Pros And Cons Of Space Colonization
Factoid Friday Transcript
Space colonization has been a controversial issue since Cold War. Since the moon landing, people and scientists have started to look even further. Space Colonization is no longer the stuff of science fiction. With each passing day it is closer and closer to becoming a reality. Colonizing space would be the ultimate feat of mankind.
But exploration isn't the only incentive to leave Earth. Our 4.5 billion year old planet is being quickly depleted of resources. The most impending problems include world hunger, the scarcity of fresh accessible water, and of course global warming. Over 800 million people are suffering malnutrition in the world today. In a recent report published by the UN, in less than 100 years, the population will almost double its current 7.3 billion people. With this inevitable crisis, scientists have looked towards the stars. …show more content…
Recently NASA has detailed plans to start sending people on to Mars by 2035. Dutch nonprofit, Mars One and Elon Musk’s Space X also have plans to send up the first Mars colony, as early as 2026.
However, many skeptics question the feasibility of the plan with some of the biggest issues being money, safety, and politics. In the case of NASA, some say the large cost of the space activities waste taxpayer money as well as jeopardize lives. There is also debate on the sovereignty of celestial bodies.
As for the issue of money, scientists believe colonies will be self sustaining through asteroid mining which are projected to yield far greater profits than any rare metal mining on Earth. Planetary Resources is a company that already tackles with the business of Asteroid Mining. Companies like Planetary Resources hope to exploit the rare metals and water from the asteroid for profit. Board members of Google and other tech moguls are large investors in Asteroid
Space colonization has been a controversial issue since Cold War. Since the moon landing, people and scientists have started to look even further. Space Colonization is no longer the stuff of science fiction. With each passing day it is closer and closer to becoming a reality. Colonizing space would be the ultimate feat of mankind.
But exploration isn't the only incentive to leave Earth. Our 4.5 billion year old planet is being quickly depleted of resources. The most impending problems include world hunger, the scarcity of fresh accessible water, and of course global warming. Over 800 million people are suffering malnutrition in the world today. In a recent report published by the UN, in less than 100 years, the population will almost double its current 7.3 billion people. With this inevitable crisis, scientists have looked towards the stars. …show more content…
Recently NASA has detailed plans to start sending people on to Mars by 2035. Dutch nonprofit, Mars One and Elon Musk’s Space X also have plans to send up the first Mars colony, as early as 2026.
However, many skeptics question the feasibility of the plan with some of the biggest issues being money, safety, and politics. In the case of NASA, some say the large cost of the space activities waste taxpayer money as well as jeopardize lives. There is also debate on the sovereignty of celestial bodies.
As for the issue of money, scientists believe colonies will be self sustaining through asteroid mining which are projected to yield far greater profits than any rare metal mining on Earth. Planetary Resources is a company that already tackles with the business of Asteroid Mining. Companies like Planetary Resources hope to exploit the rare metals and water from the asteroid for profit. Board members of Google and other tech moguls are large investors in Asteroid