Life in Space

    When talking about space colonization, one must think about the real struggles that would go into establishing a colony on another planet. One of the main problems that we as humans would face is the need of resources only found on earth. Finding energy would be the easy part for solar panels that could get direct rays from the sun free from having a night and from the atmosphere. After energy, oxygen and food sources are something not abundant in space and news ways of doing this would have to be found. If oxygen, food, and water sources could be replenishable this idea could be very possible in preserving the human race.

     In this article, the writer describes a process that nuclear submarines use to replenish oxygen. In this process oxygen is recycled from seawater and the carbon dioxide produced from breathing is expelled through the submarine. The option could be very reliable to use in space colonies if water were to be found in abundance on other planets. In another study, the Biosphere 2 project in Arizona showed how long humans could survive in a man made oasis with food, water sources and oxygen. After two years the humans could no longer survive because the oxygen in the enclosure needed to be replaced showing that if a reliable breathing source is not found then life on other planets is not possible. 

      Another problem we would face is the radiation that the sun puts out onto other planets. On earth, our atmosphere protects us from harmful UV rays and other forms of radiation, and a way of protecting us away from earth is not found yet. The reason why this is important to think about is because life on earth is not forever and if a solution is not found soon, earth will experience another mass extinction with humans being the victim. Although this problem will not directly face us, it will face the families we leave behind on the planet and we must start thinking about ways to help future generations.