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this post was submitted on 14 Jun 2024
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Spending any resources trying to colonize another fucking planet, while we continue to render ours uninhabitable is so fucking stupid. How about we re-learn how to live in balance with natural systems here, and then try and terraform another planet from scratch?
To me, colonizing another planet is not about expanding or moving the human race somewhere else. It's a backup plan. Right now, our entire species exists all on this one planet. There is a non-zero chance that we could all be eradicated in an instant by a sufficiently large asteroid or comet, or by nuclear war. There is no backup for the human race or any other species on earth. Once we have a colony, we greatly increase our likelihood of surviving the end of the world. I think that's worth investing in, and we should bring as many species with us as possible. For all we know our planet may be the only oasis of life in the galaxy or even the universe. Didn't you think we should have a backup?
You left out eradication from climate change or biodiversity loss. Not instant, but an even less zero chance. Quite likely, in fact.
Do we actually know how to build a self-sustaining colony? Last I heard, we still had fundamental science and engineering questions to be solved even if we suddenly had an unlimited budget.
Things that come to mind include building a sustainable closed ecosystem, figuring out a long-term power source (is there uranium on Mars? Nuclear reactors run for a long time, but we can't rely on fresh fuel rods being shipped from Earth), and planning for enough industrial base that things like mining the necessary uranium, digging tunnels, housing construction, etc aren't colony-ending problems.
Yes, all of those challenges are excellent reasons to be pursuing colonization.
Solving these problems however will directly benefit us here on Earth. Figuring out a closed sustainable ecosystem with a long term power source would have huge implications for technological development.
The same argument existed since the beginning of space exploration, if we, as a species would have heard those arguments, we wouldn't have satellite today, and all the other advances space exploration brought.
We haven't tried to colonize anywhere though, and arguments against colonization are still relevant. The advances you mention all happened without attempting to colonize anywhere.
we have permanent habitation in space tough, and an absurd load of scientific advance has been made in the ISS.
I once met someone who said that it's a pipe dream to think we could have equality between races before we had equality within the same race, and that we should make sure that there aren't any poor white people before we start worrying about PoC.
These two projects build on each other. Furthermore, each has a minimum time that no amount of researchers working together can push us below. To say we shouldn't do one because we haven't done another only serves to reveal your ignorance.
Hey I like SciFi too, but we have pressing issues right here on the only planet we know for a fact that can support life. If we get that fixed, we have until the sun explodes to figure out terraforming other planets. The bottom line is that one issue has a looming deadline, and the other does not. It's a misallocation of resources to entertain the latter before solving the former. Reminds me of a Vonnegut quote I read the other day: "another flaw in the human character is that everybody wants to build, and nobody wants to do maintenance."
Of all the resource- wasting human activities, why should we cut spacefaring? Can't we start by dismantling AI, cosmetics, golf courses,... and then if some last minute precious resources are needed we can talk about not going to space?
I'm all for cutting that stuff too.
I am always happy to see people that havenβt lost hope. I hope you enjoy your life ππ. No sarcasm.
Cheers, Santa!
Trying to raise a child before retiring is stupid for the same reason. Yet here we are not waiting to organize our lives into serial convenience.
That is not comparable. It's more like shopping for a new car while the one you're in is veering towards the cliff edge.
But how is that going to bolster the fragile egos of some delusional billionaire techbro narcissists?
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