/sci/ - Science & Math

As a way-point to other colonizing/future mining endeavours?

Because the Earth will not remain habitable forever. Many factors threaten extinction of humanity. Having two human inhabited planets would improve our odds; i.e. if one planet is devastated by an asteroid, we still have the other one.

What's the point of science?

Because the gravity is less so you can jump higher making basketball even more spectacular.

Instead of going Mars, wouldnt it be better to invest the huge amount of cash we will need for that in Science, to solve our problems?

its really badass

>>5352289
>Instead of going Mars, wouldnt it be better to invest the huge amount of cash we will need for that in Science, to solve our problems?

Depending which problems you mean, we can solve them by space colonization. The same technologies needed to terraform Mars could also give us precise control over Earth's climate. If you mean starvation, that's a political problem not a technological problem. We make more than enough food but throw much of it away.

>>5352246
Best reason yet.

>We got to the moon, first thing we did was plant a flag. From there, every nation could see our bright middle fingers and massive rage erections.

>We needed to recapture that glory. We send probes to mars, but it just doesn't cut it. Oh we said it satisfied us, but the cold robotic precision of a drone couldn't give us the thrill we desired.

>Now we're sending people to mars, and when we land, we'll *oh god* plant that flag, and *ugnghh* we'll make some proud declaration and wave our *HNNGHH* swelling cocks toward earth because FUCK YOU GUYS, MARS BITCHES.

>>5352228
> Whats the point on colonizing Mars? Is there a single reason why we would move to that planet?

No point, and nope.

The economic effort to climb out of Earth's gravity well can't be capitalized on, by then spending a lot of economic activity terraforming Mars and then going back down ITS gravity well.

The only rational economic act in leaving Earth's gravity well is to STAY THE FUCK OUT OF GRAVITY WELLS.

>>5352289
solving the problems of travel to and colonization of mars will benefit everyone on earth by re-purposing those solutions. Investment in space travel IS investment in science. Investment in the space shuttle program was a waste of time because it was "good enough" for so many years rather than presenting new challenges.

>>5352228
>Is there a single reason why we would move to that planet?
IPBMs are more expensive than ICBMs, more likely to break down, easier to intercept, and once they're launched, you have time to spread your stuff out and batten it down so one nuke can't get much at once.

>>5352445
ALL THESE WORLDS ARE YOURS
EXCEPT MERCURY, VENUS, EARTH, MARS, JUPITER, SATURN, URANUS, NEPTUNE, LUNA, CALLISTO, EUROPA, GANYMEDE, IO, DIONE, ENCELADUS, IAPETUS, MIMAS, RHEA, TETHYS, TITAN, ARIEL, MIRANDA, OBERON, TITANIA, UMBRIEL, NEREID AND TRITON

>>5352228

Forcing the nations of the world to keep their space exploration and space infrastructure development budgets high, at risk of epic humiliation when the colonists starve to death because they don't get supplies.

Creating a culture of interplanetarianism, securing space exploration and the science/engineering challenges it brings a place in politics and the public consciousness, which in turn raises the budget for global science and engineering investments, which in turn improves humanity as a whole because of derivative discoveries.

Increasing the maximum human population cap.

Having the opportunity to build a new nation and new infrastructure from the ground up using the best technology of the time, without worrying about bureaucratic tangles or making people obsolete. (If we didn't have to care about the jobs of lorry drivers, we would have had self-driving cars for at least a decade by now, but the cost to the state to pay welfare to lorry drivers, as well as the bad publicity of higher unemployment due to careless automatization, make the old system more profitable. Not so on Mars).

The sheer profit of ferrying people to Mars in exchange for all their possessions, just like early transatlantic colony ships.

>>5352445

You are smart. The others are dreamers

>>5352432

the flag in Mars will be People's Republic of China Flag, and the red planet will be a communist dream

The major problems are that owning Mars is not profitable, "tricking governments to put so much money and status on the line that they can't back down from science" isn't a good argument to convince governments, and the obvious parallels to colonial history (i.e. the new nation catalyses new ways of thinking, which infect the motherland and convinces the people to revolt and change the system).

