Im old enough to have watched the grainy TV images of the first moon landings by Apollo 11 in 1969. I can never look at the moon without recalling this heroic exploit. It was achieved only 12 years after the first object, Sputnik-1, was launched into orbit. Had that momentum been maintained, there would surely have been footprints on Mars a decade or two later. Thats what many of our generation expected. However, this was the era of the space race between the United States and the USSR, when Nasa absorbed up to 4% of the US federal budget. Once that race was won, there was no motivation for continuing this huge expenditure.
To young people today, these exploits are ancient history. Yet space technology has burgeoned. We depend on satellites every day, for communication, weather forecasting, surveillance and satnav. Robotic probes to other planets have beamed back pictures of varied and distinctive worlds; several have landed on Mars. And telescopes in space have revolutionised our knowledge of the cosmos. Whats more, humanity, or rather a narrow sliver of us, may be on the verge of an era of space exploration that makes the moon landings seem parochial by comparison.
The last visitors to the moon Harrison Schmitt and Eugene Cernan, on Apollo 17 returned in 1972. During the subsequent 50 years, human spaceflight has seemingly regressed: hundreds have ventured into space but, anticlimactically, none has done more than circle the Earth in low orbit, mainly in the International Space Station (ISS). The scientific and technical payoff from the ISS isnt trivial, but it has been less cost-effective than robotic missions. Nor are these voyages inspiring in the way that the pioneering Soviet and US adventures were.
The space shuttle was, until its decommissioning, the main vehicle for transporting people to and from the ISS. It failed twice in 135 launches. Astronauts or test pilots would willingly accept this level of risk less than 2%. But the shuttle had, unwisely, been promoted as a safe vehicle for civilians (a female schoolteacher, Christa McAuliffe was one of the casualties of the Challenger disaster in 1986). Each failure caused a national trauma in the US and was followed by a hiatus while costly efforts were made, with very limited effect, to reduce risks still further.
During this century, our whole solar system will be explored by flotillas of miniaturised probes. These technologies are far more advanced than Nasas wonderful Cassini probe, which was launched nearly 25 years ago on a seven-year journey, and spent 13 years exploring Saturn and its moons. In coming years, robotic fabricators may assemble vast lightweight structures in space: huge, gossamer-thin mirrors, for telescopes or solar energy collectors, perhaps using raw materials mined from the moon or asteroids. Such robots could repair spacecraft even in high orbits.
Advances in robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) are eroding the need for humans in space. The fact that the Apollo 17 astronaut Schmitt was a geologist enabled him to gather especially interesting samples of lunar rocks and soil. But future probes to Mars will be able to make such choices themselves. If you can get a robot to do it, why send a human at all? Nonetheless, I hope people do follow the robots as adventurers, rather than for practical goals.
Private-enterprise ventures such as SpaceX and Blue Origin have brought a Silicon Valley culture into a domain long dominated by Nasa and a few aerospace conglomerates. They have managed to improve rocketry and cut costs. Moreover, they can be less risk-averse than Nasa, and still find volunteers willing to tolerate higher risks than a western government could impose on publicly funded civilian astronauts. So its these cut-price ventures with private sponsorship, rather than public money that should be at the forefront of human space travel.
The phrase space tourism should be avoided. It lulls people into believing that such ventures are routine and low-risk. And if thats the perception, the inevitable accidents will be as traumatic as those of the space shuttle were. These exploits must be promoted as dangerous sports or intrepid exploration. Later this century, courageous thrill-seekers in the mould of, say, Ranulph Fiennes or the early polar explorers may well establish bases independent of the Earth. Elon Musk, the richest man on the planet, himself says he wants to die on Mars but not on impact.
But what is the longer-range goal? Musk and my late colleague Stephen Hawking envisaged that the first settlers on Mars would be followed by literally millions of others. But this is a dangerous delusion. Coping with the climate crisis is a doddle compared to terraforming Mars. Nowhere in our solar system offers an environment even as clement as the top of Everest. There will be no planet B for most of us. But I still want to cheer on those pioneer Martians because they will have a pivotal role in shaping what happens in the 22nd century and beyond.
