Hiya...
I read this
story.news.yahoo.com/news...4&ncid=716
and along with the news about the martian landing, I started thinking again about what humanities future in space is, why we need to expand into space and how it possibly could ever happen.
Seems like it should be the next natural step in our growth as a civilization. Historicaly the formula seems to be - a growing population needing more space, increased demands on and competition for natural resources, and mankinds natural need to explore new geographical (and political and ideological etc etc) areas equals taking the next step to the other side of the mountains or the other side of the ocean or even (as now) the other side of that lifeless black divide.
We need to colonize space. How do we do it? How will it happen? Going by the way things have been done in the past it would make sense that the rich wanting to become more rich fund operations to harvest the wealth to be found in space and that (now highly educated and techincal-minded) explorers and free-spirits would do the actual exploring until eventually large totaly self-sustaining communities break away from the rule and dominance of their earth-bound masters and the first step of our next step as a species truly is taken.
But I have heard commercial space exploration is illegal. Is this right? And if not commercial space exploration than how else do we make this step?
Do we count on the Government to establish a lunar base for further exploration (kinda makes sense)? And why the hell isn't anyone in the government talking about the profits to be had from NEA's? Trillions of dollars worth.
I read this
story.news.yahoo.com/news...4&ncid=716
and along with the news about the martian landing, I started thinking again about what humanities future in space is, why we need to expand into space and how it possibly could ever happen.
Seems like it should be the next natural step in our growth as a civilization. Historicaly the formula seems to be - a growing population needing more space, increased demands on and competition for natural resources, and mankinds natural need to explore new geographical (and political and ideological etc etc) areas equals taking the next step to the other side of the mountains or the other side of the ocean or even (as now) the other side of that lifeless black divide.
We need to colonize space. How do we do it? How will it happen? Going by the way things have been done in the past it would make sense that the rich wanting to become more rich fund operations to harvest the wealth to be found in space and that (now highly educated and techincal-minded) explorers and free-spirits would do the actual exploring until eventually large totaly self-sustaining communities break away from the rule and dominance of their earth-bound masters and the first step of our next step as a species truly is taken.
But I have heard commercial space exploration is illegal. Is this right? And if not commercial space exploration than how else do we make this step?
Do we count on the Government to establish a lunar base for further exploration (kinda makes sense)? And why the hell isn't anyone in the government talking about the profits to be had from NEA's? Trillions of dollars worth.
