Living in Space?

The topic of space colonization is often debated. Space colonization, also known as space settlement is the idea of having humans live life someplace other than Earth. Humans could have the opportunity to get away from Earth and live in space such as on other planets. Some believe that space colonization can be a good idea, to help with overpopulation, a natural disaster or due to potential lack of natural resources.

Space colonization is a smart idea that the United States should look into. Having alternative locations off of Earth could easily save some of the human population in case of a natural disaster. Physicist, Stephen Hawking predicted human life could be extinct within the next thousand years unless there is further development in space colonization. Hawking's argued that humans living in space can save humanity. Another physicist, Paul Davies also argues that the colonization of space will help save humanity if there is a potential threat of war. The amounts of resources available in space would also make it easy for those to receive natural resources. Material such as water can be found through the use of asteroid mining. Extracting materials from asteroids helps to save billions of dollars in the long run. Solar energy can also be used from space which is better for the environment and much more reliable. Without clouds or dark nights to block sunlight, solar energy would be a lot more efficient from space.

There are many benefits of space colonization but, some may argue that it is not the best idea. Sending people up to space would be very costly and there is no studies on how humans would thrive in space long-term. Protection from radiation is a major issue. Cosmic rays can create life threatening radiation to those who are in space. Although, there are some risks and unknowns of humans living in space, in the future living in space can be a great idea.