Interstellar colonization, that is the act of populating other planets as we populate Earth, has been an exciting topic for science fiction authors and scientists alike. It has been made popular in televised media such as Star Trek and novels such as the Rama series by Arther C. Clarke. Before it was revealed to be a scam, the Mars One project of recent years woke the common populace to the fact that we are not a primitive race anymore. We have the ability to populate other planets. We are living the stuff of Science Fiction. But along with these fantastic thoughts and ideas come a multitude of questions. What are the physical ramifications of interstellar travel and colonization? The psychological issues that go along with it? And what are the moral implications, for just because humanity can do something, doesn’t mean humanity should. While interstellar colonization is making great strides into the future and it seems humanity is ready, we are no where near ready for any of the challenges that humanity will face when the time actually arises.
Humans have many basic necessities in order for us to survive; oxygen, food, water, warmth, just to name a few. In a short article on the Live Science website in 2012, Corey Binns states that “You can live 3 minutes without air, though we don't recommend trying. In a harsh environment — it's snowing, say — you have 3 hours to survive without shelter. After 3 days, you need water or you'll perish. You can make it 3 weeks without food, though we promise you that won't be fun.” Survival experts call it the “Rule of Threes.” (Binns, 2012) As of yet, there is no viable renewable resource to provide all this to a human in space. Oxygen would come in storage tanks, equipment for shelters would need to be built, water would either be dropped in via shuttle, or could be made from recycled urine. Food and other supplies would also need to be dropped in, until some way of making food on other planets could be made. For a colonization mission to be successful, long term means of supplies would be needed. For example, a Mission to Mars could require 3,000 pounds of food per person, all of which would have a shelf life of 5 years. But the quality of the food would be bad, almost disgusting to taste, and that would result in the colonists eating less and less food, which would obviously not bear good results. Having a limited menu would result in menu fatigue, which would degrade their performance. Since 1979, Skylab has had a tasteful menu of over 72 items, but not nearly a long enough shelf life. (Millman, 2015) One major issue facing colonists has already been solved, the issue of sound. Nearly everyone is familiar with the fact that there is no way for sound to travel in space. It is interesting to note that noise levels below 80 decibels cause hearing loss and after a prolonged period of time, hallucinations also can happen. The fix is that constant fan noises are heard, with sound levels being at 50 decibels in sleeping areas and 60 decibels in working areas, which is what NASA uses as their standard. (Allen & Denham, 2010)
Even so, there are so many other physical issues that will affect the human body from space travel. Being in a different gravity field will cause vision impairments, bone fractures, reduced muscle mass, back pain, urinary retention. Being in a closed environment can cause inadequate food and nutrition, altered immune responses, sleep loss, decompression sickness, and even injury from sunlight exposure. Thankfully, NASA already has organization devoted to the study of these and other problems and working on ways of solving these. (NASA Office of Inspector General Office of Audits, 2015)
There is another issue that will afflict colonists even more than the need for resources – psychological issues. In a simulation done on a group of people for this very topic of colonization, the subjects were measured on identity, goals, culture, stress, motivation, recognition, and organization behavior. Nearly all the measurements were down by at least 10%, with the subjects having less an identity, goals and culture. Motivation and recognition had decreased by about 20%, and stress decreased by about 30%. (Rai & Kaur, 2012)
But there is one psychological phenomenon that I call out specifically, mostly for it’s sheer fantastic quality of being an unknown until humanity finally colonizes a planet. A phenomenon that we cannot prepare ourselves for, and no tests can ever screen subjects for it beforehand. It is called Earth-out-of-view phenomenon. “In the history of human beings, no one has ever been in a situation where Mother Earth, and all her associated nurturing and comforting aspects (e.g., gravity, atmosphere, food, flora and fauna, collected history of our species) has been reduced to insignificance in the sky. Partially, this lack of direct visual link to our beautiful globe might be compensated by films or email images of the Earth, or even by the provision of a telescope that will allow the crew to scan their home planet in real time when they get homesick. But probably none of these measures can be considered as a sufficient substitute.” They go on to say that this may cause anxiety, depression, suicidal intentions, hallucinations, delusions, and even a complete loss of commitment to the Earth system and orders being received from Earth, basically, going rogue. “The main problem related to this issue is that it cannot be studied before the first crew has been sent out, and it will need to be monitored and dealt with in-flight should psychological, interpersonal, or psychiatric problems occur.” (Kanas & Manzey, 2008) One could say that this is nothing, for pilgrims had the same issue when they left Europe, and came to the New World. But this is so much a larger scale than a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. Even so, people in those voyages came down with cabin fever from not seeing land. What is that on a grander scale?
