Should humanity be in such a hurry to get into space?

[The Emerald Legion]

I think that humanity as a unified force doesnt exist. America however should go to space and secure Mars before anyone else can. Also the moon.

The Red (Mars) White (Moon) and Blue. (Earth).

You can’t just plant a flag on a celestial body and claim it for team America, it would be a violation of the outer space treaty. Not to mention completely unenforceable.

Oh no! A treaty.

It's not like we've ever violated treaties that were inconvenient and stupid before.

It's totally enforcable.

[Unstoppable Empire of Doom]

Well we can do it now. Tomorrow there could be a nuclear war closing the proverbial door forever. So.... yes. It is imperative that we develop space faring capabilities sooner rather than potentially never.

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

Yes. If we continue to fuck up this planet, might as well leave so we can get another start.

Or, create a human space empire. That would be neat.

[Farnhamia]

Space is the next Frontier, and there's absolutely no reason for any developed country in this day and age to a lack a space program. For this reason, I was actively campainingfor Australia to build a space program. We need to launch satelites for communication, security and weather purposes, and the militaries of the world would benefit greatly from space exploration. But beyond that, should we really be in such a hurry to explore space? I mean, if there was any benefit, the private sector would be working on getting there. I know, I know- astroid mining. I'm sure someone's working on that. And indeed Virgin Galactic are working on profitable space endeavours, e.g. space tourism.

Sure you could argue that Elon Mask is also working on space travel, but he's doing that as a hobby, rather than a business venture. I mean, beyond that, I really don't see how we'll benefit from, say, a Mars colony for atleast 50 years. Till then, it's just an expensive, pointless method of sending people to sending people to the middle of nowhere for the rest of their lives. In the meanwhile, we have homelessness, disease and everything else to worry about here on terra firma. And that doesn't mention the ethical and environmental concerns. I could create an entire thread on the ethics of space travel alone.

But space travel is cool
So? Don't look to NationStates, away from this websites space travel is a very niche hobby. Why should car enthuist, train enthuist, etc. enthuist pay taxes to fund your hobby?

Space will solve overpopulation
A Mars colony will be able to support, what, maybe, 100 people, max, in the foreseeable future. This is a drop in the ocean for overpopulation. And it'll need to be supplied by Earth anyways.

We can a lot about space from space travel
Just because we can, doesn't mean we should. What benefit could we get from learning about space? If you think learning about space should be a priority because it's interesting, please refer to my earlier point about space being cool

I don't know, whilst space exploration is invediable, I just don't think we should be in any hurry to fund space exploration now. I think wr have bigger priorities to focus on here o Earth. What do you think?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benefits_ ... xploration

[Vistulange]

There is no "hurry", unless your measurement of humanity is NSG, which frankly is filled to the brim with fringe ideas from all over the place.

It's just the next frontier, and the private sector is investing in it. No big deal.

[Unueco]

Simply put, having mankind exist solely on one planet is putting all our eggs in one basket. It is worth it to seek colonization efforts to expand our survivability chances as a species. We are a far way from that, but we have to start somewhere.

[Dooom35796821595]

You can’t just plant a flag on a celestial body and claim it for team America, it would be a violation of the outer space treaty. Not to mention completely unenforceable.

Oh no! A treaty.

It's not like we've ever violated treaties that were inconvenient and stupid before.

It's totally enforcable.

How? If another country goes to the moon America will start WWIII? Over a lifeless ball of rock and dust?

[Ifreann]

The minute they build the USS enterprise and commission it for launch, i swear me and five other people are hijacking it and leaving this dump.

It belongs in a museum.

[The Emerald Legion]

Oh no! A treaty.

It's not like we've ever violated treaties that were inconvenient and stupid before.

It's totally enforcable.

How? If another country goes to the moon America will start WWIII? Over a lifeless ball of rock and dust?

Pff. No. We just kill their invasion force into sovereign American territory.

[Eahland]

Hahahahaha "hurry to get into space".

Fifty years ago, we were in a hurry to get into space. We wanted to beat the Russians to the moon, and we did. The Apollo missions lifted three-man crews to space, carried them 400,000 km from Earth, landed them on the surface of another celestial body, and brought them home again safely.

And then we stopped.

We retreated back to Earth, to low orbit. The record for humanity's greatest distance from our birthplace, set by Apollo 13 in 1970, remains unbroken, even unchallenged. Since the last Apollo mission in 1972, no human has left Earth orbit. No human has been even half a percent of the distance from Earth the Apollo astronauts traveled. We replaced the Saturn V, which could deliver a crew to the moon, with the shuttles, which were a half-assed compromise that were supposed to do a bunch of different things and didn't do any of them well. And then we stopped flying even those, because they were getting old and broken, and we haven't replaced them.

