Advances in Science and Exploration

Published on 11 Jul 2008 at 12:29 am. No Comments.
Filed under Astronomy, Exploration, Space.

I have been thinking about human science and exploration, and how long it takes for these processes to initiate and result in acceptance and conclusion.  When considering exploration, it seems it takes about two human lifetimes to go from the initial explorations to settlement.  Perhaps this is the cultural time required for the old guys and their ideas to die off, and the next generation to think seriously about the problems.  Science seems to progress similarly.

This suggests the following timeline:

1969   Humans walk on the Moon

2050  Humans begin colonizing the Moon
2050  Humans begin exploring Mars

2150   Humans begin colonizing Mars
2150   Humans begin exploring the Outer Solar System
2150   Robotic explorers begin surveying Alpha Centauri and neary stars

2250   Humans begin colonizing Outer Solar System

Its too bad that this will take a long time, but each step requires dramatic cultural changes, which take lifetimes to perform.

Kevin Knuth
Boraceia, Brazil

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