seriously disabled Posted March 28, 2016 Posted March 28, 2016 If living in space is not possible, what will humanity do in 1 billion from now when the sun will become larger and hotter?
seriously disabled Posted March 28, 2016 Author Posted March 28, 2016 Be dead? This is what I was thinking since life on earth will not be possible at some point in the future.
dimreepr Posted March 28, 2016 Posted March 28, 2016 (edited) If living in space is not possible, what will humanity do in 1 billion from now when the sun will become larger and hotter? Leave... Edit/ Sorry I misread the OP; living in space is possible since there’re several humans that currently do so. Edited March 28, 2016 by dimreepr 1
seriously disabled Posted March 28, 2016 Author Posted March 28, 2016 Leave... But leave to where? Leaving to another solar system may not be possible because it's too far away and there is no way to get there safely.
dimreepr Posted March 28, 2016 Posted March 28, 2016 Since we have a billion years to figure it out, I'm sure we'll find a way otherwise I refer to Klaynos's answer.
Phi for All Posted March 28, 2016 Posted March 28, 2016 We could have ships that are designed to reach a habitable planet with a colony that will spend a few generations in space, eventually depositing the descendants on their new planet. But this might violate your "living in space is not possible" clause. If life on that scale can't survive living on ships, I'm not sure what alternative there would be. We need to move the whole shebang eventually, or at least everything we think is important besides us. If space is too toxic for Earth life, there's really no point. End of discussion. Unless you want to allow that we can probably overcome most problems to do with space.
seriously disabled Posted March 28, 2016 Author Posted March 28, 2016 End of discussion. Unless you want to allow that we can probably overcome most problems to do with space. It's always good to be optimistic but in that case, only time will tell if space is too toxic for humans or not.
dimreepr Posted March 28, 2016 Posted March 28, 2016 Like I said, living in space IS possible since there're several humans that currently do so.
EdEarl Posted March 28, 2016 Posted March 28, 2016 A Goldilocks zone will always exist. In a billion years, the Earth might be moved, but building cylindrical habitats that rotate to make artificial gravity would be easier IMO. They could orbit the Sun even as a red giant, and they could be moved closer as it becomes a dwarf. Another Earth might be constructed with asteroids comets and minor planets, all moved to an appropriate orbit. As long as the sun shines there will be enough energy.
Phi for All Posted March 28, 2016 Posted March 28, 2016 Some of the outer planet's moons will become interesting places when the sun encompasses the orbit of Mars. Maybe we vacation on Pluto for a while and see what shakes out.
Delta1212 Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 I don't think humanity will last long enough for the sun expanding to become a problem, frankly. We'll most likely get hit by a large rock at some point well before that, and that's assuming we don't do ourselves in in a variety of different ways. And even if our descendants are somehow still around at that point, it's exceedingly unlikely that they would be exactly like us. Just the effects of genetic drift alone would likely result in some pretty significant differences from what we currently think of as human.
Sensei Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 Like I said, living in space IS possible since there're several humans that currently do so. Being on orbit is not enough to call it living. It is better described as "sustaining alive", than "living". There has to be done everything what is done here on the Earth, and more. There have to be born new children and grow to adult in the space. While trying to reach other star system, without hibernation system, at non-relativistic velocities, there will be few to few dozen generations born in journey.
Endy0816 Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 Long-term habitation would be the proper wording. Mostly medical and resource issues. I do have to say recent advances in gene editing have given me hope on the medical front. We may no longer be 100% human standard, but we won't need to be entirely non-human to survive the journey and colonize.
Thorham Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 (edited) If living in space is not possible It's guaranteed to be possible, because we all live in space right now. what will humanity do in 1 billion from now when the sun will become larger and hotter? I sure hope there won't be any humans left in a billion years, that would be awful. Edited March 30, 2016 by Thorham
seriously disabled Posted April 3, 2016 Author Posted April 3, 2016 (edited) I think it's quite possible that humanity will be extinct in a billion years from now. And even if some of the remaining humans could be moved to space stations when the sun starts to grow and engulf the earth, I think it could still be problematic for them to survive there because in space stations there is no air, no food and no water and also building a structure that is strong enough to sustain millions (or even a billion) of humans for a long time in space is problematic in itself. Also as long as the sun is shining there will be energy but after the sun dies, relying on other sources of energy will be problematic because there is not enough of them. Also I believe that the universe will reach a state (perhaps a trillion years from now) when life at all will no longer be possible. Edited April 3, 2016 by seriously disabled
dimreepr Posted April 3, 2016 Posted April 3, 2016 I think it's quite possible that humanity will be extinct in a billion years from now. And even if some of the remaining humans could be moved to space stations when the sun starts to grow and engulf the earth, I think it could still be problematic for them to survive there because in space stations there is no air, no food and no water and also building a structure that is strong enough to sustain millions (or even a billion) of humans for a long time in space is problematic in itself. Also as long as the sun is shining there will be energy but after the sun dies, relying on other sources of energy will be problematic because there is not enough of them. Also I believe that the universe will reach a state (perhaps a trillion years from now) when life at all will no longer be possible. Humans will die whatever we do; either through time or through evolution beyond a recognisable human; what’s your point?
seriously disabled Posted April 3, 2016 Author Posted April 3, 2016 Humans will die whatever we do; either through time or through evolution beyond a recognisable human; what’s your point? No point. I'm just a very curious person and I am interested in these subjects from a scientific point of view, that's all.
Phi for All Posted April 3, 2016 Posted April 3, 2016 If living in space isn't possible, then the discussion is over. We'll do whatever we'll do, and it won't matter except to Earth. We know Earth species can live for millions of years. Nothing but small organisms have lived longer, so being on Earth until the sun goes red giant probably isn't in the cards. The only really interesting bit is if we manage to get off planet and establish Earth species elsewhere. It's the only way to keep any of it going, and I think it's only going to happen if the most intelligent species on the planet decides it's worth it and makes the investment.
ACG52 Posted April 3, 2016 Posted April 3, 2016 I think it's only going to happen if the most intelligent species on the planet decides it's worth it and makes the investment. What are the odds that dolphins will decide that?
Endy0816 Posted April 3, 2016 Posted April 3, 2016 I think it's quite possible that humanity will be extinct in a billion years from now. And even if some of the remaining humans could be moved to space stations when the sun starts to grow and engulf the earth, I think it could still be problematic for them to survive there because in space stations there is no air, no food and no water and also building a structure that is strong enough to sustain millions (or even a billion) of humans for a long time in space is problematic in itself. Also as long as the sun is shining there will be energy but after the sun dies, relying on other sources of energy will be problematic because there is not enough of them. Also I believe that the universe will reach a state (perhaps a trillion years from now) when life at all will no longer be possible. Sun is not going to cool down overnight, no pun intended. Plenty of heat we could make use of. The gas giants and some of their moons have resources we can use for combustion and everthing else. More resources than we have access to on our whole planet. I think that should keep us for a bit. Currently they are testing inflatable habitat modules. Probably the way things will go in the short term. I fee solving the issue of establishing humanity's presence in Space is enough of a goal for a start. What we consider The End, may not even be an issue for our descendants.
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