>>5352228
No mosquitos, no brown people.

do you really think we will have infinite growth for our economy?

infinite growth for our species

infinite growth for technology

>with limited resources

It actually kinda pathetic mankind hasn't taken a "manifest destiny to space"

>imagine having another planet ANOTHER human society whom we could interact with/bounce ideas off

>>5352646
durka durr

"All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible." -T.E. Lawrence

to figure out how to make it cost effective, then there will be a reason, that's how science works

>>5352289
experimentation is the first step of scientific method, going to mars would test our equipment

At the moment there are more profitable avenues of research than space exploration at the moment, advance these areas first and these will in turn open more options for space exploration and improve the economy making space exploration more practical.

>no pollution
>no light pollution
>no mosquitoes
>very few neighbors
>no dogs
>cold
>geologically as good as dead
>lots of space
>resources
>a planet where we could build a space elevator on, with current technology
>two low-orbit satellites ripe for exploitation
>enough atmosphere to act as radiation shielding
>close enough to the sun to receive plentiful energy

>>5352749

what resources? And for whom? Not for us, earthlings.

>>5352741
>At the moment there are more profitable avenues of research than space exploration at the moment

Tell us more, professor.

>>5352768
>Not for us, earthlings.
We're the only apparent civilization capable sapient beings.

>>5352749
Mar's surface isn't protected from radiation. It has a very thin atmosphere and no magnetosphere. Radiation is a serious hazard on Mars.

Because the idea of space adventures is really cool, but our solar system is barren and shitty besides Earth, so we have to go to Mars and try to convince ourselves we're having a good time.

>>5352642

ATTEMPT NO LANDINGS

>>5352642

What about Pluto?

>>5352858

pluto is a dog

>>5352850

Europa.

Probably a great place to capture some asteroids from. I hear there's some valuable shit in those.

>>5352445
what about a space lift?

If we can hardly handle Antarctica, how could we possibly handle Mars?

Also, I'd rather just be cooked alive and crushed on Venus' surface, that'd be more fun than freezing to death.

>>5352645
This.

Historically, by far the best way to make leaps forward in utilization of modern technology and modern social, political and economic policies has been to just found a new nation.

There's no more land left to colonize on Earth. (this is also the impetus behind seasteading)

we should probably solve the issue of entropy before we try to colonize space.

and if we can't solve that, then we should feel comfortable in dying without living in other parts of the universe.

what secrets would other planets "hide" about reversing entropy that we cannot test on Earth with it's perfect conditions for existence? right then.

>>5352981

Apparently at 50 km altitude, the atmosphere of Venus is about 1 atm pressure and about 20 degrees C. And since it's carbon dioxide, breathable air is a lifting gas with about 60% of the lifting power of helium on earth.

You could build a self-sustaining habitat out of a big air-filled chamber and it would float around quite happily at the proper altitude. Leaks wouldn't be much of an issue since the internal pressure is the same as the outside pressure, and to climb around on the exterior all you'd need is a breathing mask and a overcoat and and ski mask to keep off the sulfuric acid mist.

More beach front property

>>5352991

I didn't say I wanted to live on Venus, I said I wanted to die on Venus's surface. That's more fun.

In all seriousness, I'd love for more landers to go to Venus and actually be able to survive long enough and maybe get some video or sound.

>>5352991

So that's how Cloud City worked.

>>5352987
It's more the several billion years left on this planet as compared to the many trillion elsewhere.

>>5353015
the joke was that entropy can't be reversed.

>>5352997
i lol'd.

crazy idea I just had.

Mars can be a science experiment. hear me out.

say we can create some type bio wall with oxygen (I.e teraform) and we dropped off kids. 4-5years old who were born there and had no language or communication with the parents, the parents were only there to feed them. then we leave... 200 kids there alone with huge amounts of food and water.

200 years pass, now the reason for the experiment is to
1. see if they create spoken or text language
2. judge time difference of evolution (I.e does it take them 1000 years to create anything because of their environment or 200)
3. see what they create. the environment you grow in inhibits the growth of inventions and other things like language. if you have to worry about surviving every day on earth because of animals and storms, what happens when you wake up to food, water, and safety. can they create what we have now quicker and better?


tl:dr crazy idea..

