The Next Big Idea Daily Can We Settle Space? Should We?
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Jan 21, 2025 Kelly Weinersmith, a biologist and adjunct faculty member at Rice University, delves into the complexities of space settlements. She and her husband originally aimed to paint a rosy picture of a future on Mars but now express skepticism about its feasibility. They discuss the fragile health of humans in space, the challenges of sustainability, and concerns over lunar and Martian colonization. Weinersmith also addresses the ethical dilemmas and the legal frameworks that hinder our pursuit of settling off-world.
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Flawed Arguments for Space Settlement
- Many arguments supporting space settlement are flawed, including those about environmental salvation, human advancement, and economic gain.
- These arguments rely on folk beliefs, not actual scientific or scholarly evidence.
Space Travel and Wisdom
- The idea that space travel promotes wisdom is untrue, as evidenced by visible borders from space, like between North and South Korea.
- Moving enough people to space to impact Earth's population would be logistically impossible with current technology.
Limited Data on Human Adaptation
- Data on human adaptation to space is limited, based mainly on short-term astronaut stays in Earth's orbit.
- The long-term effects of reduced gravity and radiation on human reproduction are unknown, raising ethical concerns for space settlements.
