Space Colonization

Traveling to space has changed dramatically over the years. People use to travel to space in full space suits and now they are practically in street clothes. I could see the future offering travel to space and developing small colonies, but the expense would be massive. Some experts believe we could actually do it and live on alternative locations off of Earth. What if there was a natural disaster? Could humans really live in space? How would one survive? The colonies would have to first start with establishing habitable locations with support from the Earth. Then they would become self-sufficient over time. The colonies would have to modify the atmosphere, temperature and topography similar to the earth’s surface. Finally the colonies could start making new colonies further into space. The resources found in space would be very helpful. The Solar System alone could support the human population a billon times of the current earth population.  Solar energy is abundant and reliable.  There wouldn’t be any clouds to block sunlight so they would have plenty of energy from the solar energy.  Would there be enough access to food and water?  Colonies would have to be located near natural resources. The moon, because of the proximity to Earth would be a target for colonization. The only drawback is its low abundance of life necessities: such as hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon and the low surface gravity. Titan is the only moon that has a thick atmosphere that is rich in carbon bearing compounds that would support life. There are other large satellites that could also support colonies because of their large satellites. How would they get started? Money would have to come from large investment companies or the government. The biggest argument is that no life has ever existed off of Earth and we would never have technology that we are used to. Another concern would be health. Living in space without gravity would cause bones to lose density, causing a much greater risk of brittle bones and fractures later in life. Also, having no sunrise and sunset would cause you to lose sleep which would cause other problems such as low productivity and mental health disorders. Health issues are a problem, as well, but I think living in an area with less people and things to do would cause more issues. You also wouldn’t have your family or pets around. Would a pet survive living in space?  Who would want to live without their trusty companion?  There seems to be many factors that living in space might not be as beneficial as we would like to think when you look at all the pros and cons. I guess we will wait to see what the future holds for all of us.