...Will Human Life on Earth Come to an End? In 1993 science‐fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson published Red Mars, the first of his Mars trilogy. Red Mars is set in the year 2026. At the beginning of the novel, the spacecraft Ares departs. Aboard the Ares, the space colonists are bound for Mars. The voyage to Mars is portentous. On Earth, corporations are coming to dominate global governance. Nation states still fly their flags, but they owe their allegiance to the transnational corporations. The “trans‐nats,” as the transnational corporations are called, are the real agents of the global economy. They have the power and ability to extract natural resources from the earth. The increasing competition among trans‐nats and growing human population means more and more resources are being removed. This situation threatens the feasibility of life on the planet. Robinson played out this idea over the course of three books. By the end of Red Mars, a world war has erupted on Earth. The second book in the trilogy, Green Mars, documents the terraforming of the red planet. (Terraforming is a science‐fiction term for adapting another planet or moon into a planet that can sustain life in the same way Earth can. This process involves creating an appropriate biosphere, atmosphere, and surface topography on the new celestial body.) The third book in the trilogy, Blue ...
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... 2012 Colonialism diminished the allure of the harem as Grigsby’s quote would suggest. The women of the harem became an object that was passed through the hands of many men similar to the pocket watch she mentions at the end of her article (Grigsby, pg. 86). Before the accessibility to the harem, it was a space that was virtually impenetrable to outsiders and was through this idea of an impenetrable space that the harem was extremely desired and fantasized about. But through colonization, this revealing of men’s fantasy and mystery ultimately caused the “loss” of the harem. Further, the loss of truth in the paintings added to the loss of the harem (Grigsby, pg. 87). By “forgetting” details, the harem becomes lost in a mix of exciting colors, poetry and exotic objects. This access to the Orient, in general, originally was only through the military. But because of the steam engine, travel was greatly increased (Benjamin, pg. 14). This contributed to the decrease of desire and exclusivity of the harem. Grigsby's quote formulated this idea that the access gained by foreigners to the harem lessened the value of this space because it acted as a commodity, a space that was experienced by as many that wanted it. The harem turned into a place of commerce. Said contributes to this idea as well. He discusses the Orient's "untiring sensuality, unlimited desire" (Said, pg. 188). This parallels Grigsby's quote as it describes the Orient as a place where the "commodity" is...
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...data on Mars, I attempted to outline the possibilities of colonization in my own perspective. One consideration is that not only is technology lifting mankind up into new heights, but we are on the verge of a new cooperation on a global scale. This cooperation that I am conveying is that world governments are now working together to eventually go to Mars. This exploration will be a culmination of data produced from the rovers that are currently sending data to us from Mars. (http://www.googleearth.com, go to Mars entry) We now know there are natural resources available to use to sustain life, and harvesting them will lead to our first colony being started and expanding there. The question arises, as to how to get there, and with careful thought, the technology that we now possess will certainly deliver us there to Mars. The first fact to consider is that we have a natural satellite that is only approximately 252,000 miles away from us, which is the Moon. (www.answers.ask.com) (http://www.chacha.com) We also have the International Space Station, revolving around the earth. (http://wiki.answers.com) We are also going to be building an outer space vehicle that is larger than the Gemini space capsule, but will be built to go deeper into space and stay there longer. On January 14, 2004, then President George W. Bush announced the “Orion” spacecraft. This spacecraft is a replacement of the space shuttle program and any space plane designs, and the project to extend human presence into...
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...exploration vehicles designed with both safety and reusability in mind are the most efficient ways to develop the space program, and to eventually reach Mars and beyond. Before the start of human colonization, it is important to collect as much information as possible about the environment to give humans the best prospects to adapt swiftly. The best way to accomplish this is sending an exploratory mission to the moon. The mission would last approximately twenty five days, and is similar to NASA’s recent test launch of the Orion spacecraft (NASA, 2018). This allows for four days of travel, seventeen days of research and data collection,...