We are not in any hurry to get into space.

But we should be. There are only two ultimate destinies for humanity: Either we die on this rock from resource starvation, or we spread to the stars. We will reach a point where we don't have enough resources available to be able to make the giant step we need to be able to get to more. We need to go to space, and we need to do it before we can't.

[Neko-koku]

Hahahahaha "hurry to get into space".

Fifty years ago, we were in a hurry to get into space. We wanted to beat the Russians to the moon, and we did. The Apollo missions lifted three-man crews to space, carried them 400,000 km from Earth, landed them on the surface of another celestial body, and brought them home again safely.

And then we stopped.

We retreated back to Earth, to low orbit. The record for humanity's greatest distance from our birthplace, set by Apollo 13 in 1970, remains unbroken, even unchallenged. Since the last Apollo mission in 1972, no human has left Earth orbit. No human has been even half a percent of the distance from Earth the Apollo astronauts traveled. We replaced the Saturn V, which could deliver a crew to the moon, with the shuttles, which were a half-assed compromise that were supposed to do a bunch of different things and didn't do any of them well. And then we stopped flying even those, because they were getting old and broken, and we haven't replaced them.

We are not in any hurry to get into space.

But we should be. There are only two ultimate destinies for humanity: Either we die on this rock from resource starvation, or we spread to the stars. We will reach a point where we don't have enough resources available to be able to make the giant step we need to be able to get to more. We need to go to space, and we need to do it before we can't.

Yes. Space colonization now.

[Antityranicals]

Cut government spending on space, and let the market decide whether it's best to go to space or not. I don't know if exploring space is best for humanity, but I do know that the best way to decide is to get the government out of it.

[Dooom35796821595]

How? If another country goes to the moon America will start WWIII? Over a lifeless ball of rock and dust?

Pff. No. We just kill their invasion force into sovereign American territory.

But it’s not American territory just because America says it is. And killing another country’s astronauts would be an act of war.

[USS Monitor]

What environmental concerns? If you mean the pollution on Earth from launching spacecraft, that's tiny compared to everything else we're doing to the environment. Are you also going to ban NASCAR because cars pollute the environment?

If you mean "damaging" other planets, so what? Nothing lives there. Who or what is hurt by changing the environment there? The reason it's so important to protect the environment here on Earth is because there's an eco-system here and we rely on it for our own survival. On other planets where there isn't any native life, that's not an issue.

[LiberNovusAmericae]

What environmental concerns? If you mean the pollution on Earth from launching spacecraft, that's tiny compared to everything else we're doing to the environment. Are you also going to ban NASCAR because cars pollute the environment?

If you mean "damaging" other planets, so what? Nothing lives there. Who or what is hurt by changing the environment there? The reason it's so important to protect the environment here on Earth is because there's an eco-system here and we rely on it for our own survival. On other planets where there isn't any native life, that's not an issue.

I've read an article once that objected to mining or certain types of colonizing on Mars because it would destroy the planet's natural beauty. My thought was similar to yours. Nothing lives there, so who cares.

[USS Monitor]

What environmental concerns? If you mean the pollution on Earth from launching spacecraft, that's tiny compared to everything else we're doing to the environment. Are you also going to ban NASCAR because cars pollute the environment?

If you mean "damaging" other planets, so what? Nothing lives there. Who or what is hurt by changing the environment there? The reason it's so important to protect the environment here on Earth is because there's an eco-system here and we rely on it for our own survival. On other planets where there isn't any native life, that's not an issue.

I've read an article once that objected to mining or certain types of colonizing on Mars because it would destroy the planet's natural beauty. My thought was similar to yours. Nothing lives there, so who cares.

If we build colonies, more people will be able to enjoy the natural beauty.

[The Hindustani State]

Mars will take much longer to properly colonize, Venus would be a much better and more reliable colony. Venus’ gravity and air pressure are very similar to that of Earth, living below the cloud layer is near-impossible due to heat, so while terraforming machines are pumping stuff out down there, towers can be built around the height of the Empire State Building, which will penetrate the cloud layer. At this altitude, you could theoretically just walk outside of your colony with nothing but an oxygen mask and look down at the clouds below. Venus is also much easier to supply, since it’s the closest planet to Earth and much easier to rendezvous with.

Of course, everything I just said is completely hypothetical, but with the current advancements in space engineering that are rapidly being made by both private and public companies, the technology required to perform the hypothetical above may or may not be available in the next decade. Much like the first few New World colonies, you’ll have to start somewhere, so I definitely think the colonies are a good idea, since it’ll pave the way for proper terraforming and population shift.

[Valrifell]

Yes, cuz it's friggin awesome.

Oh and pushing the boundaries of human innovation and knowledge.

