Spaceflight is one of the most expensive activities that mankind has ever undertaken. That is why it is not easy to justify the creation of settlements outside our planet. There are many explanations for why people need to settle on the Moon, Mars, and other celestial bodies. However, the most resonant of them may be extremely unexpected.
Space business
Numerous science fiction works depict a future in which humanity has established settlements on other planets. This picture has become so familiar that many people cannot imagine the future of human civilization, in which people will live only on Earth.
All of this is in stark contrast to the real state of affairs in the space industry, where the vast majority of missions are automatic, and even plans to establish a permanent base on the Moon are constantly being adjusted. Some scientists even say that humans have no place in space and should be limited to unmanned vehicles.
The reason for this is the incredible cost of space flights, especially those involving humans. Because every kilogram of any substance delivered outside the Earth is worth the price of gold. And this is what has been causing skepticism about space exploration for decades.
Finding reasons why we need to go to other planets is very difficult. And the situation with communication satellites and biological experiments in orbit, which are examples of why we need to spend money on space, does It is not even profitable to transport metals by airplane on Earth, let alone by spacecraft. The well-known colonial scheme, where a metropolis supplies high-tech equipment and luxury goods to colonies and imports industrial raw materials back, does not work in the case of space. Because the cost of launching high-tech products into space will never be covered by the profit from the resources delivered here.not help much. It turns out that it is simply not profitable to fly into space beyond low Earth orbit.
Resources of other planets
And it is the concept of “economic benefit” that is associated with the first explanation that is usually given. People need to explore space for resources. First of all, we are talking about helium-3, which is present in lunar regolith and can potentially be used as fusion fuel. Everyone loves energy, so the reason is good. Although if we are talking about our satellite, it would probably be even more profitable to mine rare earth elements on it.
Also, not only the Moon, but also Mars, asteroids, and other bodies in the Solar System contain iron, nickel, titanium, and even gold and platinum. And if our planets are not enough to satisfy the appetites of the Earth’s industry, this will only serve as an incentive to look for ways to get out of the country.
All of this is a very clear and familiar logic that appeals to the colonial past, where more developed countries sent their ships to uncharted shores and found resources in the annexed territories to increase their industrial power.
However, what works well (if this word can be applied to the exploitation of colonies at all) on Earth will not work in space. For the most part, on our planet, cheap colonial resources relied on the cheap labor of the conquered population, which, of course, is not found on the Moon or Mars, and people are unlikely to find anyone like that in the star systems closest to us.
Of course, there is a method that is currently used to extract oil in northern Eurasia and North America. And it could be applied to space, but it should be remembered that we are talking about complex activities in low gravity, vacuum, and intense radiation. That is, it will require trained specialists and high-tech equipment, not just laborers and simple tools.
And we must also remember the extremely high cost of transporting a kilogram of anything from Earth to another planet and from another planet to Earth. In such circumstances, even helium-3 seems to be an extremely dubious resource for transportation to our planet.
It is not even profitable to transport metals by airplane on Earth, let alone by spacecraft. The well-known colonial scheme, where a metropolis supplies high-tech equipment and luxury goods to colonies and imports industrial raw materials back, does not work in the case of space. Because the cost of launching high-tech products into space will never be covered by the profit from the resources delivered here.
And no, automation of mining will not solve the problem, because, we are talking about creating a machine in space that is so complex that it does not even exist on Earth, and it will still require a number of the best engineers to maintain it, who will need to be provided with everything they need, because they will have to stay on other planets for years.
Space colonies
For space colonies to be of any use, we need to do the exact opposite of the general practice of terrestrial colonialism: invest in diversifying production in the colonies so that they are less dependent on the metropolis. Everything that can be produced on the Moon or Mars should be produced on the Moon and Mars. Everything that can be grown on the Moon or Mars should be grown there.
And here, the availability of almost any resource on a celestial body instantly becomes of great value. After all, even a rather expensive method of producing a product on site will be much more cost-effective than shipping it from Earth. In such circumstances, the extraction of metals that will be used immediately becomes extremely profitable. Only the exploitation of ice deposits is more profitable, because absolutely all biological processes require water, and it is not profitable to transport thousands of cubic meters of water from the Earth.
But it can be transported, for example, from Jupiter’s moons or Saturn’s rings. And this, in terms of fuel consumption, may still be cheaper than delivery from Earth. Provided, of course, that both the fuel and the engines are produced as much as possible on the planet in whose interests they will be used.
Investing in the diversification of production on extraterrestrial colonies will sooner or later lead to the emergence of an economy there.
The only problem is that the maximum benefit from this economy will go to people who will live in space themselves. The inhabitants of the Earth will see virtually none of this profit. Moreover, the development of their production will inevitably lead to the fact that space colonies will begin to compete with the countries and governments that gave birth to them in the market for high-tech goods. After all, if anything is profitable to bring to Earth by spacecraft, it is these goods.
Of course, it is possible to come up with an ingenious plan to first make extraterrestrial settlements self-sufficient and then limit their ability to produce anything high-tech. In the second half of the eighteenth century, it was with this logic that the British Empire’s government limited the development of metalworking and shipbuilding in its North American colonies. However, this was extremely unprofitable for the people there, and they declared independence.
