On Saturday I attended the first of a series of meetings at the headquarters of the
British Interplanetary Society in Vauxhall, London for the new study project on space colonization. It was great to meet some of the others in the project especially
after the skype discussions. We talked
about a lot of different aspects of the colonization of space (along with a
whole lot of other things) and we made a great deal of progress.
The meeting was chaired by the leader of the project, space
advocate Jerry Stone. Jerry was
particularly excited about the then forthcoming launch of MAVEN, the latest
NASA mission to Mars. As we know, the
launch went well and so at last Jerry really can call himself an interplanetary
poet as his haiku about Mars as a destination for human exploration is on its
way!
We talked about companies and other organisations we could
contact to see if they have any interest in supporting or being involved in the
project and this is an early goal for the project to look into.
The differing use of plant life on board the colony was
looked at and its differing roles in not only providing sustenance but also the
psychological well being of the colonists.
A broad selection for biodiversity was considered but initially fast
growing species such as pine and fir trees might be used to ensure an ecosystem
could get hold. We decided it would be
useful to discuss these points with ecologists and the use of modelling
ecosystems in the colony in simulations was discussed.
It was noted that it could be difficult to produce plastics
in a space colony and the use of carbonaceous asteroids or plants as a source
or substitute was considered. It might
be useful to look at Deep Space Industries or Planetary Resources and if they
are doing any work in this field.
One of the themes of the day to me was the goal of the
colonization of space and its importance. The group concluded that the
settlement of space by human civilization was an end in itself especially as it
is virtually to be certain to be accompanied by an array of other life from Earth. The aim was to develop the solar system as
an area for human habitation. This was taken as a given and the utility of
space colonization in achieving other, hopefully profit bearing, activities was
looked at as a way of initiating such a project.
Early on, one such idea put forward was the use of a space
colony as a venue for experimental synthetic biology. Synthetic biology, it was suggested, is a growth industry for the
twenty first century yet at the same time, there are many alarmed by the possible
dangers it presents. An area within a
space colony could be an ideal experimental arena for this industry with the
possibility of it being totally isolated.
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| The author at BIS headquarters |
The possible need to add nutrients to the lunar soil used in
the colony’s construction as soil for growing was discussed and also the need for possible
extraction of any toxins. The lack of
good experimental data on the coriolis effect and implications it might have
for colonists was noted.
We also examined the general modes of construction of a
space colony and the need for the worker’s habitats to be built first of
all. The potential use of foam concrete
and foam metal was looked at in the construction of the of the colony. The use of a mass driver to propel
construction material from the moon to L5, the site of the colony, was also
discussed and concerns were raised about how accurate one would be. An alternative of moving an asteroid in to
position first of all was suggested.
The Robonaut on the International Space Station was referred
to in our discussion of the colony’s construction and also in the context of
the building of Space Solar Power Satellites. The generation of solar power
from space using satellites was another of the primary uses put forward for a
space colony. Here, satellites
constructed by workers from the colony would beam solar power down to Earth for
a price. The group considered that
whilst robotics and automation had greatly increased in sophistication since
the original studies from the seventies, it was not yet at the stage of a general
“construction droid” although there was nothing to suggest this might not be
possible in the future. Such droids
might work in a group or swarm.
The generation of energy using solar power from space has
always been the main practical aim given for the initial settlement of space
and the group felt more should be done to communicate this idea to the
public.
We then discussed the possible government and administration
of a space colony and ideas included a full, digitally based democracy. I gave the group a short presentation on the
legal aspects of space colonies and in particular the use of extraterrestrial
resources such as lunar material. A
discussion of the Moon Treaty from 1979 in particular lead to concerns that
whilst the treaty had not been given sufficient standing by the international
community it might still be used to challenge attempts by governments or
organisations seeking to exploit lunar or asteroid resources.
It was a great day with a real sense of achievement and I am
looking forward to further meet ups as the project continues. We were even treated to some tasty treats
including a cake decorated with the project’s logo!
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| The study project's logo bearing cake, courtesy of Jerry |
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