10 Commandments of Space Habitation

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

4 Reasons Humanity Fails to Achieve its Goals

This post is heavily based on the Dump Little Man post 4 Reasons You Fail to Achieve Your Goals.

Are we the type of species that makes big plans but just never finishes the plan? Do we make resolutions during one generation that are dropped like a failed Hail Mary pass by the next? Perhaps, as a species, you can't stay on track. Every species contains a goal seeking mechanism, yet we do not achieve our goals. The following list are things that will not only prevent space habitation, but will prevent other multi-generation goals and macro-engineering projects.

1. Limited Beliefs

Look, if a species thinks it will go extinct, it will. If its religious text predict an armageddon, people will feel helpless to stop an armageddon event. They will feel as if they are doomed to die as a species. There are some who see humanity as a disease that should be eliminated, how can such a species aspire to greatness? There is a major belief that we have reached the end of out species' technological and social development, how can such beliefs inspire greatness and self improvement? Humanity has unlimited potential, but if we start to doubt that potential we will never be great, we will never be spacefaring and we won't produce a new generation of humans who have hope for a better tomorrow.

2. Picking the Wrong Goal

This reason should not be used as an easy to quit a goal of a species. But, we, as a species, can aspire to the wrong objectives. Wrong goals for a species would include:

• Any goal that splits apart this species and any goal that kills off vast numbers of members of the species. (e.g. wars and genocides).
• Any goal that was developed in an echo chamber; any goal that is an attempt to homogenize humanity.
• Any goal that is focused on proving one group's superiority as opposed to improving the species. (e.g. going to space to prove your nation is better, not to improve humanity)

Not, if we want to pick the right goal, we need to have a species wide dialog and talk about all the things we value as a species and our dreams as a species. We need to keep talking until an idea; a goal is produce that resonates with every human soul. We need to keep talking until we have a goal "that just stands out, something that just feels right" (Dumb Little Man).

3. You Lack Consistency / Patience

So far, humanity has been doing well in space after stumbling at the end of Apollo. We have been making consistent investments in our space programs. But, I fear humanity will get bored with space again and cut all its funding. I fear education programs in place today that will benefit a spacefaring species will get slashed. Space will be vary frustrating, but we must keep at it. We can not start a pattern of short bursts in space activity because bursts will demotivate not only the public, but the hard-cord space cadets too.

4. There is No Multi-generational Plan

Transitioning an idea or a movement between generations could weaken it. I'm young, I do not understand the feelings humanity had during the first moon landings. I have not experienced the struggles that opened up the space field. I was born after the first moments of the space age. This might be a problem. Without this experience, I value the Apollo program less; I only read about Apollo, I can NEVER experience the emotions it carried. The leaders of the space movement know what space means because they all worked their butts off to get a space program up an running, but they are all old. I did not experience all the pain that the older generation went through to set up a space program. Because if this, I will never understand space as well as my seniors. This is why we need a multi-generational plan. We need something that conveys why the generation before mine struggled so much and worked so much to open up space. I need a document that conveys the feelings that Apollo generated in humanity. I need to know what the generation before me wanted to do with space; I don't know that yet. Yes, there are documents that conveys this message, but they are scattered and they are really history lessons, not a mission plan that I can follow. What my generation needs is the next step. In any goal this species takes on, the next step must be CLEARLY conveyed to the next generation.

Reactions

-Is there any other reasons humanity can fail one of its goals?

-Do we need a multi-generational plan?

-Can bursts in space activity work?

-Can we still be great if we believe we are worthless?

Resources

Photo by fireflythegreat

In Case You Skimmed

The following reasons prevents any species wide goals from being achieved:

• Being an unconfident species
• Picking the wrong goal as a species
• Not working consistently towards that goal
• Not having a multi-generational plan