From Astronaut-Hero To Space-Trucker: The Human Spin on Space Commercialization

The cast of “Alien,” in Ridley Scott’s 1979 sci-fi blockbuster, may actually be more akin to future space-farers than our citizen heroes from NASA’s Apollo era. After all, the film presents a view of space travel that is based as much on economics as wanderlust and this is arguably as it should be.

How can anyone forget the hangdog eyes of Harry Dean Stanton, who so clearly is out that far in space solely for the cash? The crew of the Nostromo, the film’s ore-carrying cargo vessel under threat from a ravenous extraterrestrial, inherently understands that sometimes great profit only comes with great risk.

If you’re not near any celestial body, then there’s no mass for anything. Sure, things have a measurable mass when they’re on the surface of our planet, but what happens to humans and things when they’re out in space? They float around because *!* there’s no gravity to hold them to any surface.

I didn’t take physics, but that seems pretty reasonable to me.

Now, instead of saying it will never be done in the whole history of humankind, how about we figure out a way for our children’s children’s children to visit about star, now? Then when the technology is available, they could leave this planet and solar system, and go to another one.

Weight and mass are different.

And all of this talk about interstellar space travel completely neglects space travel in our own solar system! Trips to Mars and the moons of Jupiter and Saturn; trips to exoplanets to mine them for minerals; trips to inner planets even, provided an adequate heat and radiation shield could be developed; they’re all possible with current technologies, and the farther we go, the greater the likelihood that terrestrial development of better technologies increases.

Think about a permanent settlement on the moon to mine 3He. Thousands of jobs would be created in engineering and construction alone. Math and science studies would become obligatory in every school in every country, and generations of kids would grow up to develop technologies that none of could ever imagine.

Think about exploration of Mars. It’s possible we could terraform in very small areas. The use of methanogenes has widely shown to be possible in the Martian atmosphere and could create oxygen in a biosphere. The Martian regolith is so rich in iron that we could develop new technologies and processes to create steel right there on the planet. And none of us can conceive what’s under the surface. There could be enormous veins of copper, iron, coal, and even gold.

Commercial exploration and development of space NEEDS to happen and it needs to happen now. As soon as a commercial venture discovers something of immeasurable value to terrestrial humans, the money will flow like a river and space will colonize.

Yes, it’s all conjecture at this point, but I feel it in my soul that I will see man on the moon and Mars before I’m gone.

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I didn’t take physics, but that seems pretty reasonable to me.

Sorry, what's "reasonable to you" has no connection to objective reality. Objects ALWAYS retain mass, and thus, inertia. It still requires force to change the motion of any object in microgravity. You're confusing MASS with WEIGHT, which is the force on a mass caused by a gravitational field.

And I'm NOT saying that it can't be done, merely that it will require some rather high-end physics, a lot of which we don't have a good handle on. . . . yet. Recognizing the scope of a problem does not mean you're saying it cannot be done, but merely that you know what has to be learned and done before you can accomplish it. . . .

Since you brought it up. . .

Oh, give me a locus where the gravitons focus
Where the three-body problem is solved,
Where the microwaves play down at three degrees K,
And the cold virus never evolved. (chorus)

We eat algea pie, our vacuum is high,
Our ball bearings are perfectly round.
Our horizon is curved, our warheads are MIRVed,
And a kilogram weighs half a pound. (chorus)

If we run out of space for our burgeoning race
No more Lebensraum left for the Mensch
When we’re ready to start, we can take Mars apart,
If we just find a big enough wrench. (chorus)

I’m sick of this place, it’s just McDonald’s in space,
And living up here is a bore.
Tell the shiggies, “Don’t cry,” they can kiss me goodbye
‘Cause I’m moving next week to L4! (chorus)

CHORUS: Home, home on LaGrange,
Where the space debris always collects,
We possess, so it seems, two of Man’s greatest dreams:
Solar power and zero-gee sex

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