Goals of Humanity
Ecology and space travel
In this article, we will consider some of the consequences of the first main goal — the preservation of the species.
Let’s describe what current and future threats to our species exist. The shelf life of our universe is very long. Although there are hypotheses that our universe may become uninhabitable ahead of schedule, for example, due to the decay of a false vacuum, there are also more likely threats. Explosions of such a level as in the Abell 3667 galaxy cluster do not threaten us in the near future. But we are guaranteed to be threatened by two possible events, this is the disappearance of our planet in 1 billion years and the outflow of the sun in 4 billion years. A collision with the Andromeda galaxy in 2 billion years, although it does not pose an immediate threat, it still increases the likelihood of risks. There are also small but non-zero probabilities of other space threats. For example, the radiation of jets of neutron stars and black holes, wandering black holes. At the same time, we still know little about space, for sure the known list of possible threats will grow all the time. To date, technologies to counter only one of the space threats are only emerging. These are technologies for changing the trajectory of asteroids. Now it is clear why one of the goals of mankind should be the study of space and fundamental physical laws. Humanity must be aware of these threats and plan in advance how to avoid them or minimize damage.
It is already clear that there is always a small probability of any of the space threats. And it is also already clear that in the distant future we will have to leave our solar system. And here we seem to be in for the biggest disappointment. Such space travel as described in science fiction will very likely never happen in reality. There are not many reasons for this, but they are very significant. The first reason is that so far there is no real reason to hope for travel, not only higher, but even at speeds close to the speed of light. The second reason is that there is no hope for any artificial gravity yet. The third reason is cosmic radiation. There is no technology yet to navigate the Alcubierre bubble, and there probably never will be. And when moving at high speed in ordinary space, even small dust particles will be dangerous. For comfort on spaceships, the option of creating artificial gravity using rotation remains, but this also introduces some limitations. Now, the solar wind, the magnetic fields of the sun, the earth’s magnetic field and the earth’s atmosphere protect us from cosmic radiation. It is extremely difficult to make protection of such reliability on a spacecraft, and it also requires a large, inefficient consumption of material and energy.
The enormous complexity of long-distance space travel leads to the following consequences:
- We will need our planet for a long time to come, perhaps even longer than its habitability.
- Long-distance space travel is so costly that we need to conserve materials throughout our solar system.
- The time required for space travel is so long that they need to be started as early as possible.
The possibility of space dangers leads to the following consequences:
- Humanity should explore other planets and star systems and do so as soon as possible.
- When colonizing star systems, humanity should strive to use the most distant star systems, including systems in other galaxies.
Now another important argument appears for caring for the environment. For our planet, this is primarily ecology, and for our solar system, this is the economical use of resources.
But space is not always so dangerous, sometimes it can provide unique opportunities. For example, after the collision of our galaxy with Andromeda, many star systems will be thrown out of the new, unified galaxy. And if there are planets in such star systems, then they can be used for travel. After all, traveling even on a cold planet without a magnetic field is much more comfortable than the limitations of spaceships.
Based on the foregoing, a list of goals for the next 2 billion years can be compiled:
- Use the collision of the Milky Way with Andromeda for intergalactic travel.
- To have before the collision of galaxies, such computing power that would allow to reliably determine the stars that are in danger and the stars that will leave the galaxy. And also which will allow you to determine the trajectory of stars that have flown out of the galaxy.
- Learn to travel between star systems. Always make plans based on known technologies. Relying on miraculous, fantastic technologies is dangerous. If such technologies become available, it will accelerate the achievement of goals by other methods, and if not, then humanity may miss its chance.
- Develop technologies for terraforming Earth-like planets. At least those that will increase the comfort of the conditions. At the same time, it is always necessary to assess how many resources will be spent on this and what damage it will cause to the environment.
- Colonize all convenient planets, moons and trans-Neptunian objects.
- Learn to travel safely within the solar system.
- Develop technologies for the colonization of the widest possible variety of space bodies.
- Continue remote observation and study of near and far space.
- Develop microbiology. Including technologies for designing organisms with specified characteristics.
- Develop ecology as a science. It is necessary to be able to assess the long-term impact of all types of technogenic impact on the environment.
- Seriously deal with the problems of the ecology of our own planet.
Today humanity can already take the first steps towards its goals. But we must not forget about our own planet, it must remain comfortable for many hundreds of millions of years. And each of the living people can already both reduce their impact on the environment and counteract already existing environmental problems.