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...The Mission to Mars Project Signature Assignment Submitted to: Dr. Archer 06/28/2013 Abstract The purpose of this paper is to describe what the Mission to Mars Project and understand how they plan on surviving accordingly and what they plan to accomplish. The Mission to Mars project is a huge exploration venture for man-kind and can possibly cause a paradigm shift in our world as we know it today. I will describe the Mission exactly as it planned and many flaws that come with their plans. NASA has been defunded so this mission has been privatized by a nonprofit organization (Mission One). Mission One is seeking individuals to volunteer for their mission to Mars. The individuals they choose for the mission will have to expect to live on Mars and colonize the red planet. Most of their plans are just theory and I will research more of their plans like growing vegetation, using solar power, and survival. Introduction to “The Mission to Mars” Project Many great men and women have been able to experience the glory beyond our atmosphere. Retired NASA astronaut, Frank Borman, was one of those great men. Borman was one of the first 24 individuals to fly around the moon. Borman is a modern explorer, beyond the constraints of the seas, or land, Borman was able to reach new heights. This great explorer once said, “Exploration really is the essence of the human spirit, and to pause, to falter, to turn our back...
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...of one another and pollution levels will sky rocket. Inevitably mother nature will strike us and there will be many casualties. With dirty melty icebergs the world will soon run out of fresh water to drink and many people will die of dehydration. We will have no other options then to either die on earth or colonize space. It would be a fresh start that the human race so desperately needs. Population- We are at a current world population of 7.5 billion people and it is growing rapidly. By 2050 the population of the world will be around 10...
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...Essay: The Debate Over the Removal of Statues The debate over the removal of statues in public spaces has ignited passionate discussions worldwide, particularly in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests that swept across the globe following the tragic killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers. At the heart of this debate lies a fundamental question about the narratives we choose to celebrate and memorialize in our society. Statues, monuments, and memorials serve as tangible symbols of history, representing the values, ideals, and individuals deemed worthy of commemoration by society. However, the presence of certain statues, particularly those honoring figures with racist or controversial backgrounds, has sparked outrage and calls for their removal. Critics...
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...Josh Watson Lesley Watson GS 1140 Mr. Griffin 10/11/2013 Project status report After numerous hours of research on the colonization of the planet Mars we have collected five real life hurdles that could be a threat to sustaining life on a planet other than earth. This group only contains two people. I Josh Watson, and my wife Lesley Watson. We have both teamed up and have done separate research on this topic and combined our information together to compare and contrast. The first major issue would be Terra forming. Terra forming literally means “Earth Shaping”. To colonize Mars we would need to terra form Mars into a planet comparable to earth. Yes Mars has an atmosphere with winds, clouds, seasons and days that are 24 hours long, but Mars has no magnetic field, thus resulting in lethal doses of radiation to humans. There has been evidence that suggests that the remains of polar ice caps have a magnetic field and are safe from radiation. If nothing else works then we would be limited to those areas. It might be possible to turn the Carbon Dioxide rich air into oxygen just like plants and trees do on earth but there would still be major issues with the planet not having a shield for protection. The cost of a trip to planet Mars is another hurdle that gets in our way. NASA has the ability to build a vehicle to take astronauts to Mars, but due to Barrack Obama’s decision to cut the Constellation program in 2010 it appears that any trips...
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...data on Mars, I attempted to outline the possibilities of colonization in my own perspective. One consideration is that not only is technology lifting mankind up into new heights, but we are on the verge of a new cooperation on a global scale. This cooperation that I am conveying is that world governments are now working together to eventually go to Mars. This exploration will be a culmination of data produced from the rovers that are currently sending data to us from Mars. (http://www.googleearth.com, go to Mars entry) We now know there are natural resources available to use to sustain life, and harvesting them will lead to our first colony being started and expanding there. The question arises, as to how to get there, and with careful thought, the technology that we now possess will certainly deliver us there to Mars. The first fact to consider is that we have a natural satellite that is only approximately 252,000 miles away from us, which is the Moon. (www.answers.ask.com) (http://www.chacha.com) We also have the International Space Station, revolving around the earth. (http://wiki.answers.com) We are also going to be building an outer space vehicle that is larger than the Gemini space capsule, but will be built to go deeper into space and stay there longer. On January 14, 2004, then President George W. Bush announced the “Orion” spacecraft. This spacecraft is a replacement of the space shuttle program and any space plane designs, and the project to extend human presence...