This is because the pioneer settlers ill-adapted to their new habitats will have a more compelling incentive than those of us on Earth to literally redesign themselves. Theyll harness the super-powerful genetic and cyborg technologies that will be developed in coming decades. These techniques will be, one hopes, heavily regulated on Earth but those on Mars will be far beyond the clutches of the regulators. We should wish them luck in modifying their progeny to adapt to alien environments. This might be the first step towards divergence into a new species.
Its these space-faring adventurers, not those of us contentedly adapted to life on Earth, who will spearhead the post-human era. Its perhaps in deep space not on Earth, or even on Mars that non-biological brains may develop powers that humans cant even imagine.
The sun will survive six billion more years before its fuel runs out. And the expanding universe will continue far longer perhaps for ever. So even if intelligent life had originated only on the Earth, it need not remain a trivial feature of the cosmos: it could jump-start a diaspora whereby ever more complex intelligence spreads through the whole galaxy. Interstellar or even intergalactic voyages would hold no terrors for near-immortals.
Even though we are not the terminal branch of an evolutionary tree, we humans could claim truly cosmic significance for jump-starting the transition to electronic entities, spreading our influence far beyond the Earth. But this raises a further question: will our remote progeny be the first intelligences to spread through the galaxy? Or will they encounter something already out there, whose origins lie on a planet around an older star where evolution had a head start over us?
Martin Rees is the astronomer royal and a former president of the Royal Society. His new book, co-authored with Donald Goldsmith, is The End of Astronauts: Why Robots Are the Future of Exploration
Go here to read the rest:
Could space-going billionaires be the vanguard of a cosmic revolution? - The Guardian
- Best Sci-Fi Board Games In 2024 - TheGamer - April 18th, 2024 [April 18th, 2024]
- Elon Musk's 'Multiplanetary' Civilization Doesn't Offer Real Hope - The Federalist - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- NASA's Perseverance rover successfully completes its oxygen ... - East Coast Daily (English) - September 9th, 2023 [September 9th, 2023]
- 18 Board Games That Everyone Needs To Play - Kotaku Australia - September 9th, 2023 [September 9th, 2023]
- The 15 Best Transformers Ripoffs - MovieWeb - September 9th, 2023 [September 9th, 2023]
- Godzilla Stomps Onto Television With 'Monarch' Trailer - ScreenCrush - September 9th, 2023 [September 9th, 2023]
- How to terraform Mars, without nukes, on a budget - Freethink - May 31st, 2023 [May 31st, 2023]
- Experience the future of sci-fi strategy gaming: 'Space Gears ... - msnNOW - May 31st, 2023 [May 31st, 2023]
- Terraforming Mars - Apps on Google Play - March 31st, 2023 [March 31st, 2023]
- The Definitive Guide To Terraforming - Universe Today - January 31st, 2023 [January 31st, 2023]
- How Terraforming Works | HowStuffWorks - January 31st, 2023 [January 31st, 2023]
- Could we really terraform Mars? | Space - January 31st, 2023 [January 31st, 2023]
- How Do We Terraform Mars? - Universe Today - January 31st, 2023 [January 31st, 2023]