Britain sent troops to suppress the uprising, and it was much easier to transport them across the Atlantic Ocean than to Mars. As a result, in less than two centuries, it was the state that was formed on the site of the former colonies that became the first to send its citizens to the Moon.
Source: www.historyextra.com
Life in space
So it turns out that wealthy people and their families should move to space first? But who would trade their mansion in California for an aluminum can on the Moon, where they will also have to grow cucumbers in a hydroponic greenhouse? And this is in the face of life-threatening risks, low gravity, and radiation that gradually kill the body.
This is where the main problem with the question of “why go to space” really lies. Because this question lies beyond the concepts of profit and daily comfort. We need to think in other categories.
For example, we can mention security. It is quite possible that in the future, the Earth will face some kind of natural or man-made disaster that will pose a threat to all of humanity. People living in autonomous extraterrestrial colonies will not be affected by a war or an asteroid crash. So those who are worried about this aspect should consider relocating.
However, in reality, if we think about the prospects of decades or entire generations, even security fades into the background. On such a time scale, we have to accept the simple truth that we will all die sooner or later. And that is why our personal experience and what we have achieved in life are of the highest value. And this is where space has something to offer.
Space as a self-realization
Over the past few centuries, the standard of living on our planet has been steadily rising. People have been thinking less and less about how they will not die today, and more and more about what can be done to make our very existence meaningful. And one of the main recipes that most people believe in is that traveling somewhere and experiencing something firsthand makes us something more than we were before.
It was with this motivation that people went on pilgrimages in the distant past, and now they travel as tourists. You can not sell an unprecedented experience to buy food. But it is worth spending a lot of money to get it.
But no place on Earth can compare to the experience you can get in space. Even simple weightlessness in Earth’s orbit and a view of our planet from above is something that has been lining up for decades. At the same time, it has not been possible to meet the demand for something of a significant magnitude all this time, although some people are ready to give almost all the money they have earned in their lives for the opportunity to gain such an experience.
And yet the Earth’s orbit is only the beginning of space. Imagine the emotions you would feel if you descended to the bottom of a lunar crater or watched Phobos move rapidly across the Martian sky. But even this is only a tiny part of all the adventures.
The main motivation to go into space is the desire to visit it. Therefore, space tourism may become the largest industry in the space economy and its driver in the future. And it will “pull” the rest of the industries along with it. After all, if the largest expenditures in space are spent on the movement of physical objects, why not make money on the movement of people who are looking for something beyond the Earth to fill their lives with meaning?
Source: whatifshow.com
And from “I have been there and it is so beautiful that I will remember it for the rest of my life” to “it is so beautiful here, maybe this will be my new home” is not such a long distance. Is living on a planet where it is impossible to stay without a spacesuit worthy of being called Martians by man and his descendants?
As already mentioned, each of the planets in the Solar System, not to mention the worlds beyond, is a potential future great nation. And it is quite possible that in a few centuries, portraits of some of those who will agree to exchange a quiet life on Earth for the difficult development of a new planet will be included in school history courses. And someone’s monuments will adorn the main squares of cities that have not yet been built.
Finding yourself amid emptiness
Space is a real ocean of darkness, in which there is nothing. And only here and there are galaxies, stars, and planets scattered throughout it. The modern Earth, on the other hand, is overcrowded, but not in the sense that it cannot feed all people.
It is just that it is getting harder to be alone here. And it is not just about big cities. Even if you travel outside of them, you will still find traces of people. Even if you get out into the jungle somewhere, you will still have airplanes flying overhead from time to time, and the airwaves will be filled with signals.
For people who are lost in the mishmash of human civilization, there are fewer and fewer opportunities to find themselves in a situation where they can hear only their voice, ask themselves the main questions, and find answers within themselves.
In this respect, space provides people with an opportunity that they will never have on Earth: to be in a place where there is no one else for thousands or millions of kilometers. Already on the back side of the Moon, there are practically no radio signals, and yet the surface area of this celestial body is larger than that of Africa. It can accommodate tens of thousands of modules for hermits who want to know themselves, and the distance between them will be such that it cannot be overcome on foot.
If you fly somewhere far, far away, you can become the only person on the surface of a celestial body at that moment. And it does not matter that this is one of the many asteroids, a little over a kilometer in size, that orbits the Main Belt. But you can feel like the Little Prince of Saint-Exupéry.
Finally, if someone wants to know what it means to truly know the void, space exploration provides an opportunity to have such a unique experience. To do this, it is enough to launch a one-person habitation module far beyond Pluto’s orbit.
At this distance, even the Sun turns into just the brightest star. Therefore, a person who decides to settle here will be able to concentrate on the most important things. Because there will be only stars and darkness around. And there will be no gravity. Only a person, darkness, and stars are around. And even the sense of direction will be lost.
Space can give people a lot of different opportunities, if only because it is much bigger than the Earth. Everyone can find something different there. But one thing is certain about space: it is an environment where people who want to sit and not move have no place. It encourages development and change. Therefore, the main reason to settle there is that it is an incentive to move forward.
