Human population has been growing exponentially (thanks to evolution and modern technology). We have already trespassed natural habitats of flora and fauna to quench our ever growing needs for space and resources. It is time we started exploring newer grounds other than our over-populated Earth to ensure our future generations see the light of the day. This has led our inquisitive scientists to contemplate whether its time that we should start building space colonies. More so, should Earth be struck down by an impending catastrophe that sweeps off humans from the surface of the Earth is another strong reason to start thinking of colonising other planets in Sun’s family.
Humans are instinctively programmed to trudge an undisclosed path and it pushes us to explore life beyond Earth. Modern machines and cyber technology has made it possible for humans to step out in space and examine inhabitable places in the Universe. Our closest neighbour in space, Moon, comes as a likeable choice to colonise. Not far behind is Mars which has been a centre of attraction for aero scientists and astronauts. The successful Moon and Mars missions reinforce the fact that humans have already started taking steps towards making these places a home for coming generations. The recent finding of Kepler, the so-called twin of “Earth.20”, shows tremendous signs of a nearly liveable planet in a NASA Kepler mission.
We can imagine building space colonies at two possible locations in the solar system – Moon and Mars. The process begins with crafting an artificial ecosystem that will enable human population to thrive and flourish. Some mind boggling ideas of building a flying spherical spacecraft which rotates to generate gravity and is surrounded by a huge concave mirror which focuses sun’s light as a source of energy have been in minds of physicist for years. If it becomes possible to colonise Mars then it will be a stepping stone towards building more of such colonies.
The Dutch endeavour, Mars One can be seen as a step towards the desire to colonise Mars by 2025. The chosen applicants will be trained to survive and proliferate as a novel civilisation on the Red planet. This venture has generated a lot of interest in people about should we start building space colonies. Another invention called the Mars Colonial Transporter promises to cut down travel costs to Mars and even aid in exploring other viable locations for inhabitation in the space. At one time, travelling to moon seemed far-fetched for man and today we can clearly see the possibility of having flying spatial colonies in those far fetched lands.
