Climate change is rapidly making the Earth's atmosphere unsuitable to human life, as industrial and international pivots to sustainable energy goals aim to secure the common future of humanity.
However, when multiple threats to the existence of human life happen at the same time like the climate and COVID-19 crises the question of long-term survival arises. We'll almost certainly beat the COVID-19 crisis, and the species stands a good chance at overcoming climate change in the long run.
But someday billions of years from now the Sun will ultimately obliterate the Earth. A recent study published in the journal Nature Astronomy offered a glimpse of Earth-like crusts floating about their host star system.While none of us will be around to see Earth reach a similarly final stage, it raises the question of how humanity will survive Earth. If it can.
A year ago, Elon Musk tweeted new details about his plans to settle Mars with his aerospace company, SpaceX suggesting a viable human presence could take seed on the Red Planet by the mid-21st century.
If we take Musk at his word, the entirety of SpaceX's launches and deals from commercial rideshares and Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit, the contract from NASA to launch parts for the forthcoming Lunar Gateway, to the exploding prototype Starships are united in a single mission to establish a permanent human presence on Mars.
With human populations on both Earth and Mars, the species stands a better chance of surviving extinction-level events, since barring a rogue black hole singularity, unusually monstrous super-solar flare, or nearby supernova such events have yet to be seen on both planets at the same time.
The challenge, of course, is developing a new comprehensive suite of engineering and technology to support humans in environments inherently deadly to human bodies. One day we might terraform the Red Planet thickening and altering its atmosphere to support human life but this could take centuries, or longer.
Regardless, Musk's SpaceX has come a long way from a few commercial launches per year with 26 successful launches in 2020. But despite Musk's claim to put humans on Mars by 2024. Or was it 2026?
Since the European Space Agency's (ESA's) Hydrogen probe touched down on the surface of Jupiter's moon, Titan, researchers have considered the planet for possible colonization.
Unlike the moon and Mars, Titan has the densest atmosphere of any moon in the solar system which would serve as protection from solar radiation. The Jovian moon may also have large bodies of liquid hydrocarbons in methane and ethane seas which could serve as fuel.
Titan also likely has water, in addition to abundant natural resources with which future astronauts could construct and maintain a base.
While Venus and Europa could also support small habitats in the clouds and under the ice sheets of each body, respectively the most effective way for humans to survive local extinction events is to spread beyond our solar system.
The nearest star system Alpha Centauri is roughly 4.4 light-years away which means it would take nearly 4.5 years to arrive at the system if we moved at the speed of light (which is not theoretically possible). This is especially vexing since new research pointed to a possibly life-sustaining world orbiting in the habitable zone of Alpha Centauri A.
Sadly, conventional methods of chemical rocket propellant would take 19,000 to 81,000 years to reach Alpha Centauri. Additionally, a 2019 study suggested a generational ship where humans can live and reproduce through the eons-long journey would need to have artificial land to grow food, and be large enough to generate artificial gravity via spinning. This could mean a minimum radius of 735 ft (224 m), and a minimum length of 1,050 ft (320 m).
Barring such a hefty and long-term commitment, we could also simply "seed" planets throughout the galaxy with the building blocks of life effectively conceding our species' survival to our home solar system while allowing other forms of life to evolve in radically alien environments.
Called the Genesis project, the interplanetary seeding endeavor would distribute microbial life on "transiently habitable exoplanets i.e. planets capable of supporting life, but not likely to give rise to it on their own," said Claudius Gros of Goethe University's Institute for Theoretical Physics, according to a Phys.org report.
While we still have options to help humans survive Earth by settling other planets in our solar system, a relatively low-cost back-up plan could "jump-start" evolution on planets not likely to develop life independently and make sure the "light of consciousness," as Musk has called it, has a chance to evolve elsewhere. Just in case we don't survive Earth.
