Space colonization

From Wikinfo

[[es:colonizaci�n espacial]]

Space colonization, also called space settlement and space humanization, is the hypothetical permanent autonomous (self sufficient) human habitation of locations outside Earth. It is a major theme in science fiction. Several design groups at NASA and elsewhere have examined the feasibility of various schemes.

Contents 1 Method 1.1 Life support 1.2 Self-replication 1.3 Population size 2 Location 2.1 Planet, natural satellite or asteroid 2.1.1 Earth (analog) 2.1.2 Mars 2.1.3 The Moon 2.1.4 Europa 2.2 Space 2.2.1 Space habitat 2.2.2 Spaceship 3 Justification 4 Advocacy 5 Fictional depictions 6 Related articles 7 External links 7.1 References

Method

Life support

For humans to live permanently outside Earth, the habitat must maintain variables within an appropriate range, ie. homeostasis. The habitat must contain non-human species--for example, microorganisms and crop plants.

The relationship between organisms, their habitat and the non-Earth environment can be:

• Organisms and their habitat fully isolated from the environment (examples include artificial biosphere, Biosphere 2, life support (environment))
• Changing the environment to become a life-friendly habitat (a process called terraforming)
• Changing organisms to become more compatible with the environment, ie. integrating the habitat into organisms (See also: genetic engineering, transhumanism, cyborg)

A combination of the above is also possible.

Self-replication

Self-replication is an optional attribute, but highly desirable because it allows an exponential increase in colonies.

It could be argued that the establishment of a colony would be Earth's first act of self-replication.

See also: von Neumann probe, von Neumann machine, clanking replicator, self-replication

Population size

In 2002, the anthropologist Dr John Moore estimated that a population of 150-180 would allow normal reproduction for 60-80 generations--equivalent to 2000 years.

Location

The location of colonization can be:

• On a planet, natural satellite or asteroid
  • To prepare for space colonies, analog colonies for research and development can be constructed on Earth.
• In space, on a stationary space habitat or a mobile spaceship

Location is a frequent point of contention between space colonization advocates.

Planet, natural satellite or asteroid

Earth (analog)

The most famous attempt to build an analog colony is Biosphere 2, which attempted to duplicate Earth's biosphere.

Many space agencies build testbeds for advanced life support systems, but these are designed for long duration human spaceflight, not colonization.

Mars

Mars is a frequent topic of discussion. Its size and mass are similar to Earth, it has large water reserves, and has carbon (locked as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere). It may have gone though similar geological and hydrological processes as Earth and contain valuable mineral ores, but this is debated. Equipment is available to extract in-situ resources (water, air, etc.) from the Martian ground and atmosphere.

However, its atmosphere is very thin (averaging 800 Pa or about 0.8% of Earth sea-level atmospheric pressure) and the climate is colder. There is also the problem of native bacteria, which may live on Mars.

See : Exploration of Mars

The Moon

Due to its proximity and relative familiarity, Earth's Moon is also frequently discussed as a target for colonization. It has the benefits of close proximity to Earth and lower gravity, allowing for easier exchange of goods and services. A major drawback of the Moon is its low abundance of volatiles necessary for life such as hydrogen and carbon. Water ice deposits thought to exist in some polar craters could serve as significant sources for these elements.

See also : Moon colonization.

Europa

The Artemis Project designed a plan to colonize Europa, one of Jupiter's moons. It would use igloos made of ice refrozen melted by the microwaves on the surface. For submarine/drill would be use for drilling into the Europan ice crust, as well as any sub-surface ocean. It also discusses use of "air pockets" for human inhabitation.

Space

Space habitat

A space habitat, also called space colony and orbital colony, is a space station which is intended as a permanent settlement rather than as a simple waystation or other specialized facility. They would be literal "cities" in space, where people would live and work and raise families. No space habitats have yet been constructed, but many design proposals have been made with varying degrees of realism by both science fiction authors and engineers.

Most of the real work on space habitats was carried out in the 1970s by workshops led by Gerard K. O'Neill in the post-Apollo highs at NASA. Several designs were studied, some in depth, with sizes ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 people. Attempts were made to make the habitats as self-supporting as possible, but all of the designs relied on regular shipments from Earth or the Moon, notably for volatiles. However, more recent research has indicated that certain asteroids contain significant amounts of volatives such as water and ammonia, making it possible to reduce this reliance considerably.

One problem with the design that was not considered in any real depth is why any of them would be needed. The stated problem was to house workers needed for the construction of solar power satellites, which they predicted would require a peak of about 25,000 workers. However if this was the purpose, the habitat designs were certainly not utilitarian; they all contained housing for complete families, huge open spaces, and considerable parkland. An oil platform would appear to be a better model for such purposes. The workshops appeared to work in reverse, inventing the "solution", and then casting about for a need.

