Spacefaring Civilization

Building a space-faring civilization is the next frontier of human development. People are exploring space. We have robots exploring the solar system, taking pictures of all the planets, asteroids and comets. People are logging on to various websites looking at the pictures and videos the robots are taking and a few people are starting to make money working in space.

A Gold Rush Into Space

The development of our space-faring human civilization is another interesting idea, related to the development of nuclear fusion. Scientists have discovered that using helium 3 [2 protons +1 neutron] as fuel, is the most efficient and economical way to generate energy in a hot fusion reactor. In other words, its easier to fuse helium 3 than any other element.

The problem is that helium 3 is very rare on earth. However, helium 3 is one of the components of solar wind, flowing out from the sun. Earth’s magnetic field shields it from solar wind, so the chemistry of earth is not directly affected by solar wind. The moon, however, has been immersed in solar radiation and the helium 3 in the solar wind, for about 5 billion years.

The lunar regolith, the very dusty surface of the moon, is saturated with helium 3. We can mine the moon for the helium 3, and for the metals we need to build fleets of gliders to transport the helium 3 and other resources back to earth. We can build artificial biospheres on the moon, in order to house the lunar workers.

We’ll develop a space-faring human civilization in the same process as we develop our fusion energy industry. And that would still be early stages in our development of a truly space-faring human civilization.

We can build fusion reactors and electromagnetic rail accelerators on the moon that can literally, throw gliders up to the interplanetary microgravity ecosystem. The gliders can then easily travel directly to earth, or to asteroids to get loaded with material mined from the asteroid and then travel back to earth and glide to a landing on the ocean and dock at ports designed for them.

An Interplanetary Supply Chain

Building a big life science research station, hospital and industrial complex on the moon, supporting mineral extraction from the moon and asteroids, seems like one possible configuration of a booming gold rush into space. We’ll build the space transports on the moon. Most of the mining will take place on asteroids, so we don’t need to haul the minerals up out of any deep gravity wells. Life sciences research, based on the moon and in orbit around earth, will support the social and economic development of our space-faring human civilization.

Much of the manufacturing will be automated. Robots will do most of the manufacturing. Humans will explore the moon and the solar system and program the robots to build the spacecraft and whatever other machinery we want or need. Several large industrial complexes on the near side of the moon will investigate building and maintaining sustainable artificial biospheres on the moon and building a fleet of transports to transport material from where ever in the solar system we find it, to earth.

One spin off from that lunar economic development infrastructure, could be the construction of a telescope with an effective radial diameter equal to the diameter of the moon, in the radiation shadow of the moon relative to the earth. Building at least three observatories at different locations on the far side of the moon, then using interferometry to add the light gathered by the different telescopes, with no atmosphere to distort the light, or radiation from earth creating all kinds of noise, will greatly magnify our astronomical observations.

Earth is a very bright source of radiation. Much of it is reflected sunlight. Some of it is radio, television and other radiation that human civilization is generating. The far side of the moon is shielded from that radiation. Once we actually get people living and working on the moon, we’ll probably find both questions and answers that we haven’t even imagined, from our perspective on our home planet earth.

Interplanetary Rule of Law

We will have to develop an interplanetary rule of law. For example, because of the physiological effects of living in microgravity, we will need to have strict rules about the duration of time that any person can stay anywhere other than earth. Any person who got pregnant will have to return to earth immediately.

There is nowhere in our solar system that human beings can migrate to. Human beings who migrate to Mars, would adapt to that particular natural habitat and cease to be human beings within a very few generations, probably one generation. And the return trip would be uphill.

Mars’ gravity is less intense, about 1/3 of earth’s gravity. So, earthlings going to Mars will feel very light. Martians coming to earth would feel very heavy and oppressed. In other words, any human migration to Mars would be a one way trip. Venus is the only planet in this solar system, other than earth, with approximately 1g. The climate of Venus is 800 degrees Fahrenheit, with a sulfuric acid atmosphere.

Limited duration trips to extract resources from the moon and asteroids are a practical next step in the development of a space faring human civilization. While we may land on other planets to explore them, we will normally avoid deep gravity wells. Once we load up the gliders with material from asteroids, its all down hill to land on earth’s ocean. Of course, we’re not going to be hauling very heavy loads in gliders, at least not until we figure out how to harness gravity and inertia.

Maybe dark energy and gravity are the yin and yang of the unified field and once we learn how to harness that, we’ll be able to hop around from solar system to solar system.

I always imagined that we would figure out a way to type in the coordinates of where we want to go and when we click on the enter button, we disappear from where we start and appear wherever we are going, instantaneously. We know that we can’t go through the space time continuum, it is just too far. Perhaps, we can figure out a way to go around space and time.

Perhaps every point in space is in direct contact with every other point in space and by using inter-dimensional physics we can shift from one point to any other point very quickly. I’ve also been hearing about the idea of mental telepathy between humans and machines. So, we won’t even have to type in the destination, the ship will take us where ever we want to go, automatically.

Interstellar Civilizations

Life is a natural feature of the chemistry of the universe. It is almost certainly common throughout the universe.

If and when we find any aliens out there, which I assume we will, about the same time we learn how to attain escape velocity from our solar system, then we will need to respect their equality and peace and freedom.

I used to think that we would claim sovereignty over all the material in our own solar system. I’m not sure I think that any more. I think that establishing our equality with any other species of intelligent life will be sufficient. We will not dominate any other species, nor will we be dominated.

I suppose that we’ll evolve through a young adult phase, just like a child born into the family. We have to attain world unity and universal respect for human rights all by ourselves, in order to break out of our nest here on earth. If the more advanced aliens interfered, it would weaken us and threaten our survival.

The larger interstellar civilization will also gain by our new and independent discoveries and development of interstellar civilization. We will probably discover ideas that no one else ever thought of. If more advanced aliens show us how to do it, then we all lose that creative power of discovery.

I also suspect that, if any intelligent race attained escape velocity, ie., the ability for interstellar transportation, before they attain world unity and universal respect for human rights, the space-faring civilizations would have to exterminate that disease, just like our bodies attack any invading germs.

We can not permit aggressive self-interest to exist in our interstellar civilization. The science and technology that makes interstellar transportation possible, would make any such creatures far too dangerous.

Contact

I’ve heard an awful lot of stories saying that, we have already been contacted by several different species of aliens. I’m interested in what the aliens have been saying. So far, the only thing I’ve heard is that they’ve been talking about spirituality. They all have one universal religion. They are not afraid to die, because they can replace their bodies.

The other idea I’ve heard from several different sources, is the alien abduction and sexual abuse story. They seem to be investigating us, just like we investigate animals here on earth.

I have no proof of the existence of aliens. I’ve never seen a UFO that seemed like an alien spacecraft. Natural law implies that life is an inherent, and probably common, feature of the chemistry of the universe. I hypothesize that there is a thriving interstellar civilization, which these planetary civilizations grow up into, once we attain world unity and universal human rights.

Our technological civilization and our use of nuclear energy has probably attracted a lot of attention from other nearby civilizations. Many of the stories about alien contact seem reasonable. Our galactic neighbors are probably watching us, just like the people in the neighborhood watching the children playing in the street and growing up into adults.

Your Niche

Find your niche in this new space-faring civilization we’re building. What do you like doing. Are you an artist or a scientist or a business person? Seek the truth. Study. Learn. Make yourself valuable.

Trade your knowledge and skill for other people’s products and services, in our one universal commonwealth. We need plenty of food and shelter and transportation and arts and crafts for billions of people, strung out all across the solar system and the galaxy.