Earth-Like Planet Discovered!

[Beeyo]

Can one of you smart guys tell me what the advantage is in traveling to another planet? There are obvious scientific reasons, and study of another planet could yield great discoveries leading to great advancements in the way humans live day to day. But there are plenty of fucked up things on this planet that those billions of dollars could fix first, or even just in America. I don't think we could ever truly rectify every problem that exists on this planet, but I think we could get a lot more done before we go hoppin off into space looking for Martians and shit.

[Kyronea]

Can one of you smart guys tell me what the advantage is in traveling to another planet? There are obvious scientific reasons, and study of another planet could yield great discoveries leading to great advancements in the way humans live day to day. But there are plenty of fucked up things on this planet that those billions of dollars could fix first, or even just in America. I don't think we could ever truly rectify every problem that exists on this planet, but I think we could get a lot more done before we go hoppin off into space looking for Martians and shit.

Resources alone make space exploration worthwhile. We are running dangerously close to a resource shortage of many of the most commonly used ores and minerals, for instance, and asteroids out there are rich in iron, nickel, copper, and all sorts of other neat stuff. Placing a base on the Moon will make such mining far easier, as launching from the Moon's surface, due to the lower gravity and lack of atmosphere, will make space mining much more profitable due to lower costs.

There are plenty of reasons to go out there and start using what's there...we simply haven't developed the technologies necessary to utilize these resources. That said, such technologies are easily within our grasp on our current level: we simply need to invent them.

[Beeyo]

How could space minig be profitable considering how much of our already  dwindling resources, not to mention billions of dollars, it would cost just to get something like that started?

[Romana]

I didn't say the women were stupid.

They aren't. They just don't belong outside the kitchen.

ooo I'm going to hell for that one.

Luckily for you, there aren't any more women on these forums, are there?

[Lord J Esq]

But there are plenty of fucked up things on this planet that those billions of dollars could fix first, or even just in America. I don't think we could ever truly rectify every problem that exists on this planet, but I think we could get a lot more done before we go hoppin off into space looking for Martians and shit.

There will long be these domestic problems, which is no excuse to postpone exploration and innovation. To the contrary, if you were to ask that handful of people who have been so privileged to fly above the Earth, they would tell you how much perspective is to be gained by witnessing the full power of human events, enclosed upon a tiny blue marble.

[Kyronea]

How could space minig be profitable considering how much of our already  dwindling resources, not to mention billions of dollars, it would cost just to get something like that started?

It wouldn't cost anywhere near as much as you think. Right now, with a little bit of private sector investing, we could have a space mining vehicle able to mine ore from asteroids, store it, and ship it back to Earth. With a bit more investing, we have the base on the Moon and thus easy mining.

It is precisely because of those dwindling resources that we need to get out there and start mining, or else we may actually take it to the point where we simply aren't able to do so.

Furthermore, we have space tourism already beginning to soar...the first ship flies in 2008, I think, or perhaps just later this year.

[Mystic Frog King]

Since our species will not survive the next five billion years...

I bet you a nickel you're wrong. And by the time you lose, the inflation adjustment plus interest on our little wager ought to net me a cool $47 bajillion.

And I'll bet you a few hundred dollars that medical science doesn't advance enough in your lifetime to keep you alive until Kyronea loses.

But there are plenty of fucked up things on this planet that those billions of dollars could fix first, or even just in America. I don't think we could ever truly rectify every problem that exists on this planet, but I think we could get a lot more done before we go hoppin off into space looking for Martians and shit.

There will long be these domestic problems, which is no excuse to postpone exploration and innovation. To the contrary, if you were to ask that handful of people who have been so privileged to fly above the Earth, they would tell you how much perspective is to be gained by witnessing the full power of human events, enclosed upon a tiny blue marble.

Not to mention overcrowding and these very problems that plague earth. We will need to find a new planet eventually.

I was hoping to fit a nice 'Evolution of the Daleks' quote there, but my wording destroyed that chance.

[Magus22]

In several billion years, the sun will explode and obliterate the inner terrestrial planets. This is fact. However, within those years, I am sure we will already be exploring the stars like our famed fictional character captain Jean-Luc Picard aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise. Our species will most likely propagate to another solar system within the Milky Way and settle colonies wherever.

Though colonization of space in different pre-determined sectors of space may upset the local natives (although I don't believe we'll encounter any species such as Klingon or Vulcan), we must be prepared to handle such situations so our neighbors do not create neutral zones or declare war on our terran system to try and invade/destroy Earth.

Who knows, the Enterprise carrier was named in honor of Star Trek, perhaps Star Fleet and the Federation will be created in alliance with other species we will discover in time. And hey, we do not have to tell the species we ally with that we got our names and ideas from an individual who had been dead for an enormous amount of time from that of media entertainment back in the late 20th century.

[Burning Zeppelin]

Actually, Mars wouldn't be swallowed, as the Earth wouldn't. However, the Earth will be fecking hot.

Don't you argue with the guy with Wikipedia as a mother:

While it is likely that the expansion of the outer layers of the Sun will reach the current position of Earth's orbit, recent research suggests that mass lost from the Sun earlier in its red giant phase will cause the Earth's orbit to move further out, preventing it from being engulfed. However, Earth's water will be boiled away and most of its atmosphere will escape into space.

[grey_the_angel]

Actually, Mars wouldn't be swallowed, as the Earth wouldn't. However, the Earth will be fecking hot.

Don't you argue with the guy with Wikipedia as a mother:

While it is likely that the expansion of the outer layers of the Sun will reach the current position of Earth's orbit, recent research suggests that mass lost from the Sun earlier in its red giant phase will cause the Earth's orbit to move further out, preventing it from being engulfed. However, Earth's water will be boiled away and most of its atmosphere will escape into space.

so we won't melt, we'll just liquefy.

[Kyronea]

That recent research is disputed amongst some, though my uncle informed me about it last night--he agrees with it, and since I listen to those who know what they are talking about, I concede the point.

It is all academic, though...as I said before the odds of our species surviving to witness this event are ridiculously against us.

[grey_the_angel]

That recent research is disputed amongst some, though my uncle informed me about it last night--he agrees with it, and since I listen to those who know what they are talking about, I concede the point.

It is all academic, though...as I said before the odds of our species surviving to witness this event are ridiculously against us.

we'll be living on the plant krypton by then.

[but2002]

Back to life on that planet, we realize that radiation levels would be extremely high correct?

Well today, I found something of great interest, a bacteria that cannot be destroyed, even on the molecular level

It was found in a green slime on a prope used to examine decade old nuclear waste tanks, and no matter how many times they have tried to kill it, even be destroying the DNA, it came and repaired itself, to the state it was in before

Let the report speak for itself!
http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/latest/lat_126668.shtml

[Mystic Frog King]

I'd like to see that adapted for use in medicine. However, JENOVA teaches us a valuable lesson: be cautious with mysterious lifeforms. =/

[but2002]

I mean it in the use of Life forms that are exposed to HIGH levels of radiation, if thats possible here on earth, why not elsewhere?