Author : Emmanuel Azencot Creation : Thu May 23 16:14:05 CEST 2019 Update: Sun Jun 2 16:49:43 CEST 2019 |
Christa McAuliffe, Teacher and Challenger Astronaut
"Space is for everybody. It's not just for a few people in science or math, or for a select group of astronauts.
Supreme Court Justice William Brennan, speech at conference of Judges of U.S. Court of Appeals, 1988
"The study of space societies may have a big dividend for Earth.... Inquiry into the rules that should govern societies in space is likely to provide fresh insights into the governance of societies here on Earth, a field in which, to judge by current events, there is certainly room for progress. This is particularly true because many of the most salient characteristics of space societies, such as strong dependence on sophisticated technology, problems with maintaining environmental quality, the need for people to work together smoothly under stress in close quarters, and the dependence of inhabitants on their society for basic necessities just as food, water, air, and communications, are in many ways simply exaggerations of characteristics already present (and growing) in Earth societies. By studying the problem of space societies we gain a window into not just their future, but our own."And if we colonize Mars ?
Colonize living exo planets ?
After the goal is reached
Moon and orbital stations
Solar orbital stations
Human in SOS
SOS and Earth
SOS is like heaven
Considering the nature of the goal itself and ignoring we are on the way to a major crash, can we find answer on what could be done toward space ? It would be a great help if we can find a way point on the long road.
When thinking to space we are strongly influenced by SF and space programs. They both tend toward occupying other planets, like Mars or for the step after exo-planets. These last ones are actively searched to find Earth like planets we could colonize. But some of them could host life so in this case are we planning to invade them ? Mars is a sterile desert and focus also a lot of near term colonization plans, so why not ?
Since a long time, going to settle in an other planet is an attractor. Human experience is full of examples of colonization. They had been 4 generations of homo colonization of the earth and many more since. So it is obvious to thing about that possibility.
If we use our experience of colonization in the near past history, we can see that former colonies are now separated countries that have they own way. This state was not the choice of colonizers. They have been forced to by the population of the colonies.
Without changing something in the rule set, and on the assumption that we can go to settle on Mars we can figure what is going to append. The population on Mars will accept Earth authority until it depend on. Then he will claim independence and after a war will obtain it.
So we are back to a well know state, greed, poverty, overcrowding, war, etc ... Mars settlement is not a paradise it is just a new hell, as usual. After a while the two planets will race and fight with an overall political and social negative gain.
On the individual side, the payback of Mars settlement is very small. You will have very little chances to go there and the primary colonizer will have take all the good pieces. You'll just have to pay higher taxes for sending there a little club of winners.
Mars colonization does not lead to a social and political significant change in human faith, survive until the end of life for most of us.
"I'm sure the universe is full of intelligent life. It's just been too intelligent to come here."
— Arthur C. Clarke, Science Fiction Writer
Examining that question require to adopt the point of view of a stellar ET species. The civilization that have been able to build the star ship is able to produce any known atoms or crystals and have no need of any thing from an earth like planet.
What kind of stuff can interest ET on Earth ? Mining, nothing they can have from a asteroid with a lower transportation cost. Vegetables, they are probably uneatable, science or art, we are beginners. It is also very unlikely the ET are able to step on earth as there is a 1g gravitational acceleration.
If they plan is to steal the planet, the most reasonable would be to throw one or two asteroid on the planet and go away for a 100 year relativistic trip. While local live has not recovered they can install their own stuff.
Invading Earth or meeting us would be very stupid and will have always the same result : raising new competitors that did not the long evolution they when through. That what explain the Fermi paradox : stellar E.T. just don't give a sheet to us. We are just a source of trouble and nothing on earth interest them. It is just not allowed to approach us.
While stellar ET are not interested by 3rd type encounter with non stellar civilization, they should be interested by tracking more advanced civilization to gather information and technologies.
So thinking to replay 18 th century colonization on exo planets is probably a non sense. Then what would be the step after the goal have been reached ?
The main idea of going to nearby start as a common goal have a natural extension. It is easy to figure what the next step would be if the near star goal succeed. The Milky Way, our galaxy have a center, Sagittarius A*, a 4 million solar mass black hole.
The center of galaxy is a then the obvious meeting point for stellars species. If some extra-terrestrial have succeeded to became stellar, they are probably trying to reach this place.
Our galaxy host at least 100 billion of stars most of them having several planets. So it is very likely that Sagittarius A* have already been reached for more than several millions years. And we start with some 26000 year of handicap as we are in the suburb.
This place is very special because of the black hole. It is likely the black hole is used as a one way time traveling machine to the future but it may also have other applications. So it is difficult to figure what kind of relation or organization the ET have settled near the center. To gather information on what is going there, it would be a great help to find E.T. that already been there.
