Why go to space ???

Question

maybe some day we are gonna have migrate and leave earth ?? why does NASA is building a colony in the moon ..?

maybe they know something we don't ....

Answer 1

In years to come, it will happen (not in our life-time obviously).

But, to be honest in millions (or billions, as some have quoted) of years time  there wont be a human race as we know it anyway. Look at us all now after only a few thousand years. We've screwed it up in the last 50 years anyway!

Time will tell, I suppose. (Gosh, I sound like Victor Meldrew!)

Answer 2

Why climb mountains? Why did early explorers leave the comfort and safety of their homes to sail across uncharted seas to unknown lands? Because that is what humans do; we push our limits, to find out what they really are.

Answer 3

I think your best statement is "maybe they know something we don't..."

This I agree with, this is the key.

Answer 4

It's clear that we can't manage to co-exist peacefully on Earth (certainly we haven't done so in all of recorded history).  Maybe we can find everybody who is unhappy with this world their own little world.

Doug

Answer 5

Because the Earth is getting overpopulated (exponential curve). We need to find another place to live soon (earthlike) or our species is going to die out. I'll ask my cousin what NASA is doing (she works in the jet propulsion lab in Houston) and get back to you... jk if they were doing something, she wouldn't tell me.

Answer 6

Paul's quote of Hillary is an example of why we do this.  (He was the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest.)  We have inherited curiosity, intelligence, and a desire to explore from our ancient ancestors.  These qualities were favored through evolution and here we are, the result of all that.  We are born explorers and question askers.

The idea of looking for places to house excess humanity do not come from any of those who are conducting or funding space exploration.  Relocation is not feasible.  Sure, one day humans might have advanced technology to the point where they send a small group of people off into space to start a whole new civilization, but this will not be a solution to our problems of overpopulation.  The answer to that problem is much simpler and less expensive: birth control.

Answer 7

NASA doesn't claim they are building a colony on the Moon, just a long term outpost.  They certainly know things we don't, they've got lots of smart people.  But any seven year old child knows SOMETHING you don't.  Don't believe me?  Hang out with some seven year olds for awhile.  They know stuff that the PhD's at NASA don't know.

But i don't think NASA knows about some disaster coming up.  A quicker and cheaper insurance policy would be to build some sort of hardened shelter under a mountain on Earth.  In fact, there already are some nuclear bomb shelters that fit the bill.

We will certainly want to figure out how to find asteroids headed for Earth and figure out how to deflect them.  One needs to actually demonstrate technology to have confidence that it works.  We'll need to actually deflect some rocks.

We know that the Sun is slowly heating up (this is NOT the cause of global warming).  In a billion years or less, the Earth will be too hot.  We could provide shade to the Earth with satellites in orbit, or even satellites at the Earth/Sun L1 point.  But long term, we'll want to move the Earth to an orbit farther from the Sun.  We can do that by putting a big asteroid into a kind of funky figure 8 orbit between Earth and Jupiter.  It takes orbital energy from Jupiter (which will hardly notice it) and give it to the Earth.  We can save the Earth. Calculations suggest we have time to make it happen.

But in the short term, we can learn quite a bit with some study of the planets.  It would be really cool to find life on Mars that is not derived from life on Earth.  That could give us a hint on how life got started.  What is that worth?  It's worth whatever it costs.

Answer 8

Eventually we will have to leave our tiny planet cause our planet will eventually die when the sun expands into a red giant and consumes the Earth, let alone when it goes nova.

And that with Star Trek, space is the final frontier.  The next step for exploration and colonization.

Answer 9

If they are designing rockets and planning interplanetary trips I hope they do know something I don't. Lots in fact!

Why go, because its there, to quote Edmund Hillary.

Why are scientist mapping our DNA, are they planning to kill us all and make an artificial super-race? OMG, have I started another thread?

Is the site a magnet for wacky ideas and paranoia-fueled theories?

Answer 10

No, we are making many advancements in space exploration to better our lives here on Earth.We want to strengthen global partnerships that currently exist with other countries, as well as use the moon as an outpost to eventually get to Mars around 2030. Going back to the moon is the first step in answering many unknown questions about our solar system. The universe is violent and dangerous, it is becoming necessary to develop technology capable of destroying debris in space such as asteroids that could pose a possible threat on our welfare. With such great scientific advancements we are able to make medical advancements as well. The effects of microgravity on the human body are studied, and there is even talk of a possible treatment for cancer. Many positive outcomes result from the expansion of the space program.

Answer 11

Space, forgive the cliche, is the final frontier. Human beings are curious creatures and need to know and experience things for themselves. I believe it is in the nature of human beings to want to explore outer space and other planets. Don't you want to know what is out there? We live in such a tiny corner of the universe!

The Earth is our cradle, and if we never leave the nest, then we will never learn to fly.

From time to time, a planet is faced with calamitous disasters. If humans only live on Planet Earth when this happens, then the universe has lost its chance to be explored and enjoyed by us. Isn't that a waste?

If a comet hits the Earth and destroys all life, wouldn't you rather be living on the Moon or Mars, or in orbit and be able to go on living?

When the Sun finally dies in billions of years, if humans have not moved to other solar systems, then it is the end of the human race (or whatever we've evolved into by then).

I think NASA simply sees this big picture of the future and survival of homo sapiens. An international space station, a lunar colony, and outpost on Mars, mining vessels in the asteroids, interstellar colony ships - aren't these all logical progressions enabled by the one before?