Space Key To Human Survival.

Post Reply New Topic

Just a few weeks ago I was thinking the same thing. Now hawkings seys so.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/06/1 ... index.html

As a Christian person, I believe also that the end is coming pretty soon. If you read Revelation and some other parts of the Bible, the things going on with the weather, with people, and politics that were said then about the end times hundreds of years ago look remarkably similar to the times right now. However, I don't know if you are Christian or not, just a thought about the end times and about what's going to happen when it comes eventually. Anyways, I don't know if humans can become that sophisticated that fast to be able to travel lightyears away to new planets, since we haven't even traveled a lightyear yet (or atleast I don't think; the government is ahead of the public's technology by like ten years). But still, even if the government found new technology to be able to travel lightyears that fast, how would they inhabit the other planets when we need oxygen and food and water? It makes an interesting conversation topic to talk about how humans would be able to survive on other planets by the way.

The things in Revelations are so vague that there are many times throughout history to which you could say the same thing. Think about the 14th century, with all the wars, the persecution and the Black Death. But back to the OP, I definitely agree with hawking. The future of the human race lies in space.

It's absolutely true. This little spaceship just isn't built to last forever.
Inevitably something will destroy this planet, and it is only a matter of time.
Could be a very long time, but it's still there looming.

The reason we can't get very far in space is because we can't trust eachother, we fight over little pieces of land, and resources that just run out anyway.
Just imagine, if noone had to worry about technology falling into the "wrong hands" we could collaborate as a species, and innovation would rapidly increase.

Just a pipe dream maybe, most people are terribly short sighted.
But what if there were some definable threat that everyone could see within the next 20 years or so. It would really illuminate how trivial most of our wars and struggles are.

Actually I'd say our biggest restriction is propulsion. The current space shuttle would take about 148,800 years to reach the closest star (Alpha Centuri).

It’s interesting because we are all related, families bicker all the time and so does the human race. When impeding danger comes, or the prospects of it seem logical and or obvious it will either unite people or cause disorder.

For everyone to get off the planet would be impossible. However the next evolutionary step seems to be space tourism. With this will bring more space development and so will the ability to transport off this rock. Just like with travel here on earth there will be advances withl space travel, obviously.

There still needs to be a life sustaining other end, unless built on the moon or mars structures with proper living conditions. Yet still the instinctual survival of the species will likely revert to the desire to leave the solar system and not depend upon the sun. This in combination with the general desire of exploration anyways.

I agree with Hawking. There are so many threats to life on Earth. It is illogical to think that we will be able to stay here for eternity. However, it is rather questionable as to whether or not we will be able to come up with the technology that will enable us to live in space, such as on the moon or Mars. We are even further away from developing technology that will allow us to travel the distance to other habitable planets in the galaxy, or even beyond.

I guess we shall just have to see what the future has in store for us.

This is most certainly true. Unless we develop technology that will allow us to move faster than light, we are restricted to our solar system.

Right, I was just saying that technological advances are impeded by our incessant quarreling, and fear of eachother.

I find this theory to be quite interesting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcubierre_drive

The biggest problem with it would be that even if we figured out how to create such a bubble, the amount of energy required to warp the fabric of space itself would be enormous.

If that is what he said, then he is not very smart, or is very poorly informed on the subject he is talking about. Regardless of whether you have a base there, humans cannot live long-term on the moon or on Mars, for various reasons, chief among them being that the gravity is very different to Earth, and this causes serious health problems that increase over time.

Furthermore, colonizing the moon or Mars is ridiculously and absurdly impractical, again for various reasons. Look at the air pressure for example. If you stand outside on the moon or Mars without wearing a special spacesuit, the low air pressure will cause your blood to expand until it bursts your veins and you die a horrible messy bloody death.

The Alan Guth and Joshua Winn quoted in the article, they are making sensible comments there. Whereas Hawking's statements in that article are just rubbish -- uninformed pie-in-the-sky.

Actually, the most you'd do at that pressure difference is bleed from some orifices. You haven't thought of what explosive decompression is, or what pressure difference would actually cause the body to burst.

8 atmospheres.

One diving bell on the Byford Dolphin.

One ^%*^-up.

Several divers in a very sorry and very dead state.

Look it up on Wikipedia. And does anyone here have a copy of the paper done on that incident?

I would have thought the e would be more important. Not to say that space is insignificant mind you.

I did not say explode, and I did not say it would cause the body to burst.

We don't need to go faster than light. Einstein says it is impossible to go faster than light, and I'm not one to argue with Einstein. We could, however, use wormholes to get around that. (unless that's what you meant)

I agree with emp about the Lunar and Mars bases. Impractical. The only practictal way to do one of those is terriforming, and you guys aren't ready to screw around with that yet.

And even if terraforming technology existed, it still does not solve the problems of different gravity and different air pressure.