[LiberNovusAmericae]

I've read an article once that objected to mining or certain types of colonizing on Mars because it would destroy the planet's natural beauty. My thought was similar to yours. Nothing lives there, so who cares.

If we build colonies, more people will be able to enjoy the natural beauty.

If I recall correctly, they also thought the planet will just be a play thing for the rich. I unfortunately cannot find the article to confirm or link here, as my search engine keywords are not bringing it up. It's been months since I've read it.

[The Hindustani State]

If we build colonies, more people will be able to enjoy the natural beauty.

If I recall correctly, they also thought the planet will just be a play thing for the rich. I unfortunately cannot find the article to confirm or link here. It's been months since I've read it.

Ya know, if NASA or SpaceX establishes a colony on Mars, I won’t be surprised to see people creating joint-stock companies to send people out to make more colonies, it’ll be like the New World all over again

[Farnhamia]

Mars will take much longer to properly colonize, Venus would be a much better and more reliable colony. Venus’ gravity and air pressure are very similar to that of Earth, living below the cloud layer is near-impossible due to heat, so while terraforming machines are pumping stuff out down there, towers can be built around the height of the Empire State Building, which will penetrate the cloud layer. At this altitude, you could theoretically just walk outside of your colony with nothing but an oxygen mask and look down at the clouds below. Venus is also much easier to supply, since it’s the closest planet to Earth and much easier to rendezvous with.

Of course, everything I just said is completely hypothetical, but with the current advancements in space engineering that are rapidly being made by both private and public companies, the technology required to perform the hypothetical above may or may not be available in the next decade. Much like the first few New World colonies, you’ll have to start somewhere, so I definitely think the colonies are a good idea, since it’ll pave the way for proper terraforming and population shift.

Venus? The surface temperature of Venus is 864F (462C) and the atmospheric pressure is 91 atmospheres. Lead melts at 621F (327C).

[Neko-koku]

If I recall correctly, they also thought the planet will just be a play thing for the rich. I unfortunately cannot find the article to confirm or link here. It's been months since I've read it.

Ya know, if NASA or SpaceX establishes a colony on Mars, I won’t be surprised to see people creating joint-stock companies to send people out to make more colonies, it’ll be like the New World all over again

That will be so cool.

[Valrifell]

Mars will take much longer to properly colonize, Venus would be a much better and more reliable colony. Venus’ gravity and air pressure are very similar to that of Earth, living below the cloud layer is near-impossible due to heat, so while terraforming machines are pumping stuff out down there, towers can be built around the height of the Empire State Building, which will penetrate the cloud layer. At this altitude, you could theoretically just walk outside of your colony with nothing but an oxygen mask and look down at the clouds below. Venus is also much easier to supply, since it’s the closest planet to Earth and much easier to rendezvous with.

Of course, everything I just said is completely hypothetical, but with the current advancements in space engineering that are rapidly being made by both private and public companies, the technology required to perform the hypothetical above may or may not be available in the next decade. Much like the first few New World colonies, you’ll have to start somewhere, so I definitely think the colonies are a good idea, since it’ll pave the way for proper terraforming and population shift.

Venus? The surface temperature of Venus is 864F (462C) and the atmospheric pressure is 91 atmospheres.

There are parts of the Venusian atmosphere with a pressure comparable to one atm, meaning the only thing we have to worry about is the hot and the lack of air.

[The Hindustani State]

Mars will take much longer to properly colonize, Venus would be a much better and more reliable colony. Venus’ gravity and air pressure are very similar to that of Earth, living below the cloud layer is near-impossible due to heat, so while terraforming machines are pumping stuff out down there, towers can be built around the height of the Empire State Building, which will penetrate the cloud layer. At this altitude, you could theoretically just walk outside of your colony with nothing but an oxygen mask and look down at the clouds below. Venus is also much easier to supply, since it’s the closest planet to Earth and much easier to rendezvous with.

Of course, everything I just said is completely hypothetical, but with the current advancements in space engineering that are rapidly being made by both private and public companies, the technology required to perform the hypothetical above may or may not be available in the next decade. Much like the first few New World colonies, you’ll have to start somewhere, so I definitely think the colonies are a good idea, since it’ll pave the way for proper terraforming and population shift.

Venus? The surface temperature of Venus is 864F (462C) and the atmospheric pressure is 91 atmospheres. Lead melts at 621F (327C).

Did you read the entire post?

[Farnhamia]

Venus? The surface temperature of Venus is 864F (462C) and the atmospheric pressure is 91 atmospheres.

There are parts of the Venusian atmosphere with a pressure comparable to one atm, meaning the only thing we have to worry about is the hot and the lack of air.

I never heard that, source, please?

And anyway, the famous clouds are made of sulfuric acid. Prime development space!