As noted
here, we probably have enough Bay12ers to start a colony on a nearby planet. This derailed the topic into discussions of the best ways to make the colony. Currently, the big debate is where to PUT it. The three bug contenders seem to be:
MARS--A popular suggestion, since it's a terraformable planet fairly nearby (also, Olympus Mons). Sadly, there are some other issues to consider.
Pros:
-Magma (some, and deep)
-Atmoshpere (kinda, it's thin and full of CO2)
-Magnetic field (albeit a weaker one than, say, Earth) Not really strong enough to even keep an atmosphere.
-Again, Olympus Mons
Cons:
-Exploiting the atmosphere and such would leave us exposed to Terran attack (did I mention people were planning to conquer the world?), as well as radiation.
-It would be nigh-impossible to launch much of any attack on Earth, aside perhaps from sending a spaceship there and hoping that it can deliver its cargo/soldiers/etc before being shot down
-Groundhogs (i.e. Earthlings) would be able to send warships to us much more easily.
-Unlike, say, Luna, no one has been to Mars
LUNA--One of my ideas. It would be a good place to launch attacks on Earth from (did I mention we were planning to conquer Earth?), and fairly nearby. Oh, and
there's precedent.
PROS:
-It's near to Earth, so we could get there easily and also bombard Earth more easily.
-People have been there.
CONS:
-We'd have to burrow underground, to avoid radiation and attacks from Earth.
ASTEROIDAL SPACE STATION--Another of my cleverer ideas, albeit a weaker one. Basically, we build a big ISS and send it to the Asteroid Belt.
PROS:
-We'd be more or less immune to Terran attack, what with being a highly mobile little blip, probably 90%+ covered in photovoltaic cells to help conceal ourselves more.
-With access to the asteroid belt, we could mine for water, phosphorus, metals, fissionables, etc.
CONS:
-No radiation shielding.
-Far from Earth, so attacks are going to be nigh-impossible
-If we ARE found, we're screwed.
-No gravity (which might be able to be overcome with centrifugal gravity).
OTHER OPTIONS:
--Venusian colony. Nigh-impossible, unless we made an algae or something that can survive on Venus and terraform it, and then build a floating platform. More issues detailed
here, notably the lack of a magnetic field requiring alternate radiation shielding. Hypothetically, terraforming could be done in "only" 150 years, but since most solutions involve living deep underground for protection and often magma access, this may be moot.
--Colonies on a gas-giant's moon. They're even more remote than the Asteroid belt, but lack the invisibility benefit. They'd also require terraforming to be much better than our own moon, except possibly for Europa. They might or might not be shielded by their planet's magnetic field, but either way distance might protect us from the Sun.
--Multiple colonies. On one hand, we'd be able to survive if one colony was destroyed, and we could harness the strengths of all. On the other hand, communication can easily take hours across interplanetary distances, and the male:female ratio is shaky enough as it is.
--Colonies ON a large asteroid: All of the problems with the moon related to size amplified. It's also FAR away, meaning less solar power and no realistic military action without sending spaceships to attack Earth.
--Mercurial Colony. Someone suggested I add it "for completeness." Hottest temperatures of pretty much any non-Venusian world, no atmosphere, and screwed-up day/night cycles.
PLEASE DO NOT POST HERE TO COMMENT ON THE PROJECT. PLEASE ONLY COMMENT ON THE POLL HERE. COMMENTS ON THE PROJECT SHOULD GO
HERE.
Please inform me if there are any important points or options I missed above.
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Topic: Colonizing Other Worlds: A Poll (Read 6986 times)