View original post here:
Will Humanity Survive the Earth? | IE - Interesting Engineering
- Singularity Future Technology Ltd (SGLY) is up 43.55% Tuesday In Premarket Trading - InvestorsObserver - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- This Week's Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through March 16) - Singularity Hub - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- Palia reaches over 3m players in six months thanks to "invaluable" Switch partnership - GamesIndustry.biz - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- Beyond the Singularity: Exploring the Fusion of AI and Art - Hong Kong Standard - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- Your Comprehensive Guide to Telos Staking Success | by Pizza Singularity Sapphire | Feb, 2024 - Medium - February 20th, 2024 [February 20th, 2024]
- BTS' Kim Taehyung's 'Singularity' Performance Featured in Harvard Professor's Book - BNN Breaking - February 20th, 2024 [February 20th, 2024]
- Title: Understanding the Singularity: Unveiling the Future of Humanity - Medium - December 12th, 2023 [December 12th, 2023]
- What happens at the center of a black hole? - Astronomy Magazine - December 12th, 2023 [December 12th, 2023]
- IBM Is Planning to Build Its First Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computer by 2029 - Singularity Hub - December 12th, 2023 [December 12th, 2023]
- 22 Laws of Singularity And How You Can Apply Them To Live A Better Life - Medium - December 12th, 2023 [December 12th, 2023]
- Singularity: Here's When Humanity Will Reach It, New Data Shows - March 31st, 2023 [March 31st, 2023]
- sentinelOne expands singularity marketplace with new SOAR, insider threat, training, and prioritization integrations - ZAWYA - March 31st, 2023 [March 31st, 2023]
- Reaching the Singularity May be Humanitys Greatest and Last ... - March 4th, 2023 [March 4th, 2023]
- Singularity: Explain It to Me Like I'm 5-Years-Old - Futurism - March 4th, 2023 [March 4th, 2023]
- SINGULARITY FUTURE TECHNOLOGY LTD. : Notice of Delisting or Failure to Satisfy a Continued Listing Rule or Standard; Transfer of Listing, Change in... - March 4th, 2023 [March 4th, 2023]
- Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak on Artificial Intelligence: Not worried about The Singularity, well still be in control - MacDailyNews - February 12th, 2023 [February 12th, 2023]
- Cauchy principal value - Wikipedia - January 4th, 2023 [January 4th, 2023]
- Singularity Future Technology Ltd. (SGLY) Stockholder Notice: Robbins LLP Reminds Investors of the Class Action Against Singularity Future Technology... - December 14th, 2022 [December 14th, 2022]
- ROSEN, A LEADING LAW FIRM, Encourages Singularity Future Technology Ltd. f/k/a Sino-Global Shipping America Ltd. Investors to Secure Counsel Before... - December 12th, 2022 [December 12th, 2022]
- Singularity (mathematics) - Wikipedia - November 23rd, 2022 [November 23rd, 2022]
- GitHub: Where the world builds software GitHub - November 21st, 2022 [November 21st, 2022]
- Review: The Singularities, by John Banville - The New York Times - October 25th, 2022 [October 25th, 2022]
- We need to manage AI better as we are approaching the Creative Singularity - RedShark News - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- This Week's Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through October 15) - Singularity Hub - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- Ferguson: A second helping of QB play from Thanksgiving weekend - CFL.ca - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- Kanimozhi slams Union govt over conducting CGL exams in only Hindi and English - The News Minute - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- New Bayonetta 3 Trailer Reveals An In-Universe Singularity, And Lots Of Witches - Gameranx - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Singularity Future Technology Announces Receipt of Nasdaq Notice of Delisting and Intention to Request Hearing - Yahoo Finance - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Six Recent Discoveries That Have Changed How We Think About Human Origins - Singularity Hub - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- This AI Uses a Scan of Your Retina to Predict Your Risk of Heart Disease - Singularity Hub - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- The Moon May Have Formed Just Hours After Earth Collided With a Protoplanet - Singularity Hub - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- UK HealthCare hosting 2 nationally esteemed guests for 60th anniversary symposium - UKNow - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Why Transcend Fund believes the opportunity for game investments is only getting bigger - VentureBeat - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Austin Powers References in This Fool, Ramy, Bros - Vulture - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Bayonetta 3 Everything You Need to Know About this Bewitching Beat em Up - Wccftech - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Longtermism: The Future Is VastWhat Does This Mean for Our Own Life? - Singularity Hub - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Ohio creates elections integrity office while voter fraud is already 'exceedingly rare' - ideastream - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Elon Musk Warns of World War III - TheStreet - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Durga reminds us of our collective obligations - Daily Pioneer - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Glitch in the algorithm - The Bucknellian - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- As