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Fri 28 May, 2004 07:38 pm
I am confident that there are some interstellar asteroids, comets and even Earth size planets; perhaps only one or two per century, but we will not be prepared for the next flyby unless we start soon. We can put two female humans in an asteroid that passes closer than Earth's moon about once per year. We would send them with lots of supplies and a sperm bank and an embyo bank. We should launch supply craft in random directions before the first colonists leaves Earth. That way it would be probable that supplies could be delivered to each habitat at least once per decade. Soon most of the habitats would have about a century of basic needs. Most items would keep long term in the vacuum of space at about - 200 degrees f. The habitat dwellers would want things not in the supplies so they would be motivated to find ways to produce these items
When the children born in space reached teen age, they would want their own habitat and that would be easy when a vacant asteroid or comet passed close by at low speed relative to the parent asteroid. In 1000 years there could be more than 1000 habitats in asteroids and comets, a few of them hyperbolic and heading into the Oort cloud even if only a few originated from Earth. The habitats would communicate with each other and Earth daily or oftener on forums such as
www.able2know.com www.space.com
Technology advances would likely allow the supply craft to chase the habitats up to a few light years from Earth before the supplies would be too stale to be usable. Habitats that had not achieved self sufficiency would die out, but my guess is some would make it to a new solar system in less than a million years and about 40,000 generations perhaps long after all intelligent life on Earth is extint. Then a new Adam and Eve would land on Earth from one of the orbiting habitats, to multiply and replenish the Earth. Neil
Do you think it weoul be possible for ME to join the ladies thus eliminating the need for a sperm bank? Of course, there's still the science stuff we have to deal with but that can all be worked out later. I shall draw up this proposal and deliver it to NASA ASAP! Oh Boy! I can hardly wait!
Hi Nick: The problem with bringing a man is we need to keep the habitat population to ten or less. Let's say the women 70 years after leaving Earth are age 1, 13, 14, 17, 22, 33, 41, 60, 63, 87 and 99 the last two were born on Earth, and are likely to die soon of old age. We are already at 11 population, but all the younger ones want to start a new habitat on a new asteroid or comet. As soon as 3 of them go to one habitat and 2 to another, we need to produce more children. the 3 youngest are not mature enough to produce children short term nor to leave the parent habitat. If the middle 5 start new habitats, no one is left to produce even one child near term. It is risky to leave the habitat with only 6 persons none of them of child bareing age. It would be wrong to ask a women to produce a child or twins then, leave others to raise the child while she leaves to start a new colony. A man would not solve any problems, and would have to stay or go as one of the team of three. The 41 year old women is already marginal child baring age, so we can't really wait a year or two. It would have been better to send out two or three last year, but we didn't so we can't change that.
It would very unwise to start a new habitat with only one women of child baring age as she could prove incapable of producing a child.. Neil
I think thou hast never raised children -
No men or boys might be practical with envitrofertalization and genetic manipulation. Producing some boys after 40,000 generation (17 years before landing on a planet in the new solar system) would be quite a shock to family, culture and values. What other problems do you see with a female culture of 2 to 11 more or less evenly distributed in age from zero to 102 years old? Neil
Have we had any success doing envitrofertalization for 5 weeks instead of 5 days, before implanting the fetus? That would allow lots more genetic manipulation. Neil