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It has been a long time since I wrote about Space travel or Astronomy. Two of my favourite subjects deserve a better airing but I have other things to think about. Humankind has always been inquisitive. It is as though we are pre-programmed to be so but if you think about it, it is hardly surprising. One piece of information leads to another question being asked. Almost everywhere that is habitable on this planet has had at some point human beings living there. Not content with what we have on this world we look toward colonising other worlds. We claim that this world is running out of resources but in reality there are plenty of resources here. It has more to do with mis-management and wastefulness. Assuming humankind eventually colonise another world, and there aren’t that many close enough for it to be a viable proposition presently, what will we do when we get there? Looking at our near neighbours, only one or two of them are candidates for colonisation and even they are hostile environments for human beings. The first place is the Moon. It has no atmosphere which is the first problem. There is little likelihood of water being present there. Mars is a marginally better prospect but even there the atmosphere is extremely rarefied having less pressure than exists on top of Mount Everest! Water probably does exist on Mars but is yet to be proven. Even so, Mars isn’t exactly a human-friendly place either. Massive structures would have to be built to contain a man-made atmosphere on either world or we would have to continuously walk about in a space suit. Then there are the problems of higher radiation, low temperatures and low gravity to contend with. Colonisation of other worlds would be a far greater problem than anything mankind has had to undertake colonising places on Earth. Any colonisation I feel would be simply one dedicated to research for I cannot see the possibility of a mass-exodus from this world ever becoming feasible. Other worlds do exist outside of our solar system of course but they are so far away that travelling there would take generations upon generations to get to them, assuming we found them hospitable in the first place, something very difficult to ascertain from where we are. I like the romanticism of Space colonisation but unless we can develop super speed travel methods we are wasting our time trying. It could be that we are not meant to go elsewhere and that is why the prospect is so limiting. I’ll leave you to decide.
Shirley Anne
Related articles
- Galaxy Should Have Been Colonized By Now (disclose.tv)
- Tim Cavanaugh on Putting Men on Mars (reason.com)
- Is Man In Space Really Necessary? You Betcha! (dougsboomerrants.wordpress.com)