- How to save the planet in less than two hours | Mint - Mint - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Elon Musk Floats 'Nuke Mars' Idea Again | Space - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Farting spaceships and the terraforming of Mars - Sify - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- Dubai Future Forum begins with focus on society and space - The National - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- Breakthrough - Surviving Mars Wiki - Paradox Wikis - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Why is there no Planet B? (commentary) - Mongabay.com - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- The Fallout Of Warworld Across The DC Universe, Today (Spoilers) - Bleeding Cool News - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- How to Teach Someone a Board Game (and Even Have Fun Doing It) - The New York Times - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- X-Men Monday #172 - Steve Foxe Reflects on 'X-Men '92: House of XCII' AIPT - AIPT - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Lord Martin Rees: 'Long term, humans won't exist they'll evolve into something digital' - The Telegraph - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Book review: 'How the World Really Works' | Community | bgdailynews.com - Bowling Green Daily News - August 29th, 2022 [August 29th, 2022]
- Why Did Ferns Persist When All Other Plants Perished? - The Scientist - August 15th, 2022 [August 15th, 2022]
- Cardboard Cinema: LOTR, American Psycho, The World Series Of Board Games, And Zine Quest - /Film - August 15th, 2022 [August 15th, 2022]
- Marvel Reveals the Moment Before the X-Men Suffer a Planetary Mutant Massacre (Exclusive) - ComicBook.com - July 31st, 2022 [July 31st, 2022]
- How humans may populate the universe in the billions of years ahead - The Spectator - July 17th, 2022 [July 17th, 2022]
- Terraforming of Venus - Wikipedia - July 13th, 2022 [July 13th, 2022]
- Colonize the Red Planet with the Terraforming Mars board game, now 45% off - Space.com - July 13th, 2022 [July 13th, 2022]
- Want to know California's future? You can see it in the Sierra - San Francisco Chronicle - July 13th, 2022 [July 13th, 2022]
- The Untold Truth Of General Zod - Looper - June 15th, 2022 [June 15th, 2022]
- Terraformers Early Access Review One of the Finest Martian Games on Earth - The Workprint - June 11th, 2022 [June 11th, 2022]
- Bitcoin Mining In The 22nd Century - Bitcoin Magazine - June 11th, 2022 [June 11th, 2022]
- Sins Of The Black Flamingo Thank FOC It's Saturday, 4th of June 2022 - Bleeding Cool News - June 11th, 2022 [June 11th, 2022]
- Free to grab: Far Cry 4 and more games with Amazon Prime Gaming - guru3d.com - June 1st, 2022 [June 1st, 2022]
- The best Memorial Day sales we can find on gadgets, games, and tech gear [Updated] - Ars Technica - June 1st, 2022 [June 1st, 2022]
- Free to grab: Bioshock: The Collection at Epic Games Store - guru3d.com - June 1st, 2022 [June 1st, 2022]
- Early Memorial Day deal: get 33% off the Terraforming Mars board game - Space.com - May 25th, 2022 [May 25th, 2022]
- Todays best deals: iPad Air, recommended board games, and gaming mice - Ars Technica - May 23rd, 2022 [May 23rd, 2022]
- Why Is Board Gaming So White And Male? I'm Trying To Figure That Out - Kotaku Australia - May 23rd, 2022 [May 23rd, 2022]
- Five Stories in Which Aliens Attempt to Reshape the Earth - Tor.com - May 23rd, 2022 [May 23rd, 2022]
- Android app deals of the day: Terraforming Mars, Green Project, Fenix 2 for Twitter, more - 9to5Toys - May 13th, 2022 [May 13th, 2022]
- Get the Terraforming Mars video game for free right now from Epic Games - Space.com - May 13th, 2022 [May 13th, 2022]
- 11 best solo board games that can be enjoyed by one-player - The Independent - May 13th, 2022 [May 13th, 2022]
- Terraforming Mars is free on the Epic Games Store - Destructoid - May 6th, 2022 [May 6th, 2022]
- Vampire the Masquerade - Bloodhunt: What Are The Best Features Of Nosferatu Prowler? - The West News - May 6th, 2022 [May 6th, 2022]
