafter being a fun game
Lol so true.
Villia Starlight strikes again.
It doesnt matter we’ll ALL die here on earth we’re never going anywhere else…LOL…including the super rich big tech assholes who just want to exploit space for their bottom line, they weren’t ever interested in “the survival of humanity” or “new horizons”, anyone buying that line of junk is a clown. With the current state of things their “big dreamer ideas” will all die here with them along with the rest of us in the floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, toxic air, polluted water, blistering heat, and the eventually a new ice age.
That’s the one thing that makes me feel somewhat better about the environment getting wrecked: At least some of the folks behind it will go down with me.
Doctor
I wouldn’t mind leaving a lot of Earth’s natural beauty alone, as much as SpaceX’s mission doesn’t resonate with me very much
If you get in at the very beginning, you’re in a good position to set yourself up to be one of the ones in charge. If it’s one thing all of the Musk cultists are about, it’s trying to get in good because they think they might be near the top of the food chain for a change.