Space Colonies?

I've read scifi all my life. Star Trek just reinforced it. The Expanse made it look real. I realize that I won't live to get off the planet, but maybe the children of my coworkers will. Exploration is in our blood. Technology is in our brains. We will go out there. Orbital living platforms, Mars, the Asteroid belt, the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. We will figure it out. Just not in our lifetime.
 
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I have long believed that any future for the human race will require that we bail off of this ball and spread out among the stars. Otherwise, the human race will atrophy and die.
A colony on the moon or Mars would be a first step. However, such a colony would be entirely dependent on Earth for all its supplies. The hardships of living in these conditions would require the regular changing out of personnel to avoid mental disease and insanity. In other words, no permanent residents. A steady swapping of crew would be required.
However, setting up a permanent colony on another planet would be much more difficult. First of all the distances involved would mean that such a colony would first and foremost have to be compatible to human life. Atmosphere, gravity, weather and general conditions would have to be within normal human limits. Further, it would have to already have both plant and animal life capable of feeding and sustaining humans. And could be controlled, farmed and harvested as needed. First and foremost to succeed any colony must first establish a viable food chain.
Simply put, you would have to start with an at least partially developed Earth-like planet. Once established, such a colony would be on it own as any resupply from earth would be extremely rare and many years between trips.
To further complicate the process, due to the vast distances involved, humans would have to develop some form of faster than light or "Warp" drive. Current science suggests that there are Earth like planets out there, but they're many light years away.
The future of the human race lies out there among the stars. The question is whether or not we will survive our own stupidity long enough to reach them. :rolleyes:
 
are you sure it wasn't a TZ, titled "To Serve Man?"

It was definitely "To Serve Man"

Ivan

A medium grade sci-fi book from the 80's has some ideas on how to get humans to another planet without people making the trek. "Mayflower II", I don't remember the author. Most likely a Dell book. ITB
 
I've read scifi all my life. Star Trek just reinforced it. The Expanse made it look real. I realize that I won't live to get off the planet, but maybe the children of my coworkers will. Exploration is in our blood. Technology is in our brains. We will go out there. Orbital living platforms, Mars, the Asteroid belt, the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. We will figure it out. Just not in our lifetime.

Great point! It was only 532 years ago that Leonardo da Vinci drew up plans for a flying machine...which was truly unthinkable at that time, given the level of technology available then.

The world we live in today...the things we take for granted -- smart phones, computers, jetliners, email and the internet, GPS, digital music, climate control in our homes, modern high-rise buildings, interstate highways, today's huge cargo ships, etc., etc. -- were the stuff of fantasy only 80 years ago.

Time marches on. Technology improves. New devices get invented. We will colonize space.
 
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The only book to scare the **** of me was, "THE HOT ZONE" about the Ebola virus. Enough virus pathogens in the dot at the end of this sentence to infect the entire population of the United States. Think about it and then build yourself a level 4 isolation room. . . . . . .
 
"The Expanse" is a good representation on how fast humans adapt to low gravity and living in the rest of our solar system. The moon, Mars, the asteriod belt, and the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. It's set a little over 200 years from now. People adapt quickly. In three-four generations, most could not come back to Earth. The gravity is too much.
 
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