Posted: Nov 13, 2010 6:31 pm
Before we can colonize other solar systems, we need to learn to build habitable cities that orbit the sun, not Earth. Within our own solar system, in this way, the human population could reach hundreds of trillions. Many orders of magnitude more than if we could colonize the whole surface of every planet in the solar system. Very few resources would even need to come from expensive transport from planetary surfaces, with the asteroid belts to mine.
Only then would we reasonably expect the develop the technologies for colonizing other solar systems. The sun is the primary resource, not planetary surface colonies. I can't even imagine a planetary based civilization surviving deep time. By the time such hypothetical technologies to control planetary tectonic forces, and other issues, some highly unlikely event is more likely to take them out given the time span involved. Not to mention the population limits of a planet.
We have too much to accomplish in this solar system, before worrying about colonizing other solar systems just yet.
Only then would we reasonably expect the develop the technologies for colonizing other solar systems. The sun is the primary resource, not planetary surface colonies. I can't even imagine a planetary based civilization surviving deep time. By the time such hypothetical technologies to control planetary tectonic forces, and other issues, some highly unlikely event is more likely to take them out given the time span involved. Not to mention the population limits of a planet.
We have too much to accomplish in this solar system, before worrying about colonizing other solar systems just yet.