"I want Americans to ... push out into the solar system
not just to visit, but to stay." Barack Obama, U.S. President,
in the 2015 State of the Union address to Congress.
A billion years ago there was no life on land. In a phenomenal
development, by 400 million years ago land life was well
established. We are at the very beginning of a similar, perhaps
even more important, development. Today Earth teems with life, but
as far as we know, in the vast reaches of space there are only a
handful of astronauts, a few plants and animals, and some bacteria
and fungi; mostly on the International
Space Station. We can change that. In the 1970's Princeton
physicist Gerard O'Neill, with the help of NASA Ames Research
Center and Stanford University, discovered that we can build
gigantic spaceships, big enough to live in. These free-space
settlements could be wonderful places to live; about the size of a
California beach town and endowed with weightless recreation,
fantastic views, freedom, elbow-room in spades, and great wealth.
Subsequent discoveries have brought this dream much closer.
In time, we may see millions of free-space settlements in our solar
system alone. Building them, particularly the first one, is a
monumental challenge. If this sounds exciting, read on.
Basics
Who? Pioneers at first,
billions of ordinary people later.
What? Very large to gigantic rotating,
pressurized spacecraft the size of towns or even cities.
When? Good question, when
do you start working on it?
National Space Society Space Settlement Contest
This annual space settlement design contest for
6-12th grade students has been sponsored by NASA Ames Research Center from 1994-2018, for the last several years in conjunction with the National Space Society (NSS). A Space Act Agreement between NASA and NSS is currently being worked on to continue joint sponsorship of the contest. Meanwhile, the 2019 contest is being sponsored by NSS.
CoEvolution Book on space
settlement edited by Stewart Brand and published in 1977. This
work contains arguments for and against space colonization, very
interesting.
International Space Station (ISS). This is the closest thing we
have to a space settlement, six people living and working in space
rotating every six months or so.
Space Studies Institute. SSI was
established by Gerard O'Neill. It has sponsored important research
towards space settlement and organized a premier series of
conferences on the subject.
The Space Setlement
Initiative. Founded by Alan Wasser, former CEO of the National
Space Society proposes legislation authorizing lunar land claims
recognition to help catalyze private sector investment in building
permanent settlements.
Freeluna.com dedicated
to the proposition that the colonization of outer space is critical
for the long term survival of the human species, and that
colonization of the moon and the exploitation of the moon's natural
resources is one of the best first steps in that incredible journey
off planet.
P.E.R.M.A.N.E.N.T. the
Projects to Employ Resources of the
Moon and Asteroids Near Earth in the
Near Term.
Space ColonyH. Try
this psychologically-based, problem-solving leadership game set in
space.
Spaceflight or Extinction
A civilization restricted to the surface of a single planet has
inevitable threats to its long-term existence. Natural threats such
as epidemics and impacts from space objects, and man-made threats
such as nuclear and biological war, will be joined by new threats
from emerging sciences and technologies.
Space Quotes to
Ponder What famous people (and some not famous) have said about
why humankind must expand into space.
SpaceSettlers. A
site devoted to space settlement discussion.
The Space Show. The
Space Show focuses on timely and important issues influencing the
developmentof outer-space commerce and space tourism, as well as
other related subjects of interest to us all. These are highlights
associated with the design contest that were reported to NAS
management.
Ringworld: a Java
applet to interactively explore some aspects of living in a
rotating environment, particularly jumping off high platforms and
throwing balls.
Lewis One space settlement
design: intended to improve on the 10,000 inhabitant designs of
the mid-70s depicted in the artwork (see above). The new design
features large shielded micro-g construction bays, low-g
agriculture near the rotation axis to reduce the length of
cylindrical settlements, large micro-g visitor and recreation
areas, space viewing, and low-g recreation.
Space
Settlements
