Pros And Cons To Colonize Humans In Space

One of the qualities of the human race is that humans love to explore and find new things, like how Christopher Columbus found America. With most of our planet documented now, where do we have to go? The answer is simply one of the only places we haven’t yet (or may never) explore all of: space. Wars may be waged over land on earth, as there isn’t any new land to find there. So, we can go into space where unexplored land can be conquered and colonized. And while it may not seem like it, in the near future, it may be possible to colonize humans in space.

Colonizing in space can have great benefits, and dodge a bullet or two. For example, “Our species, Homo sapiens, is about 200,000 years old. That means the there is a 95 percent chance that

the human race will last at least another 5100 years, but less than another 7.8 million years.” (51-54 Gott III) That is, assuming we stay on earth. However, expanding into space can increase this, by reducing the chance that there will be one natural disaster that strikes the planet and destroys us. If we have multiple planets, then the actual species may prevail if earth is wiped out. Also, we, statistically, have a 95 percent chance that we will be in the middle 95 percent of our species existence. (51-54 Gott III)Dr. Ruth Globus brings up an interesting point in their article on space colonization, stating, “The key advantage of space settlement is the ability to build new land, rather than take it from someone else. This allows a huge expansion without the Earth’s biosphere.” (Globus 1) Not only that, but as mentioned earlier, it can stop wars from happening and promote world, or should I say galactic, peace.

When it comes to space colonization, the most commonly discussed option would be settling on the surface of another planet, such as mars.

Supporting the theory that we can colonize mars on mars, Chris Larson wrote, “Liquid water flows, at least sometimes on the planet Mars.” (Larson 1) Needs, such as water, food, and human-survivable climates often aren’t met on other planets, so researchers try to find evidence of these. Water on Mars is a huge breakthrough because of this, as that is one previous limitation of Mars that is now known to not be one. But, there are other options too, such as other exoplanets, as in planets outside of our solar system. “Now scientists have discovered the first Earth-sized exoplanet, dubbed Kepler-186f within the so-called habitable zone of a star.”(____) That is just one example of a recent discovery. Although there might be flaws, it may be plausible to colonize on the surface of a

planet.

The lesser discussed option would be to colonize a space station in orbit of a planet.

There are many, many advantages with orbit that the surface of a planet just can’t meet. For example, Globus states, “In orbit, there is no night, and solar power is available power is available 24/7”, and “Acrobatics, sports and dance go to a whole new level when the constraints of gravity are removed.” (Globus 1). Not only this, but without gravity, there are so many new scientific discoveries to be made, such as how different objects interact without it. It would also be significantly easier to trade and/or gain profits from the tourist industry with a closer colony. (Globus 1) There are also flaws with some planets, such as the fact that they don’t have a solid surface to stand on or they can’t be reached. (Globus 1) So, colonizing in orbit may be the superior option when it comes to space

colonization.

With multiple options of creating a space colony, there is a large probability that we may be able to go into space. We need to so that we can achieve great heights, while being elusive to the looming monster that is extinction. Whether it is on an a planet or in orbit of one, we should build new land in space. And although it may seem like sci-fi now, space settlement may be be a plausible reality soon enough.