This is probably a stupid question, but why colonize asteroids before trying to establish a colony on the moon?
K e v i n wrote:This is probably a stupid question, but why colonize asteroids before trying to establish a colony on the moon?
Agreed. A colony on the Moon seems like the logical next step after a building a space station, which we've now done.
Acquiunk wrote:At the moment human space exploration is a technology without a purpose. We do not know enough about what is out there to have a purpose for going. A useful analogy would be the settlement of North America. It took over 100 years after discovery before a reason for settling there was found. The lag between discovery and settlement is going to be similar, if not longer for space.
We discovered space thousands of years ago.
A manned mission to the moon is better than going nowhere beyond LEO = low earth orbit. I wonder if lots of people share my feeling of "been there, done that"? Unfortunately the 6 manned flights to the moon found little that could make a self sustained colony practical on the Moon. Some science since then gives clues, such as the helium 3 and likely water at the poles and far below the surface.
The asteroid we select with practically no known specifications will be a big adventure. It may have some pleasant surprises, such as rich uranium ore, which might free all future launches from Earth from carrying radio active material. In my opinion that would be very valuable, but I admit to doubt that two adults and 4 small children can refine uranium no matter what supplies are sent and how much instruction.
The charting and laser nudging of possible killer asteroids seems doable and of immeasurable value if it saves the lives of a few billion Earthlings. If we colonize a bunch of asteroids eventually a habitat will be established on a small moon, then a planet, then a comet. A comet could take a human outpost a million times farther from Earth than the distance to the moon. Neil
Isn't a comet just gas and ice? Could you live on a surface like that? I think some may have a solid core if you dig deep enough, but even so,.....
