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Scifi and Fantasy Forum: Speculation: Commercialising Space , When?
Commercialising Space , When?
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Posted By:  Athalia Oct 08, 2003 - 05:20 pm |       | umm, are you saying that it would also jointly belong to dogs elephants etc. if we brought them there? or are you talking about alien species? (if the latter is the case then i disagree - it's OUR moon.)
| Posted By: iamume Oct 11, 2003 - 10:42 am | | Ownership is subject to scope of us and them .I not only am a human and citizen but am a local resident,a Californian,American,Terran,Exist within this universe and so on.Not one of these parameters excludes another.We do not exist in isolation,all life is interconnected and related,If we take an evolutionary stance then all earthly life is family ,a very extended family.
The property which we claim to own will outlast us,at best we are stewards of our property managing it because we are capable of holding and defending it.If all that we actually own is our awareness and experiences then any life which also shares the moment is an equal in ownership.
Scriptures say God gave man dominion over the earth,I feel that describes our capacity to act,not that it is our right to do with it as we will.The condition of the territory and quality of life within, after our death ,will declare the merit of our stewardship.
If we bring a dog to the moon then it "owns" the moon just as much as us.That is, it experiences the moon.We can make territorial decisions,draw them up on paper and pretend that this game constitutes ownership, and that anything within this territory is ours to exploit.Spain and Portugal once divided the world in half.Arrogance.Millitarists would say with adequate might this is realism.
What if we colonized a planet,moon or continent,Becoming an alien species?Would we be denied ownership or could we say "This universe is my home and so is this planet which I'm approaching?Or would we simply consider all other life as alien,never ourselves?
Athalia -
Atoms have protons (which have a positive electrical charge) and electrons (which have a negative electrical charge). 'Normal' atoms have an equal number of each, so they're electrically neutral. But if you peel some electrons off, or add some electrons, the atom becomes unbalanced...electrically charged...an ion. Then you can use magnets to push it. Ion drives use electricity to ionize a bunch of atoms, then magnets to push them out as propellant. IIRC, they've been used to maneuver satellites in orbit for some time, but never to propel something through interplanetary space before.
iamume -
I imagine the moon will be similar to Antarctica. Open to any explorers initially. Anyone can claim territory. But the claims won't mean anything as long as no one lives there or makes use of it. Once a program is initiated to make actual use of it, there'll be an international treaty allowing research outposts but renouncing all claims. As long as there's nothing valuable on the moon, that'll hold.
I expect that Mars will probably be different, however... More valuable.
| Posted By: iamume Oct 20, 2003 - 10:06 am | | As long as a regions perceived value is limited to specialized research,large scale sovereignty issues will wait.Repeatedly we've experienced the pattern of colonies superceedeing and replacing their former colonial masters. Unless we improve our management techniques this scenario could very well be repeated with a lunar or martian venture,this dynamic could still repeat here on Earth.
| Posted By: Nomad Oct 20, 2003 - 12:26 pm | | e.g... MArs Colony from the Babylon 5 scifi series.
| Posted By: iamume Oct 21, 2003 - 09:51 am | | I havn't seen it,I've spent years without a t.v.,However at my current residence I occasionally view one. The pattern persists.
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