ForumsWEPRPlanetary Expansion of the Human Race

109 22238
Red42321
offline
Red42321
11 posts
Nomad

What I'd like to discuss in this thread is theories related to how the human race will advance, in regards to planetary expansion. This is important, because eventually, Earth will no longer be able to sustain human life. Whether it be caused by man, or natural events, Earth won't last forever. If the human race wants to survive, we must expand sooner or later.

I believe the first step is the colonization of the Moon. Currently, NASA is planning to create a Lunar Outpost, sometime between the years of 2019 and 2024. If this goes as planned, the colonization of the Moon will take a great leap forward. It may still be decades after the event that normal, everyday citizens, are able to live on the moon, and even longer until the colonies are able to sustain themselves; but the base of all future operations will have been established. Additionally, the colonization of the Moon will set the system by which nations claim land on all planets.

Will humans work together as one unit to colonize the solar system, and eventually the universe; or will future planets work the same as Earth, fighting amongst itself; leading to disestablishment eventually. If the latter is chosen, and nations are established, will they stay in collaboration with the government of other planets, or will there be no alliance between the human race?

I apologize for getting a bit astray from my topic of Moon colonization, but it's all very interesting stuff.

The next step, after successfully establishing a stable, time weathered Lunar government, is to colonize another planet. Most likely Mars. Of course, Mars is more likely to allow humans to live a life comparable to what their Earth dwelling ancestors live; due to its ability to be terraformed, while we are unsure whether or not the Moon could be terraformed.

Here is an artists interpretation of what a terraformed Moon may look like.

http://www.cosmosfrontier.com/files/TerraformedMoonFromEarth2.jpg

And here is the possible terraformation (word?) process of Mars.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/MarsTransitionV.jpg

Note the resemblance to Earth that the terraformed Mars has.

Scientists have also considered the possibility of terraforming Venus, which would be a much more difficult challenge than either the Moon or Mars.

I'm not going to get into the details of the process (as it's quite complicated), but if you would like to learn more about it the information is online. I will show you pictures however, showing the change that would need to be made. Something to note, is that due to global warming, Venus is the warmest planet in our solar system. Could that be the fate of Earth, after abandoned? Only to be once again terraformed and restored by another species, or the descendants of the long forgotten inhabitants of Earth?

Current state of Venus
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2007/11/29/venus_narrowweb__300x336,0.jpg

Artists rendition of a terraformed Venus
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/TerraformedVenus.jpg/200px-TerraformedVenus.jpg

Please keep in mind, that this entire thread is based purely on theories, some person, and that in no event should my outline be thought of as the end all, be all, of human expansion. It's simply what I believe may or may not happen, depending on events of the next few decades, and century.

I know this is a very long OP, so I won't go into detail about other discussion points, but I would like to point them out.

*Effect on humans, as a species? How would living on these planets affect the evolutionary path of humans?
*Will humans be able to achieve planetary expansion at all? If so, how far do you believe we will get?
*Will an alliance be made between all planets? How likely is it that the human race grows apart and eventually disassociates with the others as evolution and time goes on?

Your views on the entire matter?

  • 109 Replies
balerion07
offline
balerion07
2,837 posts
Peasant

But if we had high oxygen levels, Oxygen would be poisonous to us. Why?


Oxygen in high concentrations IS poisonous.
Elitemagical
offline
Elitemagical
1,207 posts
Nomad

But if we had high oxygen levels, Oxygen would be poisonous to us. Why?


Too much of anything will kill you.

Why would we try to escape, from our mother planet, to head to another planet, just to start at sqaure one again?


Square one? Don't be silly! Getting further away from this planet is a gateway to square three and beyond!

Or you would have to do a entirely new way to gather food of which is not presently known to us.


New way? New ways would be bad. As we do not know if there is edible life, or if there is hostile life-hunting is not the greatest idea, unless we know there are perfect replicas to cows and sheep etc..

planet we find is inhabited, are we sure we can have no fear of them, or if their intelligent, even trust them?


A little bit of fear is good! If we stay away from other life due to fear, there's less chance of being killed-if the people on that planet are killed, we know not to go there. And it would not matter too much.
small town dweller


Say you go to another country. And you know nothing about it. And you did no research, and your jsut stuck there. how would you feel? its the same as going to another planet.


No it's not, that's why your every day man dare not go to the moon.
calcan
offline
calcan
34 posts
Nomad

Getting crops to grow on other planet in a large enough quantity to support a large colony would take massive amounts of resources.

Elitemagical
offline
Elitemagical
1,207 posts
Nomad

Getting crops to grow on other planet in a large enough quantity to support a large colony would take massive amounts of resources.


If a planet could sustain human life, then it could quite easily sustain plants. The problem we have is how to transport both plants and humans; and if humans cannot get there, there is no need for plants to go there.

