/sci/ - Science & Math

Until we figure out how to live forever, break the speed of light, or get free energy, space exploration is best done with a telescope.

>>1153090

>how to live forever

I'm working on that, no worries.

>>1153083
A single medium sized asteroid would provide most of earths metallic ore needs for a year.

If only the mining companies would work with some small space companies we would have an incentive to go and live there.

>>1153113

That's my question. How much work and investment would current mining companies have to make to actually start mining asteroids?

>>1153123
Well considering that a single company could supply all of our metallic needs for an entire year imagine the insane profits they could make.

All we have to do is commercialise space then we're there.

>>1153129

>All we have to do is commercialise space then we're there.

Yeah, because THAT'S SIMPLE.

What we first need is a cheap way of transporting stuff into the orbit and beyond, otherwise it will be all pointless. Which is why we have to wait for space elevators.

>>1153134
Mass drivers.

>>1153140

BRB, googling.

Guys, just running an idea past you.
I've been mulling this over, and...
What if we didn't need jobs?
A moneyless economy with automated and roboticized factories for everything we need. Maintenance and such could be done by robots. Then we can easily go to space as many times as well want providing we have the resources. We might even be able to build a space elevator within one or two decades instead of multiple.

This is the only way I see space exploration becoming really widespead this century. Otherwise it'll take quite a while until it's 'economical and profitable' enough to be done in full scale.

Don't count too much on traditional schemes to make humanity a space-faring species.

As you may have noticed it's not by being space visionaries that the current wealthy got rich.

As Robert Zubrin put it well:
"" People can be courageous, but money is timid; it prefers to reproduce itself in tried and proved ways. If your only fundamental goal is to make money, there are far more reliable ways to do so than to venture into the unknown. Thus, on Earth, developing new frontiers for profit has occurred only after such regions have been explored and pioneered at considerable risk and cost by individuals possessing rather different motives. ""

>>1153144

Well, we will always "do stuff'", it may not be a "job" per se but you will do something in your life, it being being an astronaut, a mathematician or a weed grower, you just won't be paid for it because you will have everything you need to live, you will do it just because you like it.

>>1153155
YES THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I'M SAYING
You're not forced into doing something you don't like to do that much to 'survive' for half of your life. Besides, the current system is basically built on the notion of 'survival of the fittest.'

>>1153147

That is very true.

Which is why we need another world war that will focus on space and it's resources. Another way would be aliens attacking us, nothing makes people as motivated as a common enemy. Though if that was the case then the aliens would be demi-gods compared to us, we would be obliterated without any opposition.

>>1153159

True. And it's pretty obvious that people excel at what they do only when they enjoy it.

I really can't imagine a society where everyone gets the perfect education tailored to their needs and passions that will produce intelligent, knowledgeable and incredibly devoted to their passions people who will devote their whole lives to whatever makes them happy.

It really is beyond me what a society like that could achieve.

>>1153180
And I've been thinking for the entire past month about how I can make this a reality.

We'll have to wait until Obama is out of office. He gets a boner from gutting NASA. We'll have to completely rebuild our space program after he's gone.

>>1153186

There is no easy way. My plan for now looks like this:

1. Create immortality through molecular biology(nano machines or specially designed one celled forms of life)
2. Sell immortality for some serious cash to the most wealthy
3. Use the money to fund the construction of a space elevator, a space colony and a colony on the moon
4. Use the overpopulation problem that I additionally fueld through immortality to start this perfect society up there in space where there are really no limits

I'm still polishing it but that's the general idea.

>>1153201
My plan goes something like this:
Wait for robots with near-human AI
Campaign heavily, get media attention, use the net to spread the world that work, poverty and pretty much all problems derived from money would be gone
Build the best damn infrastructure available for humanity.
Legalize Marijuana
Build two space elevators once the technology is available.

>>1153209
*word

>Set up a space religion
>Attract millions of believers
>Attract billions of dollars
>You now have the motivated manpower and raw funding to break into space

>SPACE CRUSADERS (we must reclaim the holy land... IN SPACE)

>>1153216
/b/ will attack you

>>1153235
Atheism
Also hello future Hari Seldon

>>1153221

You mean that gang of technologically literate, fad-riding, meme-sprouting zombies?

What makes you think they won't be among the first believers?

>>1153209

>Wait for robots with near-human AI

Then you should count on me discovering the secret to immortality bro.

>>1153239

Who said a religion can't be atheistic?

Create something like space buddism zen with lots of weed. You know, a'la Carl Sagan.

I bet it would sell well.

>>1153253
>>1153253
>>1153253
>>1153253

Fuck man, we should start that!
>>1153253

>>1153241
Working to build a better future.
I hope you do amazing work in the field of life extension. I mean that.

>>1153253
Anti-gravity bong tokes while researching astrophysics?
I'm in.

>>1153258

Yes, we should also add kittens and chicken eating to it.

Populism is not a very ethical way to go. At least not for me.

Reason will lead the way of our species to greatness, not invented philosophies that make life, people and the world easier to understand just because people are too lazy to learn about psychology, sociology, physics or cosmology.

>>1153271

That should work.

>>1153271
I am not a religious man.

But damn that sheet sounds good.

>>1153281

Who said anything about inventing stuff, I was simply thinking about adding a lot of spirituality to the somehow dry scientific pursuits. Weed will help with that for sure.

I mean hell, I managed to change my retarded sister that watched MTV all day into someone who loves science with the use of my home grown weed.

>>1153271

Anti-gravity is a whole another thing, I at least wish I will be able to do a zero gravity bong toke one day. It's one of my goals in life.

What is so pointless and mediocre with what we already got? Also, why would space exploration be a better investment than first making sure everybody live under reasonable circumstances on this planet?

>>1153318

Of course giving all the people around the world a good life is the first to go, but that's the thing, by fueling the space exploration we will achieve just that. What really creates poverty in third world countries. Their cultural and genetic heritage or the fact that we use poor people as the best renewable resource on this planet? Not to mention sucking all the valuable stuff from their land.

1. find ores on asteroids that are scarce
2. build earth surface launchable robots, that go to said asteroid, start mining, build a factory and a launchpad, that launches the raw ore into an orbit of the moon, so that it crashes on a determined site
3. build factory on moon that produces whatever you want
4. send stuff from moon to wherever you want
5. make all that cheaper than producing on earth itself.

>>1153332

Of course, it's pretty obvious that if we want to build anything bigger than a space shuttle that we want to use in space we need to do it already in space or on the moon.

you cant do it because of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ3wcNJQ2Dc
The main problem is the propulsion system and fuel distribution.

>>1153338
depends. It probably is cheaper to build the initial robots, that build everything on the asteroid on earth because it is worse to send a whole factory in parts and raw materials into space than just the robot.
from the robot on, you could send the raw materials to the moon and robots from earth to build factories there.

still, we would need robots that could autonomously bootstrap a factory on asteroids...

>>1153339

>11 seconds in

I need my whisky, NOW, brb.

>>1153351

It would need some kind of real intelligence to make decisions, regardless of whether it will be human or some other type, doesn't need to be necessarily conscious.

Still, I love this time but I wish I was born about 100 years later.

>>1153316
Oh ya, sorry that was what I meant.

>>1153339
Theres not enough speyside whiskey in the world to help me bare this.

>>1153316
What makes people think that antigravity bong hits would be any better than the regular kind? It's just going to splash back in your face. Has anyone actually thought about that, or do people just assume it would be awesome because it has the word ANTIGRAVITY in it?

Give it a decade or so, we might have human-level intelligence computers. When we have independent AIs (simulating a human brain, for example), we could send them into space to build for us.