Neil deGrasse Tyson, a popular astrophysicist, and director of the Hayden Planetarium said, “If we have the power turn other planets into Earth, then we have the power to turn Earth back to Earth.” This begs the eternal question, just because we can colonize other planets, that does not mean that we should colonize other planets. We have slowly destroying our planet over the course of many years. Why should we do that to others? Should we not try to rebuild our planet first? One could also argue that humanity is meant to colonize the universe, as a quote from Carl Sagan, a late astrophysicist along with other titles, says the following, “The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies, were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of star stuff.” Some may interpret that as we are made of the same elements as stars, so too we are meant to traverse the stars. But what of the other moral implications? What religion would be brought to this New World? What culture? Political belief? Race? Who would be sent to begin a colony? What genes would be needed? How would we go about screening the “perfect person” to start a new colony of humans on another planet? Adolf Hitler did something similar to this in World War II. He wanted to create the perfect human race. Would we be any different if we started picking people to begin a new population on another colony? All these are questions that spark many a debate for endless of hours. This is where scientists would have to read up on science fiction, for one of the beauties of science fiction is that it can be used to explore a plethora of ideas without actually having to try it out. For example, the Alpha Centauri novels by Michael Ely explore a colonization mission where everyone is separated by ideology instead of being separated by race. In the end, this would not be a representation of any one person, country, religion, or political belief. This would be a representation of the entire human race.
With all these facts and theories in mind, it is my belief that humanity is no where near ready to colonize another planet, let alone the fact that we should. While NASA may have plans to colonize, along with other space organizations, these are naught but lofty goals that would be sure to end in failure if any single one of these questions is not answered. The answer cannot be gained by any one organization. It requires all of us, as the human race, to figuratively wake up and decide how we want to go down in history as. Do we want to go down in history as a people who sent others to their doom on other planets? Or do we want to go down as the people who for once could finally put aside differences and decide what is best for humanity as a people?
Bibliography
Allen, C. S., & Denham, S. A. (2010). International Space Station Acoustics – A Status Report. Houston, TX: NASA Johnson Space Center.
Binns, C. (2012, November 30). How Long Can a Person Survive Without Water? Retrieved from Live Science: http://www.livescience.com/32320-how-long-can-a-person-survive-without-water.html
Kanas, N., & Manzey, D. (2008). Space Psychology and Psychiatry. Springer Science & Business Media.
Millman, C. (2015). The Care and Feeding of Astronauts. Discover, 36, 66-68.
NASA Office of Inspector General Office of Audits. (2015). NASA's Efforts to Manage Health and Human Performance Risks for Space Exploration. NASA Office of Inspector General Office of Audits.
Oakes, K. (2013, July 7). A homesick astronaut on Mars. Retrieved from Scientific American: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/basic-space/a-homesick-astronaut-on-mars/
Rai, B., & Kaur, J. (2012). Human Factor Studies on a Mars Analogue During Crew 100B International Lunar Exploration Working Group EuroMoonMars Crew: Proposed New Approaches for Future Human Space and Interplanetary Missions. orth American Journal Of Medical Sciences, 4(11), 548-557.
Rinaldi, L. (2015, August 31). Colonizing the Moon. Maclean's, 128(34/35), 28-31.
Williams, L. (2010). Irrational Dreams of Space Colonization.Peace Review.
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