The discovery of seven likely Dyson Spheres suggests the possible existence of civilizations beyond our own. Whether or not that claim is ultimately supported, the fact that was made at all is an important element in the broader search for extra-terrestrial intelligences (SETI). It is highly unlikely that billions of galaxies with billions of stars most with planets all exist without intelligences, except for us here on Earth. Contrary to that, on the astronomy discussion board Cloudy Nights, Sky & Telescope editor, Tony Flanders, has been hosting an open exchange of opinions -- his own and from several other writers -- that overwhelmingly assert that human colonization beyond Earth is unlikely, or impossible, or unnecessary, or undesirable. I believe that it is inevitable.
See here for the 40+ comments "Will Humans Ever Settle in Outer Space? - Science! Astronomy & Space Exploration, and Others - Cloudy Nights" https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/947257-will-humans-ever-settle-in-outer-space/
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Seven possible Dyson Spheres from MNRAS 531, 695–707 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stae1186 Advance Access publication 2024 May 6 |
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| Virgin Galactic 11 July 2011 |
Further objections grew from the economics of trade: there is none. In other words, spaceborne manufacturing so far has been in batches too small for commercialization. It has all been proof-of-concept, at best. Mining the Moon, Mars, or asteroids was also dismissed as difficult to impossible in the first place. Consequential to any success the economics of mining suggest that anything initially rare enough to justify the expense becomes too common to support it.
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| Space-X Crew 5 Oct 7 2022 |
Overall, I found the objections especially disheartening because they came from people whose hobby is observational astronomy. They have the technical knowledge and special interest that I expect from enthusiasts rather than nay-sayers.
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| Learning to fly in the 20th century. |
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| Working at NASA Exchange in the 20th century. |
I can project several scenarios that take humans beyond Earth. All of them come from known science fiction and are merely extrapolations of known history, as science fiction must be: “if this goes on…”; “unless this changes…”; “if this takes over…”; “if this is forgotten…”; and so on.
1. New propulsions. Beyond chemical rockets or plasma engines or huge sails, something we have not expected and could not expect but may be hinted at now will come along. We have had the steam engine, electric motor, internal combustion engine, jet engine, … balloons, airships, and airplanes … and the International Space Station. Something new but understandable in retrospect will change how people leave the planet.
2. New technologies. The unexpected cross-use of existing tools will open new opportunities. The transistor is a case in point. The “transfer of resistance” by crossing two diodes solved one limited problem in one field. Now, we have power transistors pushing over 200 amps with potentials over 4000 volts. And we have very large scale integrated circuits with a million tiny transistors.
3. New biologies. The “people” who go into outer space may not be recognized as “people” today. Modified by microorganism that themselves were modified, they will be engineered to thrive in environments that right now are lethal to us. Those people will engage with symbionts that also were engineered for their environments. Not knowing fully what those ecologies will be, we could allow them to evolve through planned but open epigenetics.
4. New sociologies. You do not need to take your tribe with you or go with them. Rather than as colonies and settlements, we may burst forth as a billion individuals. Individuals in individual carriers can be linked into complex social engagements. Some intelligent actors can be long-distance communicants while others will be mechanoids like dogs or cats aboard your ship.
5. Radiation is energy. The electromagnetic wavicles that are dangerous are also the dynamos that can power the transformations we need. Elements can be created and from them molecules.
6. Space is rich. Water Hydroxyl ions, water itself, and aromatic hydrocarbons are known to exists in outer space. Asteroids, moons, planets and their atmospheres are all sources of the materials upon which the abundant radiation can be put to work.
7. New challenges. One complaint repeated is that there is no reason to go to Mars (or the Moon, etc. And I can grant that. But I also point to the 7,269 people who have climbed Mount Everest—over 90% of them in the last 40 years. Some have died for lack of oxygen because the crowding prevented them from getting to their camps. In 1985 only one person had climbed the tallest summits on each of the seven continents. Now, it is regarded as “a popular challenge.”
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