/sci/ - Science & Math

>>8075056
>Is it even worth colonizing other planets?
Yes.
The scientific value alone is incredible. Robots are great, but they don't even come close to actual scientists for performing research.

>Seems to me like it would be way cheaper to build colonies on asteroids and small moons, to avoid dealing with gravity wells and atmosphere of planets
Gravity wells and atmospheres are pretty handy things to have around, though.

>>8076834
>There are several gas giant moons people can make a case for.
Titan.
People don't even need fucking pressure suits there. Why aren't more people interested in Titan?

>Another common suggestion is comets.
That sounds less likely. The gravity on comets is microscopic, and they go through absurd temperature swings as they orbit the sun.

>>8078229
>Our best bet are O'Neill cylinders.
They're great, but they cost a fuckton and don't scale down. Plus they're WAY out of our reach technologically.

>>8078312
>As time goes on the probability of another mass extinction event approaches 1.
Yes, but they're hardly common. Given the timescales involved, extinction is an argument to have people living elsewhere "eventually".

>>8080525
>But of course it doesn't get the same publicity because people generally don't care about the deep sea.
Which is a real shame, because we know fuck-all about the sea floor. There have been underwater research bases in the past, but the money all disappeared once people figured out how to use ROVs for oil extraction.

>>8044878
>What's next after we colonize Mars?
Bring warm clothing.