Do you think the earth will be destroyed before non-terrestrial colonies are established?

Answer 1

Technology, economy, and freedom are all reasons to go. Right now technology is just barely on the fringes of being able to sustain a colony on Mars. The economy to do so is FAR to expensive, partially because the technology is also expensive. Over time this will become cheaper. Freedom (not necessarily political or religion), but free from crowded spaces is another reason. Right now there are still plenty of open spaces on our planet.

Comparitively you might view Christopher Columbus for historical reference. He was hoping to make some profits by finding a faster and cheaper route to trading with the East. Financing his trip was a major risk (financially and physically). It turned out to have good payback.

The moon is a potential for a start-up base to mine Helium 3, which could be used in a soon to be built Fusion reactor (ITER). So it might have some economic pull since Helium 3 is rare on Earth but somewhat plentiful on the moon.

Living in another hostile place, like Mars or the moon, you must keep the perspective that you can't go outside unless you are fully suited, all plants and animals have to be inside and nearly everything has to be recycled in order to keep your systems working.

If we can increase our understanding of math and physics, perhaps we can validate and learn to take advantage of String Theory (M Theory), and perhaps figure out how to travel long distances and find another Earth like planet. But that will be a LONG time from now, if ever. Yet I think if we can avoid annhilation from ourselves, humans have great potential to go the distance.

Answer 2

If we humans could manage our terrestrial colonies, maybe we wouldn't have to think of creating non terrestrial ones. With the way that technology looks, there is going to be a lot of troubleshooting though. I did see a lifestyles of the rich and famous about a "party plane" where rich people live it up in the sky. An airplane is like a temporary non terrestrial colony -no? But even then it has to go back to earth. I hope that the earth is not destroyed tho. If a comet hit it tho...I don't know.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

The only way in which off-Earth colonies will be established is if it makes money for some mega corporation. The initial investment would be too huge and the returns to remote so I don't think any corporation ever will.

The only hope we ever had for something like that was countries like the Soviet Union, or China before they "opened up" to capitalism, who could start a venture like that without considering future profits or losses.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a communist or something. Capitalism is the best system we have, it's just not the right system for serious space colonisation.

So we're going to have to make sure we can continue to survive on Earth. At the rate we're destroying the environment, I'm not optimistic!

Answer 5

I am not sure that there will ever be non terrestrial colonies. I am sure that the Earth will be here long after there are no more humans here.

Humans have no other home in this Solar System. No technology has been found to take us to another. We might kill ourselves off, but the Earth will go on.

;-D Take care of Earth, our only home.

Answer 6

I think that Homo sapience (that's us) won't be around when the earth is destroyed. life on earth are dated back 500 million years or so, hominids appeared on earth 6 million years. the earth will be destroyed in 5000 million years by the sun, although we humans can find a way to destroy it first.
It is estimated that a species lasts 10000 generations before it mutates \ evolves into a new species, in years that's about 200000 years.
I think that the human species will be able to colonize other planets, outside the solar system, in 50 generations at most or not at all (that's 1000 years)
I think that within less than 10 generations we would have mutated ourselves artificially (that's 200 years) and keep on doing it to become very different beings

Answer 7

They have to develop the livable Mars theory first to transfer the non-terrestrial in its orbit... because when earth will be destroyed because of its fragile structure, your non-terrestrial will not exist.

But for your answer, let us not hope so but let us hope that North Koreans and Iranian will find their wit and knowledge on how to deal with their arsenals.

Any crazy country can bring down the experimental non-terrestrial by a long range out of the atmosphere missiles. So, it will depend on the outcome of the all political maneuvers of Nation concern.

Answer 8

It's a toss up. It will be close, very close. The future of mankind hangs in the balance. If we destroy ourselves first, we will be one of many so called thinking species that have gone extinct in the Universe. If we survive long enough to get off this rock and set up a few colonies around other star systems, there is a chance that man kind will survive for a hundred billion years, or until the Vogons come to put in the hyper space bypass.

Answer 9

Earth may be destroyed long before non-terrestrial colonies are established as nowadays earth is getting destroyed such examples are the using of nuclear bombs, terrorist, bombing, global warming, a hole in the ozone etc.
if all these are not changed in the future, i wonder will earth continue to support living????

Answer 10

Could the non-terrestrial colonies not be heralding in the "end times?" I think destruction of the earth and non-terestrail colonies (if they in fact are here) may be one and the same.