The future of human success is in
space exploration. Thus we must address the possibilities within it. The
question to be addressed is: Can humans and robots colonize other planets and
moons in our solar system and beyond? I believe that we can. I wish to educate
the general populous about our future as a race advancing into space, and
hopefully encourage more young scholars to pursue careers in astronomy,
astrophysics etc., as to further this goal of exploration and colonization
along more quickly, as well as persuade readers of the importance of space
exploration. This paper is intended for scholars, as well as anyone interested
in the future exploration of our universe. It will be written in the format of
a research paper as to inform readers of the issue from different points of
view and practicality. I understand that most people don’t know a huge amount
about this topic, and I intend to address that. I plan on using work from NASA
and scholarly journals written by astronomers, engineers, and astrophysicists.
I hope to inform and inspire.
When
people think about the future, they often think of space ships, and aliens and
other science-fiction related things. What many fail to imagine is; what if we
don’t make it to “the future”? Our planet won’t last forever, and if we [the
human race] wish to make it to this alleged science-fiction future, we must
accept that fact and work towards moving away from our dying planet and into
the rest of this universe. Space exploration is no longer an idea of science-fiction;
it is now an idea of the near future.
Astronomy
as a science dates back to pre-historical Europe. While they did not possess
the tools we have now, it is human nature to be curious, and even in ancient
times, people wondered what was beyond the stars. Humans need oxygen and water
to survive, thus making many planets uninhabitable. There is also the problem
of time taken to reach a planet (i.e. if you left on a rocket to Mars today, it
would take you roughly 30 years to get there). The advancement of robotics
however has enabled to branch further out than we currently could if we only
used human pioneers. Astrophysics, biochemical physics, and aeronautical engineering
are all making progress in hopes to further our existence into the universe.
In the 1960s, the
United States of America, the Russian Federation, China, and India all began
working towards traveling to Earth’s nearest terrestrial body: the moon.
Throughout the 1960s, moon travels were all the rage. This decade came to be
known by astronomers as the “space age.” After the hype of the first man
walking on the moon however, the general public lost interest. There were still
advances being made, but people didn’t seem to care. Because of this, financial,
and political reasons, with the exception of the International Space Station,
little work been done to move humans to terrestrial bodies other than our own. This
is not to say that there are not men and women working every day in labs and in
the International Space Station to make progress, but unfortunately due to it
being seen as a luxury opposed to a necessity, funding for these programs has
not been good. It is understandable of course. There are many Earthly problems
that need funding to be attended to now, as to where space exploration can be
attended to later, but later may be too late. If we do not put effort into
expanding our existence now, we may never have the chance.
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