I love space.

[rogueslayer452]

Taken from the Crunchy Questions Meme:

With the possibility of there being a mission to Mars soon, what are your thoughts on the future of humanity traveling out to explore space? Do you believe that we'll eventually find a way to venture outside our solar system and go further into our galaxy? Do you think we'll ever find out what lies beyond the great beyond that is the vastness of space? Or will that just always remain an absolute mystery?

As someone who loves and is obsessed with space, I am absolutely excited about the possibility of humanity being able to travel and explore the vastness of the universe.

Although, if I am to be realistic, it probably won't happen in our lifetime. The possible mission to Mars? Certainly, but venturing out further throughout the solar system and beyond? That will definitely take much longer. It's a nice and lovely idea, and one I love fantasizing about, because I'm very curious about what lies beyond what we know, especially since space is ever expanding and what lies beyond is a huge mystery to us, but I know that we have to be realistic when it comes to these things. Space travel in itself is very tricky, and the survivability for humans venturing out into deep space even more so because we're still figuring out the issues that may arise. Something I think many overlook is how human beings aren't meant for space travel, our bodies evolved on Earth and Earth's gravity so being out in space, even for months at a time as current astronauts have been doing, take a massive toll on the human body. Our physiology changes the longer we stay out in space, so there's inevitably going to be huge risks involving any kind of prolonged travel.

This is something that scientists are still figuring out to this day, and there will be much trial and error when it comes to ensuring the safety of survivability for people to go on such long journeys in space. As much as I am waiting for the mission to Mars to happen and succeed, I do have fears that it'll end disastrously, because anything can go wrong, and there is nothing more terrifying than something going wrong in space where there is no immediate help available.

But it also makes me hopeful because, well, our technological achievements have grown spectacularly in a short period of time and who knows what the future may hold in terms of traveling out further into our solar system and beyond. I want to believe that humanity will succeed, because the mysteries of the universe is what drives much of human curiosity. What is out there? What lies beyond our knowledge of the ever-expanding universe? Is there other life? Are there planets that are habitable that we can terraform, should the opportunity arise? The possibilities are endless, and the more we explore the more discoveries can emerge.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/_profiterole_/]

Beautiful answer!

And all the science and technology developed for space travel will also have practical applications for us on Earth.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

That is very true, it can be beneficial for everyone and not just for a single purpose. :)

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Such good points that (a) we evolved on Earth conditions, and (b) there could potentially be physiological changes. Which doesn't rule it out, just that there are those things to consider.

want to believe that humanity will succeed, because the mysteries of the universe is what drives much of human curiosity. What is out there? What lies beyond our knowledge of the ever-expanding universe? Is there other life? Are there planets that are habitable that we can terraform, should the opportunity arise? The possibilities are endless, and the more we explore the more discoveries can emerge.

I wonder this as well.

I also wonder how many planets would have humanoid beings, the way sci fi tends to portray. Part of me thinks it's very unlikely, but another part of me supposes that evolution would have been similar under similar circumstances. Same with societal structure. After all, lots of societies far apart on Earth ended up developing agriculture and civilizations, and back then being oceans apart was as good as being from another planet. So technically we could find a civilization that in many ways resembles our own, or ones of the past, but also with differences, the same way we may find creatures that are similar to humans.

On the flip side, life might exist in a way we wouldn't even recognize. There could be intelligent beings that wouldn't even register as sentient, let alone intelligent. It's hard to say.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Another thing to consider is, once we achieve the possibility of traveling to other planets, whether for scientific or terraforming purposes, it'll be a political game, another Space Race of which country/nation will get there first. Because as amazing and awe-inspiring as the exploration of space is, politics still plays a major part in it by competing and dominating one nation over another.

Anything is possible, since science is constantly having new discoveries every single day and even correcting things that we thought we once knew, so who knows. But I also believe that any kind of life we find, particularly among our solar system, it'll be something along the lines of microorganisms. Which is still amazing, of course! Just not what people expect due to what media has depicted over the years. I think we should be excited about any kind of findings on other planets, regardless, because it helps us understand how these planets were formed, and if life exists on these planets then we can speculate on its possible evolution, similar to how Earth was created to where it is now.

I do believe that there are other autonomous, intelligent beings out there in the universe similar to ourselves, because it's naive and arrogant to think otherwise, but whether we'll ever discover evidence or even interact with these beings all comes down to how far we advance with our own technology and progression of exploration further beyond what we know. Hell, we may never know for certain, but this is something that spurs human curiosity forward and I'm among those dreamers who want to know more of what may lie out there, beyond our mere comprehension.

[violateraindrop]

Awesome answer! I absolutely agree. I do think we'll find life in the form of bacteria or microorganisms soon which is obviously not what most people picture.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think many believe that we'll find something else but the truth of the matter is we'll probably just find microorganisms, which is actually quite exciting! But the possibility of finding autonomous lifeforms similar to ourselves probably won't happen unless we venture further out. And I do believe that they exist, it would be arrogant to think otherwise.

[impala-chick.livejournal.com]

Space is fascinating! I do hope we get to see a successful Mars mission.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Space is the greatest unknown to us, because science is always discovering new things and reevaluating the way we think about our universe. I just want to know more! I yearn to understand what is out there, beyond our knowledge, and perhaps we'll never fully know because it is so incomprehensible for our minds to even handle, but that is what makes space so fascinating! :D

[impala-chick.livejournal.com]

Totally! That's also probably why I don't get tired of space shows/movies - there are so many possibilities.