Reason for Space

[Kylon]

Let's face it. There is really no current commercial need to go into space. It's just really fun.

So I say we do a bunch of digging on mars, and if we don't find any evidence of life there, or even if we do(because that means it exist elsewhere in the universe)we nuke mars, using hydrogen bombs without plutonium cores of course so there little left over radiation. We nuke Europa into a projectile, ram it into mars, nuke mars, cause the iron oxide to break into iron and oxygen, Europa is mainly water...

You end up with alot of water and air, and iron.

There is carbon and carbon dioxide on mars already.

If we then sent a bunch of Algae to mars, it should theoretically be able to prosper.

Then we could mars for two things- One, a prison colony, for the baddest of the bad, and two a power generation/space port facility.

We could go into space to asteroids, retrieve large chunks of uranium from space, hurl them into mars(which would be extremely dangerous except nobody would get mad because only criminals would live there). The large oceans would make great landing pads for radioactive asteroids. Then once they are on the planet, we can refine them into space fuel, for of course space ships, power, and energy generated by massive nuclear power plants and the energy, which is stored in the form of superconductive batteries is then shipped to earth. The toxic waste problem wouldn't exist. We could create, and at the same time destroy the ecosystem. Algae and bacteria, being single celled organisms, can easily and rapidily adapt to a changing environment. We could put micro-organisms in the environment and watch them mutate, adapt, and thrive, without killing any life.

It could also be used as a asteroid reciever for other precious metals and materials, and the waste of course could be dumped into the mars ocean, where it would feed an ever changing and adapting species of single celled organisms.

What do you think?

[Hitchhiker]

I'm confused . . . first you start by saying that there's no need . . . then you start making arguments. Was your first statement sarcasm, or was it a thesis to begin a cascade of arguments proposing we expand our space travel initatives?

In other words, were you being sarcastic or introducing your belief?

Space is going to become necessary in the next century. We have already used up most of our resources on Earth, and our population is still growing. The best method is to utilize the resources in space. We can have colonies, mines, and scientific outposts as you mentioned.

Why would algae prosper on Mars? It would receive little sunlight. There's carbon dioxide, yes, but it is very thin due to the atmosphere's relatively low density. The surface temperature is high in the day and extremely low at night, these shock changes would be enough to kill the algae outright.

Now if we genetically engineer plants for the Martian environment, that might work. It's a thought.

The ballistic feat of ramming Europa into Mars would be rather difficult. Europa and Mars are separated by the asteroid belt, making a direct path difficult at best. Furthermore you'd have to time your launch so that the nuclear weapon would have enough fuel to reach Europa, and so that Europa would be in the correct position relative to Jupiter, because slamming Europa into Jupiter would be a bad idea . . .

I don't think that we should dramtically alter the landscape of our solar system--you don't see us slamming nuclear devices into the Himalayas to alter our terrain. I think we should develop our resources but at the same time preserve the delicate physical balance that our solar system offers.

[Five - seveN]

Yesindeed, I strongly disagree with the idea of destroying Europa for our own 'needs'. I think this plan is kinda... unrealistic. Because you're also actually destroying Mars, but for what good? Just some uranium? It'd be easier to set up space facilities for that purpose....

[Otter]

That's right!

[PrankishSmart]

[Angeldust]

They haven't proven there was life on Mars, but they have proven that there used to be water there. Huge step.

And YES there is a need to go into space. We are destroying this planet more and more by the day. We are most likely going to have to resort to moving to another one in order to survive after we have exhausted the natrual resources on Earth.

[Otter]

[Angeldust]

Do I sense sarcasm? That can be dangerous to your health, you know.

[lionhead]

[starnova]

where did you get the idea that you can nuke anything? and turn our solar system into a dump by ramming two planets together?

[lionhead]

yeah, crashing a moon onto the largest planet in our solar system isn't something you would call smart(you have any idea how much energy that might unleash?).

[starnova]

plus you do not know the after effects that might plague the whole system.

[lionhead]

Yeah, one flame from our sun is not much energy (its a lot but less than you ould expect) and that distrubs the magnetic field of our planet. Now a moon crashing into a Huge planet that might stand further from us than the sun will unleash a enormous force going too all direction, saturn and Mars would be certianly be affected and Earth would be too i'm sure, a little less than ars but quit a lot. The large force wil probably feel like a huge atomic bomb exploding in the atmosphere, blowing away all clouds, sturring up winds at Hurricane speeds, creating tidle waves and disturb the magnetic field, thus frying all electric circuits.
Not too mention what would happen if the Moon would be in his place as well.

[starnova]

and why would we destory planets just for resources?