Space Colonies. Who would leave Earth for good?

Question

The technology is rapidly making itself available as well as economically feasible. Are we ready to go beyond just space tourism and go to permanent space colonies? If so should we do it and who would want to go?

Answer 1

Yes I would leave the Earth for a space colony But perhaps they should be Giant ships where we could figure out how to grow Plants with Homemade soil and be able to live on the ship and mine Asteroid Belts for our source of Economy and Metal. Boy what an adventure that be!!!

Answer 2

Not me. The planets are just not suttible for earthlings. None of the planets have enough oxygen to breathe. The gas giants have no surface, and on mercury, the lack of atmosphere makes it vulnerable to meteors, Venus's pressure of 90x greater than earth makes it impossible to even land on it almost! Winds on mars, right now with little atmosphere, feel quite light, but are actually around 60 miles per hour. Europa, as explained, has no oxygen, and we would actually have to work to get any water of the ground there. Plutos atmosphere is so cold, its frozen for a very long time during its 248 year orbit. So im fine with Earth, until we are able to colonize somewhere sucessfully.

Answer 3

I'm gonna leave this Earth one day, but it won't be to go into space!! I'm gonna be with Jesus in Heaven!!!

If it were possible to live in space though, I really wouldn't go there. I don't think it would any different from living here. Same people, just different place. Plus, I don't like the idea of air being a rare commodity!

Answer 4

I would.

It's the final frontiere. It's probably our last chance to experience the Gold Rush days, the days of Silverado, James Town and Botny bay all over again!

You would have to go for good, or at least like the oil people did with Alaska for years.

It currently takes at best 3 - 6 months to get to Mars, but you can't come back immediatley. YOu have to stay there like 12-14 months before the return trip which takes another 4 - 8 months. So that's close to a 24-30 month committement just for one trip there and back!

It could easily take 4 - 5 years to build a permanent settlement for scientists that would include power, water and observatory equipment.

YOu would have to make a sealed off separate area for foods. Segregated, one for veggies, one for fruits and onther for meats.

Meats would have to be brought up as frozen embroyes and you face disease and viral infections, thus they need to be segregated away from the general air and water.

Cows, chickens, pigs and human babies would have to get "acclimated" to being born "Earth side read" but in an environment with 1/2 gravity. It's hard to say what effect that could have one people and animals.

It would be an adventure, to say the least, taming the envirnoment.

Terraforming is a long way off and maybe not possible, so we'd beliving the Twin Towers in Chicago life stye.

Initially it would be submarine size, everyone in 15 x 15 rooms. Nitrogen frozen foods microwaved or possibly baked and reconsituted.

We would have to crack the process of "making" air and water or at least recycling it virtually completely. Removing CO2 and revitalizing with liquid 02 and N.

Water would have to be recycled and refreshred with infusions of fresh water until we learned how to "make it" chemically.

Industrial water for washing and toilets. Separate fresh filtered water for drinking.

There would be strict rationing of portions. It would be like being in the Army.

Then you have to figure out how to be "profitable" by creating new business ventures that tap into the resources of Mars, which won't have oil, but could have others things. New minerals that might make great new elecctronic devices thus we can make and launch new satilites from Mars. We might be able to make "chips" on Mars and ship them to Earth cheaply enough to make a profit.

Technology gains would be patented and that would generate a profit for use on Earth. If you figure out how to make more air or water you can bring water to places like the desert without having to build dams or re-direct rivers.

That could be worth a fortune on Earth and would finace re-supplying MArs.

Eventually you'd have to learn how to build and grow using natural Mars "earths" if you will. You have to start agricuture, horticulture and animal husbandry on Mars to eventually feed the people and limit the amount of supplies.

The whole thing is an open field in which anyone and everyone can become a certified Einstein by simplying solving a problem in the new land that makes things better!

It's an adventure, with a lot of draw backs including the fact that one virus attack could kill everyone within a month and one chemical leak could poison everyone in their sleep.

Thus, you need a Canary in your coal mine!

Answer 5

Yeah, sure, I`m on!
But wait, did you have a time schedule? Personally, I don`t think its happening any time soon. It certainly won`t be available for mass emigration within our life times . But we will see the first steps, that ought to be great. Enough at least!
But yeah, we should definitely do it. Evolution going up and out and all that. It is but a question of time...

Answer 6

We should have permanent space colonies, it may be all that is left of the human race at the rate we are going.

Answer 7

Well, we are consumers and eventually we will consume all of our planet's natural resources, so the question isn't who will want to, it will be will we be able to colonize other planets or moons in time to save our species, or will we keep fighting amongst ourselves over stupid issues of money and politics until it is too late to do anything about it. Wow, was that all one sentence?

Answer 8

I would love to visit another planet or the moon but I would miss Earth too much.

Answer 9

I would like to leave earth sometime, space travel is still too primitive so I would wait a while.

Answer 10

I would miss beautiful mother earth...I would briefly visit other planets after many had tested the safety...then return home...Ive got all I need right here.