To me, it feels like a further step in advancing human civilization. Disperse the population a bit and keep growing as a species. That said, I’m no expert and if you have literature to recommend please do!
I’m all for it, provided Elon, Jeff, or any other tech bros aren’t involved.
I think you dropped this: 'nt
Correct. My autocorrect has a tendency of negating any statement I make, for some reason. Don’t -> do, etc
At this point i think the rich would use it for mining offworld resources to get richer rather than advancing humanity
That seems likely
It’s a good idea at the wrong time. Our species priority should be managing ecological overshoot. For example, tackling our Planetary Boundaries so humanity can de risk human civilizational collapse and possible extinction.
Space should come after we’ve solved for sustainability. Edit: I should also note that true sustainability also advances our capabilities in space as for any meaningful human missions, you’ll need to bring your sustainable environment with you wherever you go. It will need it’s own circular economy and ecology and the technology that goes with it.
Space is cool and it’s a better use of our time than blowing each other up.
Agreed
As much as I love space and the idea of space travel we have a lot of problems on this planet that need to be solved before we even think about expanding our reach to the stars.
Humans are life’s way to expand itself off this planet. So, yeah, let’s keep exploring
“Disperse the population” is still way out in the future and we don’t even know yet if we’ll be able to.
But there are so many steps we should be taking. Life shouldn’t just be a drudge, a life worth living has hopes and dreams, visions of a better future, in addition to challenges driving innovation. Yes we need to invest more in our people, but investing in our dreams has far less money but can return larger value
I know I’ll never live long enough to see a colony but the space program has been a true inspiration from the beginning watch Apollo landings on the family black and white tv. We had a bit of a lull but developments around space are coming faster and more exciting than ever.
I’m excited to progress toward a permanently manned moon base, to answer more questions about whether we’ll ever be able to live in space, develop ever more technology to approach that possibility.
Sounds reasonable to me.
I am all for it in principle. I believe that we owe it to ourselves and our future to make space travel, research, and colonization as feasible as possible.
At the present time, however, I have to believe that we would take all of our earthbound problems, inequities, ignorance, and failings into the solar system with us. Which makes us not a more prosperous civilization, but the same backwards civilization with a larger footprint.
I do believe however that our population is large enough that we can simultaneously devote maximum effort into bettering ourselves, becoming better stewards of this planet, and settling on other ones. To me it’s not an “either or” thing, and I reject any argument that glibly states that we’re so fucked up that we should never leave earth.
Edit: I’m going to change my answer. The more I think about it, the more I realize that my opinion on whether or not we should go to space is irrelevant. We are going to do it. It’s in us as a species to do it. The need, the drive, is innate, and the ramblings of a bunch of opinionated internet squibs isn’t going to change that.
So the question, perhaps, is not whether or not we should, but how do we best go about it without fucking it up? That’s a way more complex question.
One of the interesting things I found in the Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson was the first mars settlers trying to create a new type of society without many of the problems the left behind.
Yeah, I think if we survive as a species for long enough, it will happen. Unfortunately, I see that “if” as less likely lately.
