Let’s talk about living somewhere other than earth. I’ve been writing on this for a few days now and I invite you to check out these two posts, here and here. Of course I am very interested in your opinions and thoughts on these topics so please comment and I will do my best to reply.
Today though I would like to talk a little bit about survivability and the process of getting wherever it is we want to go. I strongly feel that technology will change a whole lot between now and when we actually attempt to send human beings out into space to explore and colonize other solar systems so the tech stuff is not really worth getting into too much detail about. That, and I’m not a rocket scientist so anything I write may make any readers that are rocket scientists cringe!
Instead I would rather focus on the bigger picture stuff. The things that we need to get really good at here on earth before we can even consider jumping into a super advanced tin can (no, it probably won't be made of tin) and rocketing off into the great unknown. Sticking with the idea that we would need to send around forty thousand human beings to an immensely far away location in order to make this science project work there are some immediate questions. Will they all go in one giant starship? I really feel the answer to this is no way! In order to increase survivability the group would absolutely need to be split up. How many groups then? If the group is split into ten subgroups then each ship would have to hold four thousand people. That’s still a huge ship but much more manageable. What are your thoughts? How would you split them up?
Once the group is split up into a sensible number then how do they all go? Do all the ships leave at once like a great big interstellar convoy? Are they sent one after another like a week apart, maybe a month? I think this part would be dependant on communication capabilities and launch capacities here on earth. If all the ships can communicate with the others to address any issues that may arise on the journey then that would help mitigate some of the risk. This would probably dictate what the time window would look like.
So, back to today. What do we need to be looking at getting better at in order to make this crazy event happen? Are there organizations that already operate as functional entities that number around four thousand people? Are those organizations linked through communications channels to similar organizations? Colleges, businesses, military bases, and small towns may all offer some sort of insight into how we are doing this type of stuff so far. What are the good things and what could be improved upon in each of those dynamics?
Would it be best to create something new? An experimental, earthbound organization designed and geared toward learning how to live and develop independently yet networked with other similar organizations that would share information and data. That information and data would be used to help the overall organization develop and increase the chances of success. Can you imagine yourself as part of something like this? What would it be like? Tell a story about a day in your life on your starship.