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| CGI by XIXO |
Topics: International Space Station, Moon Base, NASA, Space Exploration, Spaceflight, Space Junk, Tribalism
In no particular order - inspired by both Interstellar and The Martian - this is a purely speculative post regarding becoming a space faring species, i.e. no longer confined to Earth and what that could possibly mean. A math nerd note: Jessica Chastain and Matt Damon are the Venn diagram intersection points of both space opera features. I have no qualifications other than a STEM background, enthusiasm, imagination and wonder.
International Space Station: Some projections have it going beyond 2020, and it is international with 15 member nations participating. It's not only the longest-running science experiment on human endurance, it's the best thing we have so far of mutual cooperation, the UN notwithstanding.
Moon Base: This is a possibility, only in the fact the moon has far less gravity than on Earth, therefore it would be easier to launch vehicles into space from here. The caveat is radiation from the sun and far-away sources in the form of cosmic rays and meteors - some really big, and others the size of boulders. A sturdy, 3-D printed domicile for mostly surface sensors would have to be piezoelectric - perhaps a combination of lead zirconate titanate and titanium. The humans could use volcanic caverns underneath that could be made reasonably habitable. Launches from platforms beneath the surface would be just as easy as on the surface with bay doors made of the same previously speculated material.
NASA: The agency and its viability will last as long as we have the vision to fund it. The spin off technologies fuel economies, and if the United States didn't do that, European or Asian countries are more than poised to take the lead in that sphere, and profit from the venture. This will create jobs for their fellow countrymen in an ever-changing employment landscape.
Space Exploration: A lot is made of Exoplanets in the Goldilocks habitable zone, but not much regarding Exomoons: like our own companion, a moon or moons in orbit would stabilize a planet's climate, giving it predictable seasons that are hopefully suitable for us as well. In the movies Interstellar and The Martian, since we can't create artificial gravity like Star Trek, parts of our spacecraft (as each illustrated quite well) will have to rotate, using centrifugal force to create surfaces on a rotating ring, or in a Bernal Sphere in a planet's geosynchronous orbit so we can stand up and bear our own weight. Experiment Example: Take a bucket of water with a wire handle and attach the handle to a rope. Fill it halfway with water and swing it above your head by the rope - I promise as long as you're swinging it, you won't get wet (that will likely happen when and how you stop). This of course, eliminates the great space battles we've come to thrill to in the movies - in light of our aggressive tendencies, I don't think this is a bad idea, really. Part of what we've learned so far is that in a weightless environment, astronauts loose bone density and muscle mass very rapidly. It is also a good thing if you're going to have deep space missions whereby it may take a few lifetimes to get to say, Alpha Centauri. Newton's Third Law of motion is the likely reason despite attractions astronauts in weightless environments have never been as "frisky" as Captain Kirk or Commander Riker. It would be...awkward.
Spaceflight: Voyager leaving our solar system (or, at least the heliosphere of the sun) actually made us officially an interstellar space faring species! I don't think the transition was appreciated much by the media. I know EVERY Trekkie wants to go warp drive! However, we're not even at the level as a species just yet to generate a craft going at 0.10 c (one-tenth the speed of light) that would have us to Alpha Centauri - if it has habitable planets - in about 40 years. Hence the need for using Newton's Third Law to our advantage! This star ship would have to be shielded from cosmic radiation and meteorites (tricks we'd have learned from our Moon Base). Either fission, fusion or a very large solar powered sail would propel our craft. The sail would have to be propelled by lasers or masers we'd bring with us. For those of you that are interested, the 100 Year Star Ship project by former NASA astronaut Dr. Mae C. Jemison may give you vision for at least our great-grandchildren making the journey.
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| Popular Mechanics - How To Build a Starship |
Space Junk: Not a sexy topic, but we've been chucking things to the Clarke Orbit since Sputnik. There's a lot of debris floating above us, and with the right training, the opportunity to employ people and possibly recycle the metals and materials used to build probes that outlive their usefulness and technology. Subset: We have a lot of Earth junk we need to clean up, both physical and atmospheric. I've often said, before we attempt Terraforming another planet, we ought to try Terraforming Earth.
Tribalism: We're in a special time in human history I kind of talked about in Terms of Indifference. This is the basis of our historic and current woes; geopolitics has always balanced on a knife's edge, especially as many of us long for a nostalgic utopia (literally "nowhere place") that never was, fearing constantly what's ahead. Many are resorting to either political fiat or violence to realize their vision on their respective populations using authoritarian means that inevitably restrict the rights of certain groups. The past cannot change, nor is time travel (except in certain relativistic cases) possible, but the future - relentlessly coming - we can plan for. "Failure to plan is planning to fail."
As things come to light, now briny water on Mars may point to a life form: a closer microscopic analysis of the Martian salt water might have a Tardigrade/Water Bear staring back at us! Such a discovery would change our collective history, our culture, our poetry and literature; our sense of ourselves. Part of being a space faring species would hopefully break down the artificial barriers we've erected separating us from our fellow humans. On a Martian or Moon Base - I've wondered - if you're an Imam conducting prayers: what then would be your reference to Mecca? Or, for any of the various human faiths, a large part of their identity is "where" they began, as then the humans there said: "we are the people of"... As more of us experience the Overview Effect, like our astronauts - a very limited group for now - more of us (I hope) will view the whole Earth as our home; ourselves as Earthlings.
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