Buzz Aldrin: To Infinity and Beyond!

[jimmy olsen]

The next generation space telescopes will be able to tell if near by planets are habitable.

Interesting; how can they do that?

Spectrum analysis, it's already been done on some of the gas giants that have been found.

[Savonarola]

Spectrum analysis, it's already been done on some of the gas giants that have been found.

I assumed that it was some sort of gas spectroscopy; but wouldn't that only tell only the content of the atmosphere?  Can you determine habitablility from that alone?

[Savonarola]

The next generation space telescopes will be able to tell if near by planets are habitable.

Interesting; how can they do that?

They will write the word "no" on the inside of the lens.

[Neil]

Rather than terafforming Mars, wouldn't it make sense to fix the Earth?

I mean, if we have the magic ability to give a dead world oceans, an atmosphere, an ozone layer, magnetic fields, functioning ecosystems... Why not fix Jersey?

The Earth isn't necessarily worth saving.  After all, the planet is full of uncivilized pests.  If it were possible to leave the Earth behind, the uncivilized peoples, who are poor, would be unable to follow us, and we could leave them to die.

[Neil]

The next generation space telescopes will be able to tell if near by planets are habitable.

An earth-sized planet in close orbit around a main sequence star?  I would be surprised.

[Neil]

The next generation space telescopes will be able to tell if near by planets are habitable.

Interesting; how can they do that?

Spectrum analysis, it's already been done on some of the gas giants that have been found.

Last I saw, they had only been able to analyze large gas giants in distant orbits around brown dwarves.

[jimmy olsen]

Spectrum analysis, it's already been done on some of the gas giants that have been found.

I assumed that it was some sort of gas spectroscopy; but wouldn't that only tell only the content of the atmosphere?  Can you determine habitablility from that alone?

The only way a planet could have a sizable oxygen component to their atmosphere like ours is if it has life.

[Neil]

Spectrum analysis, it's already been done on some of the gas giants that have been found.

I assumed that it was some sort of gas spectroscopy; but wouldn't that only tell only the content of the atmosphere?  Can you determine habitablility from that alone?

The only way a planet could have a sizable oxygen component to their atmosphere like ours is if it has life.

It's certainly an indicator that it's worth following up on.  However, it would still have to be explored via ramrobot.

[Galrion]

However the odds against both the earth and our interstellar colony would both be inline of the same burst is astronomical.

Ba dum ching!

[Neil]

Sure would suck if we spent huge resources on colonizing a planet around a nearby star, and then some other star went Nova and wiped both the Earth and our colony out.

Although in that case, I guess it wouldn't matter that we wasted all those resources.

The real world isn't star trek, the closest star that could go nova is too far away for the blast wave to do anything. The only way we could be damaged is if we were unlucky and got hit by a gamma ray burst. However the odds against both the earth and our interstellar colony would both be inline of the same burst is astronomical.

It's more conical than line-shaped.  I don't think that worrying about supernovae is cost-effective in any event.  I wouldn't put a colony on Betelgeuse or Eta Carinae, but I wouldn't worry about it in the local area.

[Brazen]

Depends on whether we could terraform it or not.

Anyways the final goal should be a planet around a near by star, and if we are ever going to develop technology that can get there, we'll have to develop the technology to get to Mars first.

There is no need to terraform it to be completely self-sufficient with resource recycling in a sealed dome. Experiments of a similar nature have been carried out in the desert with communities surviving six months completely sealed off from the outside. As it is, there are designs for landers that can produce their own fuel from elements in the soil and limited atmosphere, the same could be done for water and gases.

[Tamas]

And it will happen, the only question is: sooner or later?

The ones crying "waste of resources!" are the exact kind of people who thought it is pointless and impossible to cross the ocean.

[Razgovory]

Spectrum analysis, it's already been done on some of the gas giants that have been found.

I assumed that it was some sort of gas spectroscopy; but wouldn't that only tell only the content of the atmosphere?  Can you determine habitablility from that alone?

The only way a planet could have a sizable oxygen component to their atmosphere like ours is if it has life.

It's certainly an indicator that it's worth following up on.  However, it would still have to be explored via ramrobot.

I don't know what good it would do, but okay.

[Neil]

And it will happen, the only question is: sooner or later?

'Never' is also a possible answer.  The lifetime of the human race is finite, and it would be an extremely difficult task to go to Mars.

[Savonarola]

And it will happen, the only question is: sooner or later?

The ones crying "waste of resources!" are the exact kind of people who thought it is pointless and impossible to cross the ocean.

AFAIK there aren't any resources on Mars.  There were in Asia and the Americas.

Traveling to Mars and colonizing it would be more akin to polar exploration and colonization.  There are a number of science stations in Antarctica; so we could have colonies of scientists on Mars.