Space Colonization

[Diso]

I believe it will since we got that international space station out there researching life in outer space. My guess would probably be in 2100 AD or so

[stjames]

I believe that it will absoulutly happen at some time in the future. Maybe not in a traditional sense, but in some shape/form. I don't claim to be an expert by any means in this area but the basics holdups as I see them are:

 

1.) Distance

2.) Speed

3.) collision avoidance

 

The space station should take care of the problem of fuel consumption while leaving the earths atmosphere. Although, I don't know how it would help with any of the problems I listed above.

 

I have heard traditional theories state that a huge self contained colony could travel from here to a near by solar system. It would take generations to get there, because of the speed/distance, but by going slow they could avoid getting whacked by a stray asteriod. The problem I see with this is why would the people on the ship want to get off when they reach thier destination? If all you, your parents, grandparents, etc, etc...ever knew was life on the ship, would you want to leave it for the unknown?

 

I also saw something on Discovery channel this one time. The scientist on the show thought that in the future genetic technology would allow scientists to merge silicon chips, and living cells...think of the terminator. He thought that little ships could be made that held all of our knowledge, and that when they landed they could clone/produce human bieings to populate the new planet. This sounds like it might work, but who would raise the little clones to adulthood?? I suppose if you sent out a few thousand of these a couple might take root but we would never know.

 

It's hard to say. Maybe in the next 20 or 30 years someone will invent a way to get from point A to B in a flash. The way technology has advanced in my short lifetime it wouldn't suprise me one bit. I mean 100 years ago this December the Wright brothers flew for the first time. Look how far we have come in 100 years!!