Poll of the Day > IYO, how important is a moon/mars base?

(+) Yeah! (+)

How important is it, in your opinion, that we build a base on the moon/Mars?

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7 - America definitely should be the first one to do it, because it would likely confer some long-term strategic advantages. And, I guess, on a technical level a project like that could help unify the country (be it for or *against* the project)

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A simple base is entirely pointless - but terraforming them into a sustainable habitat could be an important thingy

I don't know if we have deep core samples of either the Moon or Mars so I don't know if they have any resources like, idk, Iron or Tin which can be used in future developments... because it would be a major problem if we started shipping Earth Iron to the Moon/Mars.

We have tons of Iron for ourselves, but not nearly enough for a second planet... I mean, we're almost at the end of our silica and Tin reserves as well

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100% necessary.

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Lokarin posted...

A simple base is entirely pointless

Simply untrue.

Lokarin posted...

but terraforming them into a sustainable habitat could be an important thingy

lol... that's not even close to being possible with existing technology. If we were remotely close to terraforming technology then nobody would be talking about climate change because we could adjust it to whatever we wanted.

Lokarin posted...

I don't know if we have deep core samples of either the Moon or Mars so I don't know if they have any resources like, idk, Iron or Tin which can be used in future developments... because it would be a major problem if we started shipping Earth Iron to the Moon/Mars.

It's pretty safe to assume that they have resources of some kind, but before you could really extract them you might need something like, say, a base.


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8 for several reasons. The first is in order to explore other worlds since it would be easier for us to step from the Moon or Mars than Earth (in other words, take less time and effort). The second is that it would give Earth a chance to recover from the ravages of what humans have done to it over the centuries (like burning fossil fuels, etc.). A third would be the technological leaps needed to start and keep such a base running, which would trickle down into the economy such as like those from Nasa's moon shots (cell phones, computers, etc.)

The entire thing is pointless. There's nothing worth looking for up there. Just shoot some satellites up there and more on. Besides, the ocean is still, for the most part, COMPLETELY unexplored. Let's see what's going on down there for a bit?

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There's a reason we haven't been back to the moon in decades.

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Zeus posted...

It's pretty safe to assume that they have resources of some kind, but before you could really extract them you might need something like, say, a base.

ya brah - I wasn't thinking and thought that just getting a base for the sake of having a base would be silly

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Lokarin posted...

ya brah - I wasn't thinking and thought that just getting a base for the sake of having a base would be silly

Actually mining in space will likely be stupidly lucrative. Asteroids are laden with tons of valuable metals and minerals. You don't even need to worry about environmental regulations either. The only problem is getting there. A moon/mars base would be a huge stepping stone in that direction.

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Definitely 1

I mean, whoever gets a base in space first has a huge tactical advantage over the world.

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The sooner there is a functional base there, the sooner we can leave this rock.

And that would help towards the last option as well.

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Another space race would incentivize so much advancement in technology

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Completely pointless.

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It's like, the most important thing for science to do after solving all the current problems, but we have significantly more pressing matters at the moment. Well, a base specifically isn't really important at all but just advancing our space related technology.

Humanity as a species will never be truly safe while we are all on one planet. One bad event and it's all gone.

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reason posted...

The entire thing is pointless. There's nothing worth looking for up there. Just shoot some satellites up there and more on. Besides, the ocean is still, for the most part, COMPLETELY unexplored. Let's see what's going on down there for a bit?

Space colonization is all-important as a survival strategy. If a extinction-level event was going to strike Earth, space colonization would allow a portion of the population to survive. Not to mention that the base itself would provide any nation with a foothold when it comes to colonizing the space.

This isn't just a matter of "exploring" anything, it's about setting up America's -- and humanity's -- long-time future. If China or another hostile nation is the first to start building bases, they could lock the rest of the world out, in very much the same way that they've tried to illegally control the South China Sea through the construction of artificial islands (an issue that only Jim Webb seemed to take seriously in 2016 presidential primaries, while other candidates -- excluding Trump -- were often careful not to say a bad word about China, with Hillary only starting some rhetoric because she saw how it played well on Trump's side).

Veedrock- posted...

There's a reason we haven't been back to the moon in decades.

But it's not a particularly good reason. More importantly, this is a very different kind of project. Previous missions were expensive sight-seeing tours. This would have bring a long-term presence that would allow America to do so much more.

YoukaiSlayer posted... the most important thing for science to do after solving all the current problems,

You can't really expect science to solve all of our problems, especially when so many of our problems have nothing to do with science =p

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Zeus posted...

You can't really expect science to solve all of our problems, especially when so many of our problems have nothing to do with science =p

I mean the problems science can solve although it has the potential to solve most of the problems. It could at the very least cure all health issues and end poverty and the need to work as well as control earths climate entirely.

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Zeus posted...

Space colonization is all-important as a survival strategy. If a extinction-level event was going to strike Earth, space colonization would allow a portion of the population to survive. Not to mention that the base itself would provide any nation with a foothold when it comes to colonizing the space.

This isn't just a matter of "exploring" anything, it's about setting up America's -- and humanity's -- long-time future. If China or another hostile nation is the first to start building bases, they could lock the rest of the world out, in very much the same way that they've tried to illegally control the South China Sea through the construction of artificial islands (an issue that only Jim Webb seemed to take seriously in 2016 presidential primaries, while other candidates -- excluding Trump -- were often careful not to say a bad word about China, with Hillary only starting some rhetoric because she saw how it played well on Trump's side).

But it's not a particularly good reason. More importantly, this is a very different kind of project. Previous missions were expensive sight-seeing tours. This would have bring a long-term presence that would allow America to do so much more.