Designs proposed include:

• Bernal sphere - "Island One"
• Stanford torus - "Island Two"
• O'Neill cylinder - "Island Three"

Spaceship

A colony ship would be similar to a space habitat, except with major propulsion capabilities and independent power generation.

Concepts proposed in hard science fiction include:

• Generation ship, hypothetical starship that would travel much slower than light between stars, with the crew going through multiple generations before the journey is complete
• Sleeper ship, hypothetical spaceship in which most or all of the crew spend the journey in some form of hibernation or suspended animation

Justification

In 2001, the space news website SPACE.com asked Freeman Dyson, J. Richard Gott and Sid Goldstein for reasons why some humans should live in space. Their respective answers [1] were:

• "To Spread Life and Beautify the Universe"
• "To Ensure the Survival of Our Species"
• "To Make Money and Save the Environment"

Louis J. Halle, formerly of the United States Department of State, wrote in Foreign Affairs (Summer 1980) that the colonization of space will protect humanity in the event of global nuclear warfare. [2]

The scientist Paul Davies also supports the view that if a planetary catastrophe threatens the survival of the human species on Earth, a self-sufficient colony could "reverse-colonize" the Earth and restore human civilization.

The author and journalist William E. Burrows and the biochemist Robert Shapiro proposed a private project, the Alliance to Rescue Civilization, with the goal of establishing an off-Earth backup of human civilization.

Advocacy

Space advocacy organizations:

• The Alliance to Rescue Civilization plans to establish backups of human civilization on the Moon and other locations away from Earth. [3]
• The Artemis Project plans to set up a private lunar surface station. [4]
• The British Interplanetary Society, founded in 1933, is the world's longest established space society. [5]
• The Living Universe Foundation has a detailed plan in which the entire galaxy is colonized. [6]
• The Mars Society promotes Robert Zubrin's Mars Direct plan and the settlement of Mars. [7]
• The National Space Society is an organization with the vision of "people living and working in thriving communities beyond the Earth." [8]
• The Planetary Society is the largest space interest group, but has an emphasis on robotic exploration and the search for extraterrestrial life. [9]
• The Space Frontier Foundation promotes strong free market, capitalist views about space development. [10]
• The Space Studies Institute was founded by Gerard K. O'Neill to fund the study of space habitats. [11]
• Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) is a student organization founded in 1980 at MIT and Princeton. [12]

Fictional depictions

Films and books that depict space colonies of Earth include:

• 2001: A Space Odyssey (in space)
• Alien, Aliens, and Alien 3 (on a few different planets)
• Babylon 5 (around the star Epsilon Eridani)
• Cowboy Bebop (throughout the Solar System)
• Martian Chronicles, The (on Mars)
• Solaris (around the planet Solaris)
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (around the planet Bajor)
• Total Recall (on Mars)
• Mobile Suit Gundam (in the "earth sphere", orbits close to that of the Moon around the Earth)

Related articles

• Generation ship
• Ocean colonization
• Underground city
• Underground colonization

External links

• Biological Effects of Weightlessness
• space colony - The Encyclopedia of Astrobiology, Astronomy, and Spaceflight
• HobbySpace: Life in Space: Section C: Colonies, Habitats, Space Industry, etc Extensive collection of links
• Orbital Space Settlements Al Globus (NASA) advocates orbital space habitats, not planetary habitats.
• Space Development: The Case Against Mars by K. Eric Drexler. A 1985 article with arguments against Martian colonization.
• Space Settlements: A Design Study Authored by the participants of "The 1975 Summer Faculty Fellowship Program in Engineering Systems Design" under the sponsorship of NASA and American Society for Engineering Education. Proposal for a space habitat with 10,000 people.
• The Political Economy of Very Large Space Projects John Hickman argues that only government can afford the high initial investment for very large space development projects.
• Space and Human Survival: My Views on the Importance of Colonizing Space Sylvia Engdahl discusses the "critical stage" where a level of technology allows both space colonization and human extinction.
• Space Settlement discusses the orbital space settlement concepts of Gerard O'Neill.
• PERMANENT (Projects to Employ Resources of the Moon and Asteroids Near Earth in the Near Term) is a guide to websites about asteroid settlement.
• Mars colonization:
  • http://mars.esa.int
  • http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer
• Warm-Blooded Plants and Freeze-Dried Fish Freeman Dyson predicts that space colonization will only be affordable after a hundred years; and that biotechnology, not propulsion, will be the enabling factor.
• Testimony of Michael D. Griffin Hearing on "The Future of Human Space Flight". Michael D. Griffin believes that the "human space flight program is in the long run possibly the most significant activity in which our nation is engaged".
• A Two-Planet Species? William Langewiesche writes that the American people should be asked "not whether there are immediate benefits to be gleaned from a human presence in space but, more fundamentally, whether we are to be a two-planet species".

References

• Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Space_colonization" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_colonization, used under the GNU Free Documentation License