Space Colonization:A Study in Initial Prospective Extraterrestrial

Habitation

Voyager 1 captures an image of Terra from the edge of our solar system – about 3.7million miles from Earth

Motivations and Rationale for Space Colonization According to Freeman Dyson and J. Richard Gott: Spread life and creativity throughout the available

frontier Ensure the longevity of humanity Make money through varied forms of space

commercialism Save the environment of Terra by moving industry into

space Provide distractions from the immediate surroundings

through space tourism” Ensure the supply of rare and finite material resources

Motivations Continued: An extraterrestrial human presence would

serve as a “backup” to repopulate the Earth in the event of some pan-catastrophic eventNuclear war, environmental degradation, collision

event, etc. Technological progress inherent in such an

ambitious engineering program, as well as a human presence in space, would help move humanity towards a “Type II” civilizationDyson-scheme power captures / megastructure

engineering

Prospective Types of Colonies: Lunar colony

Moon colony located near the lunar poles Asteroid colonization

Colonization of the asteroid belt – either in or on the asteroids

OLC-type colonyFree-floating colony at Lagrange points 4 or 5

Mars colonyColonization and terraforming of Mars

Lunar Colony: Scientifically valuable Industrially valuable H3 present Close proximity to

Terra

Low gravity may have anatomically deleterious effects

Lack of available water

No atmosphere or magnetosphere (heavy radiation hazard)

Abrasive regolith

Asteroid Colonization: Effective zero gravity

provides a favorable manufacturing and shipping environment

Ample space Heavy concentrations

of valuable materials

Far from the sun High radiation Lack of gravity

necessitates new landing technology

Relatively small size of asteroids

Eros, a NEO valued at approximately $16 trillion

OLC-type Colony: Location at Lagrange

points 4 or 5 means no energy is needed to maintain position

Mix of artificial and null gravity provides environments suitable to varied applications

Constant sunlight Difficult to maintain an

isolated system

Untested technology Prohibitive costs Little in-situ resource

availability Less potential for

growth than some other colony types

Mars Colonization: Possibility of

terraforming Available water Temperatures less

extreme than other colony types

Atmosphere (though thin)

Useful location for trade and further travel

Possible with current technology

Distant from Terra Psychologically

challenging Communication

hampered Extremely

expensive Possibly damaging

to extant life Unprecedented

NASA Design Reference Mission Architecture 5.0

Assessment of Benefits vs. Challenges: Asteroids The benefits of asteroid

colonization do not justify the expense or risk. Though this sort of colony may be useful eventually for a massive settlement, it is, with current proposals, one of the least appealing options for the first human colony

Lunar Heavy radiation,

destructive regolith dust, extremely low temperatures, a 336 hour day/night cycle, and a lack of volatiles make a lunar base more valuably scientifically and industrially than as a location for a settlement

Assessment of Benefits vs. Challenges Continued: OLC Prohibitive costs, lack of on-site

resources, and technological difficulties make L4 or 5 colonies unattractive as initial extraterrestrial colonies, however they may one day be an appealing option, particularly in light of a power trading scheme between the OLC and Terra.

Assessments of Challenges vs. Benefits Continued: Mars Mars colonization offers the highest long-term economic return

considering the startup costs inherent to any extraterrestrial settlement program

A Mars colony could become self-sufficient or at least minimally reliant on Terran supplies, ameliorating some of the difficulties arising from the distance to Earth

A recent experiment simulated a manned mission to Mars (MARS-500) with all participants graduating in optimal physical and psychological condition

Psychological and technical obstacles due to distance and novel environments will prove challenging, however, the benefits and feasibility of a terraformed Martian colony (potential for massive economic growth, “nourishment of the human spirit”, technological boon) justify the costs

Mars’ surface area is equal to that of Earth

Vision of a Mars Colony: Unmanned missions will stock the planet

with supplies, construction vehicles, and pre-fabricated shelters as well as landing “super-greenhouse gas” factories

A human contingent arrives on Mars; extensive construction begins and a crop is sown. Mining operations begin to harvest ice and sub-surface minerals

With direct human guidance terraforming begins in earnest

Terraforming: the Key to a Habitable Mars: Terraforming (literally, "Earth-shaping") of

a planet, moon, or other body is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying its atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology to be similar to those of Earth, in order to make it habitable by terrestrial organisms (Wikipedia contributors, 2011)

“Super-greenhouse” gasses, space mirrors, carbon polar cover

Sublimation of the dry-ice polar cap and melting of the water cap

Positive feedback

Benefits of Terraforming: Decreased solar radiation Temperature rise (allowing liquid water) Pressure increase Increased O2 concentration Outdoor agriculture possible

Economics of Martian Settlement: As a flexible, spacious, and resource-laden

settlement, a Mars colony will be able to grow in ways unparalleled by alternative colonization proposals

Through expansion and technological refinement a settled Mars will become a highly profitable extraterrestrial colony, producing its own goods cheaply in .38g for trade as well as facilitating trade between Terra and the outer solar system

The economic return, dollar for dollar, is greatest for a Martian colony considering the potential for sustained growth free from Terrestrial input, as long as political ties are maintained

Feasibility and the Future: At present, national space programs receive

significantly less funding than in the past (the American Apollo program was funded with ~1% of American GDP)

An aggressive program and government commitment could see an American manned mission to Mars by 2020

Prohibitive startup costs make a Mars colony infeasible for the near future – however, technological advances in ongoing unmanned operations and privatization may eventually lead to lower costs

"Now that we are here," he went on, "it isn't enough to just hide underten meters of soil and study the rock. That's science, yes, and neededscience too. But science is more than that. Science is part of a larger

human enterprise, and that enterprise includes going to the stars, adaptingto other planets, adapting them to us. Science is creation. The lack of life

here, and the lack of any finding in fifty years of the SETI program,indicates that life is rare, and intelligent life even rarer. And yet the wholemeaning of the universe, its beauty, is contained in the consciousness of

intelligent life. We are the consciousness of the universe, and our job is tospread that around, to go look at things, to live everywhere we can. It's toodangerous to keep the consciousness of the universe on only one planet, it

could be wiped out. And so now we're on two, three if you count themoon. And we can change this one to make it safer to live on. Changing it

won't destroy it. Reading its past might get harder, but the beauty of itwon't go away. If there are lakes, or forests, or glaciers, how does that

diminish Mars's beauty? I don't think it does. I think it only enhances it.It adds life, the most beautiful system of all. But nothing life can do will

bring Tharsis down, or fill Marineris. Mars will always remain Mars,different from Earth, colder and wilder. But it can be Mars and ours at thesame time. And it will be. There is this about the human mind; if it can bedone, it will be done. We can transform Mars and build it like you would

build a cathedral, as a monument to humanity and the universe both.-Red Mars, Kim Stanley Robinson