A few examples are Gleissing 86, which is a planet entirely covered by H20 Liquid water


To add to my previous point on page 3, the planet is called Gliese 581 c, and there is not evidence it does have water on it.
ComradeWolf
offline
ComradeWolf
358 posts
Nomad

You must be talking about a diffrent planet, or I mixed the name up. I'm basing it on names that refer to a near accurate approach. The names won't be exact all the time, im only human, I make mistakes. And when I said Oxyeg nsi poisonous to us, Why? I answered that below, to show people who didn't know.

Anyways, There is a planet that we have found that is covered completly by water, by accurate photo's and probe data. However, the only problem to this is to make a proper landing device. You can live on a floating, man made isle of construction work, as long as you have a way to obtain fresh, drinkable water, and have fish to eat, (or any other sea creature avaible, or some other form of food.)

Now when I ment a diffrent way of gathering food, I mean something that we haven't even thought about, something about like a invention that hasn't been invented and we haven't even thought about it.

But I as one person has said, That may be dangerous to try out new ways of obtaining food, due to the fact it may be poisonous ect.


The thing is though, We would start at Sqaure one again. Yes, we have the knowledge of greater things, but where are the resources coming from? We cannot, no matter how far our technology progresses in a few hundred years span, ever transport enough to make a advanced society. We would be limited to a colonizing society, a frontier one. One that is ruled by a despot, or a oligarchy. BEcause you really can't have democracy if your group is really small, and in which it probably will be, because it will be a elite few, unless they go by consensus.

Aside that fact, you would have to start off small. You would only have your small colony pod, your own secure area, before You can expand. and that limits you from progressing or recreating technology, because your focuses are on food, water, shelter, the basic needs of survival, and colonization. And if the planet is inhabited, You may have to fight them off, and secure your own holdings. so this owuld leave NO time for Technological Progress. We would basicalyl be at sqaure one, Low meager populations of tribes, ruled by a clan like dominance, and we would have to either be scavengers, hunters, farmers, or fishers, or resource harvesters, or warriors. It would revert backwards in a society perspective, and Society also affects technology, so we would be revertted backwards as well, considering how much work ti would be.


Now im not saying that going and colonizing other planets is futile, but it is alot of hard work by just the colonizing aspect of it, and not to mention, how long it would take just to get there, and make a profiting, and strong holding.

Now we should colonize a bit. Mainly for resource gathering, and so on, so we don't have to harvest our Lovely Earth tot he point of exhuastion. That way we can have our planet safe, and We have another planet to go to if something goes wrong.


Then, if Mother Earth survives long enough, and the colony succeeds, We may face another issue. Planetary rivals.
We may become competitive with one another, and be outward and hostile, almost like a East and West phenommenon.

And thats if we even manage to keep contact, we may be cut off from communications altogether. Mind you even with the latest developments, I doubt, even if we master light speed travel ect. That we will be able to communicate freely with each other, without Solar intereferance, Electrical, Gases, formations in space, and even our atmospheres. It will be hard work, but If our race manages to do this, well I'll be proud to be human even more so. I doubt i'll live to see the day though, probably none of us will, either that or we will be so wrinkled we may be mistaked for hunched and broken tree's.


That is my response. The task at hand is a heavy one, but It may be accomplished. It has its chances, and mabye we should try it. it wouldn't hurt too bad, and the outcome is promising. Just as long as we don't screw up some other Civilizations affairs, then mabye we will do well.

Alpha791
offline
Alpha791
3,896 posts
Peasant

In social studies we studied an Indian tribe who built giant floating islands out of reeds on a lake centuries ago and they are still living on them. If they can make one out of reeds then we can most likely make one with the future's technology if we decide to colonize the planet totally covered in water and we can purify water because we do it today.

balerion07
offline
balerion07
2,837 posts
Peasant

Anyways, There is a planet that we have found that is covered completly by water, by accurate photo's and probe data.


We haven't even gotten a probe to Pluto yet (and won't for several years as it its still in transit) and you think that we have probe data from out of this solar system?

Hmmm.....
Pau11Wa11
offline
Pau11Wa11
527 posts
Nomad

okay Red when 1000 people view this thread and only 100 answer, that tells you that your topic takes you way to long to explain, people didnt even want to read it cuz it was so long. just trying to help you

balerion07
offline
balerion07
2,837 posts
Peasant

Look at other posts. They are all like that and some even have a worse ratio.

Kasic
offline
Kasic
5,552 posts
Jester

Back to topic. I think that one, yes, we will eventually have to continue on to other planets in order for the human race to survive. Why I think this is because it is one, inevidable that the sun will die out, not any time soon, but it will eventually. Second, how long till we devlop a device even more powerful than the nuke or till some crazy person detonates them for the hell of it. I think that if we ever did colonize another planet, this would be the best way.
Build a ship that carried tons and tons of resources and supplies and have the ship desinged to be remade into a suitable habitat for the humans that will live there upon landing. If we were to ever effectivly colonize, we would need a way to travel at least as fast as light, if not theoretically faster in order to maintain a semblance in race, because whos to say what is what after a billion years of seperate evolution? Unless there is interbreeding, there will be no more human race because we will have all split from each other. Also, expanding to the moon would be a waste of time. In the time it would take to make it habitable, the sun would have already died out and we would have moved on or died in some fashion. I beleive that eventually, given that no extremely huge natural disaster destroys the planet or kills off the human race at one momement that eventually we will have the technology to effectivly colonize another planet if not live on gigantic super ships that sustained their own in-exaustable power supply, water supply, and food supply. Eventually, somethings going to happen that will force this one way or the other whether or not the human race survives.