>>5352991

>breathing mask and a overcoat and and ski mask to keep off the sulfuric acid mist.

Try a full body chemical suit bro. H2SO4 mist would not be kind to your skin, an overcoat wouldn't cut it.

Why the fuck shouldn't we?

>>5352246
I remember reading that if we ever terraformed Mars we'd have to make the atmosphere denser. Dense enough that with the lower gravity you can build bird wings and fly around the planet by flapping your arms.

>>5352791

Curiosity recently determined that radiation won't be a problem

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/16/mars-radiation-astronauts_n_2144742.html

>>5352981

I hate summer

>>5352687

>>5353631

>Radiation at the Martian surface is about half as high as the levels Curiosity experienced during its nine-month cruise through deep space

Well gee whizz, its almost as if half of the available directions that radiation can come from are blocked by a MOTHERFUCKING PLANET. The 1% of Earth atmosphere doesn't do shit.

>>5352991
>it would float around quite happily
Until it reaches the side with the sun

The prothean ruins of course

to make red paint
to mine space rocks
to draw giant dicks all over the surface
to build weapon emplacements in case of aliens
to build weapon emplacements in case of humans
to mine space ice
to drink space water
to build giant paper mache penises on the surface

the possibilities are endless

Overpopulation of earth
Mining super rare things
Storing things that wouldnt be very safe to store on earth

There is really no practical reason right now

shits and giggles

>>5353681

Not really an issue. The temperature is pretty much the same all over Venus due to the superthick atmosphere, and winds at 50km are fast enough to push you ceaselessly around the whole planet in about 4 Earth days.

>>5353770
Skip the circulation requirement: the winds are static at the poles. and the planet rotate slow as fuck. A polar colony could float in constant sunlight at the poles with only some minor movements needed.

>>5352706
Mental capacity is limitless. Always has been, always will be.

DO NOT KEEP ALL EGGS IN ONE BASKET

/thread

>>5353806

Yeah, we have an infinite number of neurons.

>>5353837
as a whole, yes

>Mfw shit goes wrong and people are sent tumbling into space forever.

>>5353842

Based on an aggregate of all neurons of the human species?
Wherein each individual requires resources to support? Hence we have a finite limit to our population?

Do you realise why you're stupid? No? I suppose it would only be thoughtlessness, not stupidity, if you did.

>>5352228
Nobody goes to Nebraska or Arkansas for vacation.

>>5353579

Waste of resources. And we are talking about lotta money here.

>>5352228
well considering we know it at one time had rushing waters we might assume that there was life at some time and perhaps useful fossil fuels to extract.

>>5353963

betting a hundred billion dollars to dig holes in Mars and bring oil that will be sold for US$10.000/barrel?

The problem with all this shit is it's all way WAY off in the future. Like so far off in the future that I don't care, than nobody cares except a few people that make up like .5% of the population.

Convince me that going NOW does something for me NOW and I'll make it a priority. Otherwise I just don't care.

>>5352770
>professor
Oh no, I said "at the moment" twice. Boo hoo.

Space exploration as an investment just isn't as productive as investing in general industry and technology here on earth, we spend millions just sending a few kilograms into space. In order to get to the point where we can support industry in space as quickly as possible we need to focus on other technologies first.

/thread

>>5353959
Why should we keep you alive and educated? You're a waste of resources. And we are talking about a lot of money here.

>>5354101

Your counter argument is null.

>>5353959
Waste of resources compared to what? In terms of resource wastage, going to Mars would be above par judging by some of the other shit we waste resources on.

there are huge deposits of petra-7 in mars. that could solve every energy related problem we're facin right now.

>>5354147
what is petra-7

>>5354166
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Colony

>>5352983
how many times has this happened?

>>5352983

TWICE

>>5352228

So that there can be more people

Why mars when we can luna?
Hydrogen 3 anyone?

>>5354278

we dont need more humans

>>5354291
>hydrogen-3
No, helium-3.
An isotope of helium, containing 3 neutrons instead of 2.
Since neutrons have the quarks, up down, down, and a proton has up, up, down, you could possibly fuse two helium3 atoms into one isotope of element 4, beryllium.
I think

Either that or the neutrons exchange quarks or some shit.