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Hawkings: Survival requires space colonies
Tracy Press ^ | June 14,2006 | Sylvia Hui

Posted on 06/14/2006 11:55:06 AM PDT by txroadkill

HONG KONG — The survival of the human race depends on its ability to find new homes elsewhere in the universe because there’s an increasing risk that a disaster will destroy Earth, world-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking said Tuesday.

Humans could have a permanent base on the moon in 20 years and a colony on Mars in the next 40 years, the British scientist told a news conference.

“We won’t find anywhere as nice as Earth unless we go to another star system,” added Hawking, who came to Hong Kong to a rock star’s welcome Monday. Tickets for his lecture Wednesday were sold out.

Hawking said that if humans can avoid killing themselves in the next 100 years, they should have space settlements that can continue without support from Earth.

“It is important for the human race to spread out into space for the survival of the species,” Hawking said. “Life on Earth is at the ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster, such as sudden global warming, nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus or other dangers we have not yet thought of.”

(Excerpt) Read more at tracypress.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Miscellaneous; Philosophy; Technical; Unclassified
KEYWORDS: colonies; earth; hawking; humanrace; space; stephenhawking
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To: Centurion2000

Wouldn't the distance from the Sun still prevent Mars from being habitable?


21 posted on 06/14/2006 12:14:39 PM PDT by frogjerk (LIBERALISM: The perpetual insulting of common sense.)
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To: txroadkill
Previous thread on this: Hawking Says Humans Must Colonize Space.
22 posted on 06/14/2006 12:14:46 PM PDT by PatrickHenry (Unresponsive to trolls, lunatics, fanatics, retards, scolds, & incurable ignoramuses.)
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To: adorno
I'm all for that as long as we leave behind the liberals and communists and "global warming" alarmists and Muslims and French.

I think we should send them to Mars to form a "worker's paradise." They can set up a commune where they'll grow martian corn and sing kumbaya in perfect harmony. Guns and Christianity would be outlawed, and the ACLU would govern the socialist judicial agenda.

23 posted on 06/14/2006 12:14:51 PM PDT by highimpact
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To: Centurion2000

"WRONG .... Mars can be terraformed fairly quickly."

Sure it can...then the solar wind will blow the new multi-trillion dollar atmoshpere out into deep space along with the promised H2O swamp land these terraformers are proposing.

The one little fact that intellectually dishonest terraformers of Mars are failing to provide is that the core of Mars is solid. What protects the earth from evaporation has been the protective magnetic field shielding us from solar winds.

24 posted on 06/14/2006 12:19:36 PM PDT by AMHN
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To: highimpact

An ACLU run Mars colony would become the next Roanoak colony.

Mars cannot be terraformed unless we could somehow kick start its inert core to produce a magnetosphere.


25 posted on 06/14/2006 12:24:07 PM PDT by Teflonic
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To: txroadkill
Here's yesterdays thread
26 posted on 06/14/2006 12:25:57 PM PDT by ASA Vet (Those who know don't talk. Those who talk don't know.)
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To: newgeezer

Interesting............


27 posted on 06/14/2006 12:26:49 PM PDT by AxelPaulsenJr (Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.)
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Comment #28 Removed by Moderator

To: PatrickHenry

D*mn there goes my taxes...........


29 posted on 06/14/2006 12:27:41 PM PDT by AxelPaulsenJr (Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.)
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To: RexBeach

Can we just send the Libs? Or, pack 'em all into Mexifornia and Eurabia (along with the RINOs) and start getting this place back to "normal"??


30 posted on 06/14/2006 12:29:48 PM PDT by Thom Pain (Supporting the Constitution is NOT right wing. It is centrist.)
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To: txroadkill

What does Hawking know, and when did he know it?


31 posted on 06/14/2006 12:31:09 PM PDT by silverleaf (Fasten your seat belts- it's going to be a BUMPY ride.)
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To: adorno
I'm all for that as long as we leave behind the liberals and communists and "global warming" alarmists and Muslims and French.

Au contraire, I suggest that we launch the liberals, commies, eco-freaks, etc., and have them colonize the Sun.
32 posted on 06/14/2006 12:38:22 PM PDT by Darteaus94025
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To: txroadkill

I think i'll worry about this in my spare time!


33 posted on 06/14/2006 12:41:04 PM PDT by INSENSITIVE GUY
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To: AMHN
You are right about the solar wind stripping Mars' atmosphere, but you have to realize that it would take millions of years to do so. We only need to worry about the next 10,000 years or so.
34 posted on 06/14/2006 12:43:40 PM PDT by burzum (Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people.--Adm. Rickover)
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To: AMHN
Sure it can...then the solar wind will blow the new multi-trillion dollar atmoshpere out into deep space along with the promised H2O swamp land these terraformers are proposing.

Losing an atmosphere would take thousands of years. In the meantime, technology will get better.

35 posted on 06/14/2006 12:47:34 PM PDT by Centurion2000 (Support Network Infrastructure Defense: Kill BlackHats)
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To: frogjerk
Wouldn't the distance from the Sun still prevent Mars from being habitable?

At the equator in summer, Mars can get up to 78 degrees. Enough greenhouse gases and it would be a cooler version of Earth.

36 posted on 06/14/2006 12:50:04 PM PDT by Centurion2000 (Support Network Infrastructure Defense: Kill BlackHats)
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To: Centurion2000
When I was a kid (we're talking the Jurassic here) I was a Heinlein fanatic. I thought we would have had the Mars colony thing working by now! I am also embarrassed that we did nothing after the Moon stunt.

In fact, at the risk of asounding unpatriotic, most of this astronaut stuff strikes me as suspicious science and engineering. The shuttle should be on a used car lot somewhere, while we get into the heavy duty manned flights from our Moon bases to Mars to set up colonies.

Where do I sign up!

37 posted on 06/14/2006 12:50:20 PM PDT by Kenny Bunk ( Vote Fraud: The Democrats' Secret Weapon ... Well, secret to the RNC, anyway)
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To: Centurion2000

Actually, you're wrong. We THINK we can terraform Mars fairly quickly.

On the other hand, we've never terraformed ANY planet to date.

And, of course, we need the technology and infrastructure to be ABLE to attempt the Terraforming of Mars.

The process appears to be fairly straightforward, but as in any major engineering process, the bugaboos are in the details. . . . and we don't HAVE the details yet.

50 years from now, that will likely change. . .


38 posted on 06/14/2006 12:55:09 PM PDT by Salgak (Acme Lasers presents: The Energizer Border: I dare you to try and cross it. . .)
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To: Salgak

It'll take 50 years just to figure out who has jurisdiction and how to get the building permits.;o)


39 posted on 06/14/2006 12:58:59 PM PDT by mbynack (Retired USAF SMSgt)
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To: txroadkill

I think this may be true in the long run. But the long run is about 50,000 years from now, and we've got bigger problems to deal with now.


40 posted on 06/14/2006 1:02:31 PM PDT by Brilliant
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