- Games Inbox: Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 2 performance worries - Metro.co.uk - May 6th, 2022 [May 6th, 2022]
- Bleach Brave Souls: What Are The Best Beginner Tips? - The West News - May 6th, 2022 [May 6th, 2022]
- Terraforming Mars will be free on the Epic Games Store next week - For The Win - May 3rd, 2022 [May 3rd, 2022]
- Bugsnax: How To Find The Trip Shot? - The West News - May 3rd, 2022 [May 3rd, 2022]
- Rogue Legacy 2: How To Find All The Lilies Of the Valley? - The West News - May 3rd, 2022 [May 3rd, 2022]
- Final Fantasy 14: How To Find The Radiant Twine? - The West News - May 3rd, 2022 [May 3rd, 2022]
- Globle Game Answer Today May 3, 2022 - The West News - May 3rd, 2022 [May 3rd, 2022]
- PUBG: How To Use Emotes On PC And Mobile Phones? - The West News - May 3rd, 2022 [May 3rd, 2022]
- Vampire The Masquerade - Bloodhunt: What Are The Best Tips To Be A Vampire? - The West News - May 3rd, 2022 [May 3rd, 2022]
- Skyrim: How To Find The Quarried Stone? - The West News - May 3rd, 2022 [May 3rd, 2022]
- Dungeons & Dragons: What Are The Best Tiefling Bloodlines? - The West News - May 3rd, 2022 [May 3rd, 2022]
- Skyrim: How To Find The Daedric Horse? - The West News - May 3rd, 2022 [May 3rd, 2022]
- Heardle Answer For Today May 3 Tuesday - The West News - May 3rd, 2022 [May 3rd, 2022]
- Skyrim: How To Be A Part Of The Thieves Guild? - The West News - May 3rd, 2022 [May 3rd, 2022]
- Animal Crossing New Horizons: How To Get Ruby? - The West News - May 3rd, 2022 [May 3rd, 2022]
- Globle Game Answer Today April 29, 2022 - The West News - May 3rd, 2022 [May 3rd, 2022]
- Powerball Winning Numbers of April 30, 2022 - The West News - May 3rd, 2022 [May 3rd, 2022]
- Animal Crossing: What Is New Horizons May Day? - The West News - May 3rd, 2022 [May 3rd, 2022]
- 10 best solo board games that can be enjoyed by one-player - The Independent - May 3rd, 2022 [May 3rd, 2022]
- What is the temperature on Mars? | Space - April 20th, 2022 [April 20th, 2022]
- Per Aspera expands ocean terraforming with Blue Mars expansion - PC Gamer - April 20th, 2022 [April 20th, 2022]
- Teburu could be the future of board games that gamers actually want - TechRadar - April 20th, 2022 [April 20th, 2022]
- 'X-Men Red': on terraforming, climate change, and collective will - AIPT - April 6th, 2022 [April 6th, 2022]
- The UAEs plan to terraform Mars could also transform its own desert nation - The Independent - April 6th, 2022 [April 6th, 2022]
- Why is board gaming so white and male? I'm trying to figure that out - The Conversation - March 31st, 2022 [March 31st, 2022]
- Terraform a planet in this survival game that looks like Subnautica on Mars - PC Gamer - March 29th, 2022 [March 29th, 2022]
- All The Ways Living On Mars Could Kill You - 2oceansvibe News - March 29th, 2022 [March 29th, 2022]
- 10 Things You Didnt Know About The Sega Genesis Dragon Ball Z Game - Verve Times - March 18th, 2022 [March 18th, 2022]
- Moon Knight Faces His Greatest Test... The Truth - Marvel.com - March 17th, 2022 [March 17th, 2022]
- Curious Kids: could we change other planets in the Solar System so we could live on them? - The Conversation UK - February 24th, 2022 [February 24th, 2022]
- Curious Kids: Could we change other planets in the solar system so we could live on them? - The Indian Express - February 19th, 2022 [February 19th, 2022]
- Ada Palmer and the Weird Hand of Progress - WIRED - February 11th, 2022 [February 11th, 2022]
- The Live A Live Remake Gives Us Hope That These Japan-Only Square Enix Classics Will Make it West - PlayStation LifeStyle - February 11th, 2022 [February 11th, 2022]