Elitemagical
offline
Elitemagical
1,207 posts
Nomad

Anyways, There is a planet that we have found that is covered completly by water


I am sorry, but that is simply false. Whoever told you that is tell fibs. Like Balerion said, the furthest we've got probes is Pluto, and further than that we've only got telescopes, and trust me, if our telescopes could capture a picture of water on a planet's surface we would have mapped out our entire galaxy.

Yes, we have the knowledge of greater things, but where are the resources coming from?


Transportation from Earth? Transportation from other planets we've colonised? If we could make it from Earth to Planet X it cannot be too hard to transport resources.

We cannot, no matter how far our technology progresses in a few hundred years span, ever transport enough to make a advanced society.


Well if we cannot transport resources to planets, the humans would not even be there in the first place.

BEcause you really can't have democracy if your group is really small


You cannot have an oligarchy if your group is really small.

Aside that fact, you would have to start off small. You would only have your small colony pod, your own secure area, before You can expand. and that limits you from progressing or recreating technology, It would revert backwards in a society perspective, and Society also affects technology, so we would be revertted backwards as well, considering how much work ti would be.


One SMALL colony does not need technological advances, that all happens on Earth.

because your focuses are on food, water, shelter, the basic needs of survival, and colonization.


Do you seriously think NASA or some space agency would drop you off on either a barren planet with no resources, or they'd drop you off a trillion miles from the water? They'd drop you near the water-near the food, and shelter would be provided by what you brought.

And if the planet is inhabited, You may have to fight them off, and secure your own holdings.


Chucking a bunch of guys on an inhabited planet is not very professional.

We would basicalyl be at sqaure one, Low meager populations of tribes, ruled by a clan like dominance, and we would have to either be scavengers, hunters, farmers, or fishers, or resource harvesters, or warriors.


LOL. That's not square one look at Earth: small countries, dominated by a couple of old guys, scavengers (exist on Earth), hunters (sometimes), farmers (lots of them on Earth), fishermen (definitely a lot of fishing boats on Earth), resource harvesters (damn we have miners, and lumberjacks on Earth), and warriors (damn, the army has quite a few of them, huh?).

So basically we're at step one already according to your definition.

We may become competitive with one another, and be outward and hostile, almost like a East and West phenommenon.


And thats if we even manage to keep contact, we may be cut off from communications altogether.


It's harder to talk to someone on the other side of the globe but flying there and talking to them, than it is to talk to them over the phone. If we lose communication, we'll probably lose rivalry too.

Build a ship that carried tons and tons of resources


Which means more fuel, which means more weight, which means more fuel, which means more weight, etc., which means harder to take-off.

If we were to ever effectivly colonize, we would need a way to travel at least as fast as light


Traveling as fast as light stops time. That would result in one thing EPIC FAIL.

Also, expanding to the moon would be a waste of time. In the time it would take to make it habitable, the sun would have already died out


It takes something like three days to reach the moon. Get some beds, three days worth of food, some space suits and have a relaxing night. In three days time you might have a TV dinner. It's piss easy-we just need a bit more cash.

if not live on gigantic super ship


I believe people live on the ISS, although I could be mistaken.
Elitemagical
offline
Elitemagical
1,207 posts
Nomad

You have got to be kidding... We destroyed this planet personally I don't think we should be allowed to do it again... Maybe were the virus... Why should we be allowed to spread to planets elsewhere... Personally do you honestly think we deserve to continue existing. How much have you polluted your planet? I am an American and I will die on this planet thank you very much.


Dude there's billions of planets-millions dying every day, one will not matter.
Elitemagical
offline
Elitemagical
1,207 posts
Nomad

Does it matter if we end it, or nature ends it--at the end of the day, it just a piece rock.

The Sun is what will end the Earth, not us. Does this raise the question, should we end nature, just to stop Earths dying in future? Well, no, because most of it is pretty inanimate, I do not see why you care more about a typically large rock, than a smashed glass.

Blu3sBr0s
offline
Blu3sBr0s
1,287 posts
Nomad

this one is being destroyed because of us


Ha! Prove it. Prove the actions of humanity are going to obliterate this mass we live on. You can't, cause we're not going to.

This is the planet we live on don't you care that it is dying faster then it should?


It isn't....

And I would....

but it isn't....
tomertheking
offline
tomertheking
1,751 posts
Jester

Then where does the H20 go? Of course.... Harry Potter came and did a wave of his wand with a "Sdghgknlash"!

Showing 91-105 of 109