The Destiny of Humanity

It is interesting to ponder the destiny of the human race. People don’t often think about where we will ultimately end up. They extrapolate trends to predict changes in technology or international relations, or what have you. But that is practical thought, and has a lot of applications, i.e. predicting trends in the stock market, or foretelling the demand for tablets in the following year. That leaves me to rise to the occasion, sit down in my cushioned office-chair, and contemplate the impractical, untimely, and personally enthralling. The most pertinent of these subjects is our destiny. How will we end up? For starters, the sun will eventually go “red giant” on us, so if we’re still just chillin’ on our rock over here, we’ll perish. That means that ultimately we will need to leave our planet, and I’m not talking about colonizing mars, because the red planet is next in line for supernova obliteration. We will need to leave our solar system and find a new one. The closest terraformable planet is twenty light-years away. So that will be a bit of a hike, and for all we know, that planet (Gliese 581 g) was obliterated by Space Pirates nineteen years ago, and the nature of light’s finite velocity is fooling us into thinking otherwise. But even if this is not the case, we can’t all just simultaneously evacuate the earth a few months prior to doomsday, and head out into the final frontier in search of a new and distant world to call our home. It should begin with probes, which we should get started on soon because it will be a long journey to the planet; I will assume about fifty years or so. Then the probe will have to return to earth (another fifty years) before we can even develop a rough understanding of the planet’s terraformability and other factors of habitability. Then, we should initiate a test colony. However, we firstly need to address the problem of terraforming. We cannot ascertain the composition of Gliese 581 g’s atmosphere due to light pollution of its parent star. According to scientists, in order for the planet to be comfortably habitable, it would need to have an atmosphere of earth-like pressure, composed of 20% CO₂. If this is not the case, then let the terraforming begin. Remaking the atmosphere of an entire planet is an endeavor that is almost entirely impractical—unless we develop some new technology to do so. It is important that we use the matter on Gliese 581 g to create the atmosphere, rather than shuttling over giant canisters of liquefied gas over the course of hundreds, if not thousands of years. My idea is that we engineer some sort of microorganism, which consumes resources found on the planet’s surface, whether it be matter or star-light, and uses the acquired energy to convert plentiful substances on the planet into the required gases. Then we have to consider how we would go about getting rid of the bacteria once they have done their job. Maybe we could engineer the bacteria to die when atmospheric levels of CO₂ reach 20%, or maybe when we release some sort of electromagnetic signal designed to initiate a suicide sequence we coded into their DNA. Or, to dismiss the bacteria idea entirely, we could use nano-bots. But as of right now that technology is not very promising, although I’m sure it will become more developed in the next fifty years or so. Anyway, once that is taken care of, we would send over a large space craft with one hundred men and women at around the age of twenty-five. We would encourage them to procreate aboard the ship during their twenty year journey; or else cryogenically freeze them for the duration. Ultimately we want to ensure that a large group of people, who are still young and fit, yet well-educated, safely arrive to Gliese 581 g. Also aboard the ship will be everything needed to make the colony. We need to create systems that can sustain themselves. For electricity we should use something renewable, such as solar power, or else whatever energy technology we will have discovered by then that may be better suited for the environment and resources available. We will bring the necessary provisions to begin farming, which will be the main source of sustenance in the colony. Honestly, I think the most vital milestone is to successfully keep a plant alive and healthy in the open atmosphere of the planet. Once you plant the “seed” of life, it has a tendency to spread and grow like wildfire. Terraforming is not just an unnatural perturbation of a planet we want to change. To start, we must tweak the variables, yes. But once we set the initial conditions and introduce life from earth, the relentless will of nature will do all the rest. Biological life will find equilibrium with the environment, and will keep the planet stable. Then, if it all still seems promising, we can begin to send over more colonists and resources. And voila; human beings will have successfully colonized another world. That is a HUGE milestone for the human race, and will really open doors for us. Now, I mentioned previously that we should not colonize Mars, because that obviously is not a solution for the supernova problem. However, I would like to revoke that statement in light of an opportunity that Mars could offer us. Should the first attempt at terraforming really be on a planet that is twenty light-years away, and that we know very little about to begin with? I’m hesitant to follow that path. I think we should begin terraforming with Mars. Mars can be an experimental testing ground for the first human terraforming project. We can use it to test our microorganisms and nano-bots, and then attempt to successfully introduce and integrate life on the planet. We should start with plants—and the animals that may be requisite to their continuity (i.e. bees to pollinate plants, worms to fertilize soil, etc). Then we can witness first-hand, and without a twenty-year delay, the nature and aggression of life as it populates the perimeter of the planet. It will be a test of our future hope for survival, whether or not we can make the red planet green.

Dear reader,

This is where I would like to conclude my writing about this specific train of thought. There are a lot of other factors from different theories and ideas of mine which I did not take into account in my predictions. However, do allow this article to be food for thought. Even if you disagree with my predictions or my plan of action for space colonization, I hope I have gotten the ball rolling in your mind. Maybe this is all seemingly irrelevant to you, and has no implications for your lifetime, but I think it is important that the human race start thinking more as one giant entity, rather than as selfish and ignorant individuals. Thank you.