the Robot Fry Cook Takes Over the Kitchen - Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- The Singularity Image Format (SIF) Selected as a Finalist in the HPCwire Readers' Choice Awards - PR Web - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- The Singularity Image Format (SIF) Selected as a Finalist in the HPCwire Readers' Choice Awards - Benzinga - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- The Singularity of the Dual Mandate - Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- What Is the Quirk Singularity Doomsday Theory in My Hero Academia? Explained - Twinfinite - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Introduction to week 4 of Tekedia Mini-MBA: Exponential Technologies and Singularity - Tekedia - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- A $500 Million International Project Will Create the Most Detailed Map of the Brain Ever - Singularity Hub - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- There Are Cheaper, More Sustainable Ways Than Desalination to Meet Our Water Needs - Singularity Hub - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- #3DStartup: Unlimited Tomorrow and its 3D Printed Bionic Prosthetic Arm - 3Dnatives - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- First As Parody, Then As Free Speech: The Onion Goes To The Supreme Court. It's About As Awesome As You'd Suspect. - Above the Law - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- 10 Hot Cyber Threat Intelligence Tools And Services In 2022 - CRN - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Nintendo comes out strong with its offering of upcoming titles - The UML Connector - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- The metaverses evolutionary roots could aid its success | Mint - Mint - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- The Tech That Will Push VR to the Limits of the Human Eye - Singularity Hub - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Super-Earths Are Bigger and More Habitable Than Earth, and Astronomers Are Discovering More of the Billions They Think Are Out There - Singularity Hub - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Scientists Have Long Dreamed of a Memory Prosthesis. The First Human Trials Look Promising - Singularity Hub - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- NASA's DART Spacecraft Will Smack an Asteroid at 14,000 MPH Todayand You Can Watch - Singularity Hub - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Why You Should Read This: 'The Gold Coast' - Alta Magazine - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- The Multitude of Stromae - Mail and Guardian - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine is Getting a Location-based VR Experience Next Year - Road to VR - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- What the pandemic taught us about teaching (On the Other Hand) - Montclair Local - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Where to get the Boom Sniper in Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 4 - The Nerd Stash - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Machine learning has predicted the winners of the Worlds - CyclingTips - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Vaonis Vespera Review: Easy To Use But with Underwhelming Results - PetaPixel - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- The biggest problem with gravity and quantum physics - Big Think - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- V gets inked on his butt cheek? BTS star spills the details about his friendship tattoo - Zoom TV - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Robots & Humans: Are we heading towards Singularity? - INDIAai - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- This Week's Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through September 17) - Singularity Hub - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- A Swedish Company Wants to Transform Offshore Wind With Vertical-Axis Turbines - Singularity Hub - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Decarbonizing the Energy Sector by 2050 Could Save the World $12 Trillion - Singularity Hub - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- This Sleek Solar Car Goes 600 Miles on a Charge and Is Gearing Up for Production - Singularity Hub - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Meta Built an AI That Can Guess the Words You're Hearing by Decoding Your Brainwaves - Singularity Hub - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Gory Throwback FPS 'Prodeus' Exits Early Access This Thursday, Launching for PC and Consoles [Trailer] - Bloody Disgusting - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Meet the New Vespera Telescope From Vaonis - Universe Today - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Of God and Machines - The Atlantic - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Humans Destroyed Forests for Thousands of Years. We Can Become the First Generation to Expand Them - Singularity Hub - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Intel Core i9-13900K beats the 12900K by +10% in CPU-bound games - KitGuru - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- INVESTIGATION ALERT: The Schall Law Firm Encourages Investors in Singularity Future Technology Ltd. with Losses of $100000 to Contact the Firm -... - August 15th, 2022 [August 15th, 2022]
- How To Open Singularity Rock in Tower of Fantasy - Attack of the Fanboy - August 15th, 2022 [August 15th, 2022]
- Intel i9-13900K Tested in Ashes Of The Singularity, Offers Neglible Increments in Performance - Appuals - August 15th, 2022 [August 15th, 2022]