You can't really expect science to solve all of our problems, especially when so many of our problems have nothing to do with science =p

perfectly said well done.

One thing missing is the acquisition of rare metals to help further research. I'm not talking about new metals. Think about hydrogen isotopses like deuterium, palladium, platinum, lithium, and maybe a few crystalline formations that may be present on other worlds for super conductor creation.

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It would be the first step toward virtually limitless resources so very

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the only Cro-Magnons who are actually dumb enough to oppose space exploration are the same dummies who completely misunderstand its benefits.

I am extremely disappointed in the number of 1's. Where is your spirit? Your drive to go out, explore strange new worlds, meet new life forms and new civilizations, and boldly go where no man has gone before?

Probably lost the moment you finished watching the latest tiktock trending video.

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Unbridled9 posted...

I am extremely disappointed in the number of 1's. Where is your spirit? Your drive to go out, explore strange new worlds, meet new life forms and new civilizations, and boldly go where no man has gone before?

The only way any of that happens in any of our lifetimes is if science invests in medicine instead of space travel.

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YoukaiSlayer posted...

The only way any of that happens in any of our lifetimes is if science invests in medicine instead of space travel.

the two arent mutually exclusive by any means

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YoukaiSlayer posted...

The only way any of that happens in any of our lifetimes is if science invests in medicine instead of space travel.

The only way it will happen is if you go out there and MAKE it happen! Do you think people just sat around in ancient times waiting for medicine to allow them to migrate out of Africa and make it to wherever they were heading? No. They went and moved on their own. When the age of discovery happened it wasn't scared explorers being unwilling to attempt to find new places until they knew they already existed. It was people going out and exploring on their own, risking their lives to make great accomplishments. You don't get people sitting around refusing to build an airplane until six teams of scientists verify it's possible. You get bikeshop owners attempting the impossible and succeeding.

Obviously this doesn't mean science and discovery is something that can't be done safely and scientists are useless. But if you only care about achieving what is already possible and known you'll never achieve the impossible and explore the unknown! You build upon the works of your predecessors and drive things forwards bit by bit, turn by turn, until you achieve something far greater than what people believed to be possible. That's why the number of 1's makes me so furious. It's people saying that they'd choose to live a life of quiet acceptance, never striving to push the barriers, content to live their lives on Earth instead of striving for the stars!

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Zeus posted...

7 - America definitely should be the first one to do it, because it would likely confer some long-term strategic advantages. And, I guess, on a technical level a project like that could help unify the country (be it for or *against* the project)

Yeah. The last thing we need is someone else getting there and spouting off about how they looked at it first thousands of years ago and if anyone else puts a base there it's "meddling in their domestic affairs" or some BS.

Zeus posted...

America definitely should be the first one to do it

lmao

its funny because this is how americans see everything

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China can have the Dark Side of the Moon

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How else are we going to find an initial supply of eezo?

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Our big project should be striving to make Earth more habitable by humans.

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We won't be able to find the proto-molecule without a proper space presence.

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Unbridled9 posted...

The only way it will happen is if you go out there and MAKE it happen!

I'm saying that we are more than our lifetime of discoveries away from being able to manually explore the stars. If science doesn't find a way to extend our natural lifespans, we won't be around for any of that exploration.

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8. This is an extremely important task that we've already been putting off for too long.

An extraterrestrial base is the first step towards extraplanetary colonization which, long term, is going to be critical for our species' survival. We are currently one extinction-level event away from being wiped-out, with everything we have ever built and discovered going up in smoke. We need a backup Earth and while we're a long ways away from having the technology to realistically have one, this is a good start.

Raddest_Chad posted...

Yeah. The last thing we need is someone else getting there and spouting off about how they looked at it first thousands of years ago and if anyone else puts a base there it's "meddling in their domestic affairs" or some BS.

It's abundantly apparent by the posts like this that few, if any people in this topic are up to speed on the current legal status of space.

There are several international treaties - to which every country with a space program (excepting North Korea, if you even count them as having a space program) are signatories - stipulating that no territory outside of the earth's atmosphere can be claimed by any government or organization, including both space and all celestial bodies. Everything outside of the atmosphere is, much like Antarctica, considered to be the collective property of humanity, to be held in trust for future generations.

And yes, that does mean that we've literally claimed the entire universe in the name of humanity already (and have done so since before anyone even set foot on another celestial body), because humans are nothing if not ridiculously self-important.

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Space exploration is extremely important. There's a lot of things that could wipe out the species randomly, we're lucky we made it this far in the first place.

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darkknight109 posted...

There are several international treaties - to which every country with a space program (excepting North Korea, if you even count them as having a space program) are signatories - stipulating that no territory outside of the earth's atmosphere can be claimed by any government or organization, including both space and all celestial bodies. Everything outside of the atmosphere is, much like Antarctica, considered to be the collective property of humanity, to be held in trust for future generations.

At some point this will almost certainly be overturned, although probably not just over a moonbase. If we ever actually reach a point where you residential living in space or on another planet is possible, you can bet countries are going to claim planets/moons.

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YoukaiSlayer posted...

At some point this will almost certainly be overturned, although probably not just over a moonbase. If we ever actually reach a point where you residential living in space or on another planet is possible, you can bet countries are going to claim planets/moons.

I actually doubt that will be the case or, if there are, it will be similar to the colonies in the old time with local governments acting in stead of the actual governments back in europe or, in this case, earth. The simple fact is that colonies won't be able to 'claim land' for a while and when they finally can odds are any loyalty to Earth will be tokenistic in nature simply because there will be so little Earth can actually do to them should they choose to defect.

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