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...disease and pollution. As far as opponents of space exploration are concerned, governments of the leading countries should raise social expenditures and increase living standards rather then spend billions on endorsing vain activities in the outer space. However, these people tend to forget how much benefits humankind derives from researching the universe. As a matter of fact I would like to speculate on the perks of discovering the cosmos. There’s no denying the fact that space exploration brings together a lot of smart people from many different fields and puts them to work on some very difficult problems. The result is not only fantastic scientific discoveries, but also many useful inventions. Healthier baby food, technology to diagnose breast cancer more precisely, cellular technology – all these products either ease or improve or save our lives, while they were all created in the course of preparations for researching space. Another strong argument to prove my stance on the issue is that it is only a matter of time before something happens to our planet that is so devastating that it changes the course of life, as we know it. What happens, then, to all of the accomplishments of the last thousand generations of humans? All of our art, our music, our literature, our science, even our very genes could be wiped out. Unless, of course, there are a few humans living elsewhere in the solar system. Space exploration and colonization of the Moon and Mars are an insurance policy...
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...However this journey requires technology specifically designed to adjust to the alternate atmosphere on Mars. Once humans have landed, precautions must be ensured to minimize the impact of humans. But through this mission, scientists and astronauts can offer greater discoveries to humankind, more than what any robot can observe on Mars. Despite these great expectations, there are even greater consequences of space exploration. The journey to Mars will require extraordinary technology. NASA has predicted that the trip will last approximately six to eight months each way depending on the orbits of Earth and Mars....
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...for living on the Moon would be to sustain the human race. Earth’s resources are being depleted at an alarming rate that will cause the Earth to be uninhabitable within the next 50-100 years. The Moon would provide us with the necessary resources and space needed to sustain human life. Location The location chosen for living on another planet is the Moon. Some of the key characteristics about the selected location: * Distance from the Sun 93,205,678 miles or 150 million km * Planet characteristics: No atmosphere, soil composed of maria, temperature’s during the day reach 107° C, temperature’s at night reach -153°C * ¼ the diameter of Earth * No liquid water on the planet The location selected for colonization would be between the light and dark side of the Moon. With no atmosphere on the Moon climate is not a factor. The Moon does however have two sides, a light side which is always exposed to the Sun, and a dark side which is never exposed to the Sun. Purpose The purpose for colonizing the Moon includes a few key factors that bring us to the selected planet: * Over population * Depletion of natural resources * Uninhabitable environment caused by global warming The early stages of the colonization process would be proposed in four phases. Phase I would include engineering personnel and selected international government officials. Phase II would include military personnel and selected citizens to begin colony settlements. Phase III and...
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...Colonization occurs to establish domination over a geographically external political unit (British Empire over Turtle Island). The colonies are to be dominated economically and politically and therefore subordinate to, and then dependent upon, the more powerful colonizing country. In addition, the colonizer usually exploits the land, the raw materials, the labor, and other resources of the colonized nations (fisheries, art, ceremony, children). Finally, differences in power, autonomy and political status are formally recognized, and the colonizer establishes mechanisms to maintain colonization. (Balandier, 1951; Blauner, 1969). These beliefs of colonialism are indoctrinated from a papal document from Pope Nicolas V to King Alfonso the V of Portugal in 1452. This document stated that Europeans had the right to attack, conquer and subjugate Saracens, pagans, and other enemies of Christ wherever they were to be found. So, when Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492, he had the ingrained notion that it was his right to take over the land, that...
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...Human Expansion into Space Human population on earth has exploded over the past few centuries; it has gone from a small collection of hunters and gatherers to a globally connected race of over seven billion people. Even though humans have gotten so numerous and expanded so far, we are lucky to have gotten to this point at all. Earth is threatened all the time by events that could end the human race as we know it. Things like global war, famine, natural disasters, manmade disasters, asteroid hits, hostile extraterrestrial life, or other countless things that could bring an end to humans. Currently the entire population is on one planet, this means if one of these events come to pass humans could become extinct. With the threat of mass extinction imminent, the human race needs to expand past Earth and colonize other earth like planets in the Milky Way. With this expansion humanity is not just on one world and could survive after a disaster on earth. In order to expand scientists will have to solve three main problems: finding a planet suitable for colonization, the technology needed in this undertaking, and the political red tape. The first main problem in colonizing space is finding a suitable planet to colonize. According to (Villard, 2011) in “Hunting for Earthlike Planets,” there are several steps that scientists use to look for a planet with the possibility of supporting human life. The first and most important step is finding a planet within the goldilocks zone or habitable...
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...our music, our literature, our science, even our very genes could be wiped out. Unless, of course, there are a few humans living elsewhere in the solar system. Space exploration and colonization of the Moon and Mars are an insurance policy for humanity and all of our achievements” (The Martin Chronicles,...
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