Following the logic of being driven by a goal, it turn that space exploration will be turned to other stellar civilizations and toward the center of galaxy.
If Mars as exo-planets are not especially in the path, what are the remaining possibilities we can consider ?
Moon has already been reached and its occupation have been dropped a long time ago. It is not the sign of a great interest. The orbital stations seems to have a better success with Mir and ISS.
It is rather easy to send humans in space provided they remain in boxes. Going outside of those boxes is a pain for human as we aren't adapted at all. Compared to remote controlled machines who can cope with low pressure and extreme temperatures we are a very inefficient solution.
Live conditions on the moon are very closed from open space, low gravity and no atmosphere. Solution for the Moon are then quite similar to the ones required for open space.
If we look a bit further, progression of human in space is indeed linked to the time he can survive in open space and less to the time of travel. Managing a suitable environment for human in space is half of the way of moving him in the solar system and beyond.
Then if it is required to be able to live in open space, the easiest way for human is orbital stations. The difficulty comes with distance as the more the station is far the more supplying is expensive and dangerous. It comes that one of the main concern will be autonomy.
Among possible orbits the sun ones offers constant conditions.
Technically the environment of solar orbital stations is an optimum of simplicity. Compare to Mars settlement, which require difficult landing and lift-off with some 36 month of travel, building such device is relatively easy.
The travel to a stable solar orbit is easy and a ship simpler than Apollo mission is enough to reach it. These stations may be very closed from earth, at some fifteen day of travel with nowadays means to Lagrangian point L1.
As sun exposition is constant, no days, no seasons, it is then very easy to capture. Sun light can can be converted to electricity by photocells or can be used to grow plants or seaweeds.
The main challenge is autonomy which require a lot of work on nearly closed ecosystems able to host humans. At now we would not be able to recycle enough to prevent heavy flow of materials from earth.
Such stations can evolve to give humans a stable, safe and comfortable environment which can be scaled until Dyson sphere. While such extreme it not reasonable, it is at least possible to settle there.
At first glimpse it is much less fun than a planet colony. It will probably attract less volunteers but this is also an advantage who combined with the fact that it have the ability to be very easily ruled, offers many possibilities.
Among possible occupants a particular population could find there a convenient housing : old peoples. With low gravity and controlled environment the stations offers convenient hosting for old age.
On a solar orbital stations, human is completely dependent of the device. The admittance prerequisite to the station can be as arbitrary as require to much social equilibrium.
These two last properties combined can drive to a new kind of collective organization with a new social contract. Any one can refuse to sign and stay on Earth. You may be sent on board if you sign it, and you will stay there for the rest of your life.
Because of low gravity in the station it is possible for people unable to walk on 1 G gravity to move freely. Even if one cannot move at all he can be connected to interface and will be able to control robots, access to social media, play games etc ...
Following this logic, one can be amputee from sick part, legs, arms and possibly organs. Pushing a little more, one could be reduced to his brain connected to the matrix.
If the idea of being a brain swimming in a fish bowl may not seduce a lot of young, it is likely there will change there mind when old as they could gain some years of life and at a certain horizon hundred of years.
On social side, this is a collective that cannot grow by it self. It is bound to a clear contract. Most are old, wise, educated and experienced.
As time goes the best of human knowledge will be on board and the stations will take over on decisions. Those places will become the normal environment for a new pre stellar specie.
SOS can host a new world for humanity. For many reasons most occupant of SOS will soon be unable to go back to Earth starting with bones loss, muscle atrophy, cardiovascular deconditioning etc.
With the deep dependence to science and technologies the occupants will have to care of these topics much more carefully than on Earth were it is possible to dream of living in the savanna.
As life expectation is likely to increase in space station as time goes, the knowledge, the know how will accumulate there and at a certain horizon stations will take over on Earth.
While the Earth becomes a suburb of civilization, important decision will have to be taken about demography for Earth to provide human at the suitable rate which will tend to zero.
One may have noticed that station may share some of the heaven properties, it is high in the sky, it is at the end of terrestrial life, it is comfortable and quite, it is a very long period of time etc ...
From inside it is more like hell than heaven, just because heaven is very boring for humans. Space in itself is incredibly boring. Nothing append during centuries, travels are long, transmission lag make communication tedious and most actions take years to complete.
In the SOS world, time is on an other scale and this will leave us a lot of time for virtual entertainment mixed with real job. So mixed, that it is hard to tell when it is real.
May be this is possible and sound convenient as it opens a new space of options for each. After some years of thinking it is the best I have found so far, but there is an infinity of ways that reach the goal and there can exist better ones or improvement of this one.