I think the problem with space exploration is simply that we are primitive, we only understand things which give us economic benefits within a decade. Going to space is just something we have to do on a longer scale, hundreds of years. Not doing it is equivalent of a tribe staying within a few miles of their village generation after generation. In the long run, they won’t survive and they certainly won’t prosper and be great.
Update:
By the way, I’m reading the “Bobiverse” series by Dennis E. Taylor. It’s excellent hard SF about robotised human minds colonizing other systems. Funny too.
The Chelyabinsk and Tunguska events show that we can expect to be hit by an object capable of destroying a city about once per century. That, for me, is good enough reason to learn how to change the orbits of asteroids. And while we're there we might as well learn how to mine them. I'm not convinced that having a Moon or Mars colony will do much to improve our survival prospects, but I've no doubt we'll do it once space travel becomes cheaper.
ReplyDeleteAll this is apart from the scientific benefits of having our instruments out there, which are obvious.
Good point.
ReplyDeleteI hate the idea that we have to colonize another planet solely because we are on an unescapable course towards an unlivable planet. To paraphrase R. Buckminster Fuller, We are all astronauts, living on Spaceship Earth, with the sun as our power source.
ReplyDeleteGoodness, I did not say that “we are on an unescapable course towards an unlivable planet”. I do not believe that at all. But planetary disasters have happened before, and sooner or later they will again.
ReplyDeleteYes, it’d be a great idea to set up a meteor defense system. A must, I’d say. But you never know, one could be too big, or some other kind of disaster could happen. It simply makes sense not to keep all your eggs in one basket.
I'm not sure about the "eggs in one basket" argument. How long will it take to make a Mars colony that's truly independent of Earth? What resources will they need to make their own replacement phones, computers, vehicles, medicines - and replacements for the machines that make those things? They won't have the option of reverting to a low-tech economy, they need at least the technology to create air, water, fuel and fertilizer.
ReplyDeleteNeal Stephenson in "Seveneves" has an interesting story about surviving when Earth is uninhabitable. It's a good read, but I think it wouldn't be quite as easy as he thinks.
That’s a good point. But we are talking about the survival of the speicies. We should be around for millions and millions of years, if it takes hundreds of years to colonize, perhaps even to other systems, it would still be worth it I think.
ReplyDeletePersonally I also hope that we find benevolent aliens who may help. (Of course it’s also a risk we may meet the Borg or whatnot.)
By the way, I’m reading the “Bobiverse” series by Dennis E. Taylor. It’s excellent hard SF about robotised human minds colonizing other systems. Funny too.
ReplyDeletePS I just thought: your analogy with the isolated tribe is wrong. The tribe is missing out because they know nothing of the rest of the world. Also, probably, they are limited to one religion and one form of society. We, by contrast, already know an amazing amount about the rest of the solar system (and the universe!), and will come to know more. And we are aware of many religions and forms of society.
ReplyDeleteI see your point, David. I just have a feeling that despite the great diversity of humanity it seems likely that if and when we have had communications with a couple of alien civilizations for a century or two, we will have learned a lot. At least technologically, and maybe even philosophically and whatnot.
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