This commandments are complete idealism. However, I feel that breaking these rules will lead humanity down a path to because a species that commits atrocities to other life forms and a species at never ending war. I’m just tossing some ideas out on the table, feel free to debate and challenge these commandments. Remember, I’m not a god.
Photo by tommrkr
1: Thou shall not inhabit another planetary body that has macroscopic life.
This commandment is meant to stop all the atrocities of the colonial period. I excluded microscopic life because it is too hard to detect from orbit, but microscopic life should be handled cautiously because of the health risks. However, microscopic life can be considered macroscopic if they are visible in clusters. Basically, if we can see a life form from orbit, we can’t inhabit that planet.
Then there is the whole ethics thing, but I could write a book about that.
This commandment only applies to macroscopic life we did not put on the surface.
2: Thou shall not send out a spaceship with enough arms for over 1% of the occupants.
This commandment is included to prevent interstellar warfare. An interplanetary war would be far more costly in lives then any other war we have fought, plus, we risk losing both warring biospheres. However, weapons will be needed for security forces on a space habitation, mainly because amoral people will smuggle weapons to a space settlement. So, those at customs stations will have to be armed and police will have to be armed to protect themselves and others.
3: Thou shall not leave anything that isn’t working in space.
We messed up Earth’s orbit, let’s not do it again. Please. And please don’t create interplanetary space junk. That would be a nightmare to deal with.
4: Thou shall not take more then 5% of the freshwater on any planetary body into space.
Crews will need water to get from one body to another, however, I fear that a huge fleets of spaceships will extract too much water from Earth and other planets for supplies while in transit. I think water should be “on loan” from the main planet. For example, if we had a commuter level of traffic between Earth and Mars, ships would pickup water for the voyage at an orbital station and drop off the water at another station at the end of the voyage, where another ship could use that water. This will take intense water recycling system, but it will protect the water resources we do find and allow of communities to flourish where ever we find water.
Now, water can be made into fuel, but I think this fuel should only be made from undrinkable water. For example, salt water on Earth and water that is contaminated on the moon. In other words, if all that is needed to make the water drinkable is a simple filter and an anti-bacterial agent, then it should be valued to not taken in excess from a planetary body.
5: Thou shall not bar people from joining the space settlement mission because of race, religion, sex and sexual orientation.
When I read about the Neo-Nazi Mars base initiative, shivers went down my spine. The racial tension between such a colony and the rest of humanity is enough to spark war.
Of course, religious organizations will want their own settlements, but I do not think people will necessary skills should be barred from a mission. To do that would endanger the mission. I think becoming a spacefaring species will allow us to be a more companionate species and be tolerant of each other.
6: Thou shall not populate another life supporting system or system that is capable of supporting life at the expense of another.
This commandment prevents us from becoming an interstellar fire, consuming everything in our path. I do not feel that hoping from planet to planet, exploiting the resources on each planet is a sustainable way from a species to operate. Following this commandment will also ensure we are creating biosphere backups.
However, Near Earth Objects(NEOs) and other places that can not be terraformed are fair game, so long as those resources are used responsibly (As explained in the next few commandments). However, we can not strip mine Mars because it can support life with a few modifications. Thus, an planetary object that should be respected is an object with enough mass to have an atmosphere.
7: Thou shall not use more than .01% of the resources in a solar system per year with respect to 2010.
This commandment assumes we will not achieve faster the light travel. If this assumption is true, then this solar system will be the only one we inhabit for a while. This commandment ensures a sustainable lifestyle, one that guarantees we can live in a solar system for a minimum of 10,000 years. Long enough to prepare for a mass migration or replenishment of resources. I’ve also noticed that in an age a plenty, we will toss things away, but when we do not have much, we will recycle. This commandment will force use to recycle resources we find to prevent us from reaching the maximum because the abundance of resources while be put into perspective.
8: Thou shall not use more than .01% of the resources on a planetary body per year with respect to 2010
This rule budgets the use of Each planet’s, object’s and moon’s resources so that a civilization using those resources will be able to tap into those resources for 10,000 years. Long enough to make the investment worth while.
9: Thou shall not make or accept an unbalanced trade with another space settlement.
The goal of this is to prevent a space settlement from just being a mining outpost, one that is abandoned as soon as the resources are gone. In other words, the best way to use space is to inhabit it, not strip it. Balanced trade is that best way to do this. Trading one resource for another will allow communities to fix its weakens by using its strengths. If done correctly, when the resources that attracted people to the site in the first place are gone, a vibrant community the can support its self will still remain.
10: Thou shall not equip a spaceship with weapons that can penetrate the hull of a standard spaceship
Spaceships are basically tin cans with 1 atmosphere is pressure pushing out. A hole in the ship will cause a significant loss of air. Yes, we can build bulk heads for seal off damaged areas, but the crew has to react within seconds, while under fire, to prevent the whole spaceship from depressurizing. In this light, I consider any weapon that can penetrate the hull of a spacecraft a weapon of mass destruction because one shot has the potential to kill 1000s of people if fired at a larger spacecraft.
However, non-penetrating weapons are the non-lethal weaponry of interstellar combat. One can target weapon ports, communications arrays, solar panels and engines to get an aggressor to stop. I would suggest EMP weaponry, but it would destroy life support systems and most circuitry in space is hardened, so that they of weaponry is ineffective.
Note: this commandment assumes people will install some type of armor to protect against the many fast moving rocks and junk floating in space.
Reactions
-Do I cover everything?
-Will these rules be useful in the real world, remember, these rules are complete idealism?
-Will following these rules place humanity in harm’s way?
-Would you rewrite this rules if you where director of space habitation?
In Case You Skimmed
- We should settle space in a sustainable way
- We should learn from our mistakes on Earth
