Successful Space Species ?
MW Rhodes © 20221007
Imagine if we ever became a successful space species. In Deep space. Imagine what that would require. It would be nice if we could evolve unchanged like the crocodile for a while but I dare say, in space, our babies will grow up and develop to look a whole lot different to us down here. Biologically their bones and body parts would probably be more like that of a fish by the sounds of it. Bone density, blood circulation and other primary systems and organs would be tuned to a life of no gravity. Imagine. Hmm.. Anyway, we have to get into space first before this other stuff even matters. Then we have to decide where to go and how long it will take. Hmm.. Crocodiles.. Fascinating stuff.. Anyway, here are some scribbles about some Earth and space stuff and some the of things or tools we might need to become a successful space species.
Turns out I’ve written a few of these in a series of Succesful Space Species I,II & III. Give this one a read and if you like it then you may like the others. So when you’ve finished reading this one simply pop back up here and click on these links just below. I’m also writing some follow-up ones titled Successful Space Stuff. They’re a bit more about space stuff itself but it’s different stuff than you might have read about in textbooks. Anyway, enjoy. :)
https://www.murryrhodes.com/our-place-in-space/2022/10/12/successful-space-species-ii
https://www.murryrhodes.com/our-place-in-space/2022/10/15/successful-space-species-iii
I just now received a nice message from a friend on social media. I sometimes forget how Hollywood movies and special effects solve physics problems in space. I chat more on it below the main article. :)
The gravitational collapse of a nebular is the mechanism that we currently use to try to model the formation of our galaxies, stars, planets, moons asteroids and other celestial bodies.
The modelling incorporates as many variable vectors as we can think to include but it still comes up very short when programming the algorithms into our computers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_nebula
The best we can do at the moment is to add an 80-90% correction factor. This is a role for unseen, undetected, unmeasured and very theoretical stuff called dark matter. There is a thing called dark energy too but it plays a slightly different role than dark matter in trying to explain expansion on a greater all-inclusive scale.
Either way from the interviews I’ve seen of scientists working on these problems it seems the only two solutions they see is firstly physically identifying and measuring the dark matter for confirmation as a particle or field anomaly OR redefining the classical Newtonian physics that generates the vectors.
Taking a closer look at the possible solutions, indeed if the dark matter could be found that would be the evidence required to resolve the maths of the faulting model on the theory.
There are many science projects and many scientists theorising and engineers working on making instruments to try to find something that may identify and measure a huge quantity of stuff that may or may not exist. Are we looking for a special non-reactive particle that is invisible ? or some kind of field anomaly providing more gravitational forces than classical physics can account for?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_matter
There is a third solution that seems intuitively obvious but I’m not hearing any mention of it at all. That is that the gravitational collapse of a nebula type theory is mostly wrong. By 80-90%
On paper the theory of it is good and intuitive and we can see in some regions of where globules of stars form within huge masses of gas and dust clouds (nebula). So the accumulation of matter and the formation of big and small celestial bodies can and does happen as the theory suggests but, and this is a big ‘but’, but looking at the dynamic processes in our night sky it is certainly not the only formation process going on.
Applying the gravitational collapse of a nebula to the entire universe and for all time as the one and only mechanism at play is wrong. I understand that in order to reinforce the Big Bang theory where after an expansion and cooling period of recombination of elements into their atomic particles left a nebula of gas particles to then accumulate under gravity. Yes, it does make sense in many ways but it also assumes a few things that .. well, assumptions can get us into all manner of strife.
Why is it important to get this right?
If we as a species were to remain on this planet and not venture out into deep space then it’s not very important at all. Indeed, if this is the case then we shouldn’t be spending any further resources on trying to find these answers because they cost our community too much and for what benefits other than a fascinator for our amusement? Instead, we might do better to provide a quality end of life as we enter the twilight of our existence on this planet. All life will end as the planet cycles toward her less-than-life-supporting phase. Be it from our solar supernova or from normal geochemistry that provides our biosphere resolving into a lower energy state for entropy.
However, if we are to succeed in the nature of the universe and be a successful species of space then our engineering, navigation and resource identification needs to be as accurate as possible. None of this 80-90% if, but and maybe dark matter exists. The engineering needs to go the distance and our resource or deep space asset identification method needs to be predictive and not just responsive. An asset that we can see in the present may not be the same asset by the time we get to it. So a predictive model needs to be in place to know how assets are made then a means to find the places where conditions exist before the asset does. Knowing how a life-sustaining planet is made tells us what star qualities to look for that might make one in the future.
Something like picking a ripe fruit only to get it home and find it rotten to the core might mean selecting something less ripe. In this instance of space travel and assets, seeing when a tree is in blossom and having enough time to get there before the fruit grows, ripens and rots would be nice.
Without wormholes or warp speed or time travel then we are restricted to our more realistic modes of travel. This means that one light year may take a million or so years of cold deep space travel. This in turn means our vessel needs to be able to cycle in space. As much cycling and recycling as we may be able to achieve to sustain life systems, repair and maintain the vessel plus replenish other energy losses. Carbon atoms decay over time and natural entropy occurs. Semiconductors decay and effectively everything decays over time.
So computer chips may outlive us as individuals but the chips are made of semiconductors that decay and deems the chip inoperable. Terminal. Dead. Meanwhile, biologicals like us die a lot but we recycle and replicate, sort of. Any vessels that may achieve deep space may also need to be able to re-stock carbons and other minerals from the ocean of space for the occasional biological refresher which will be an engineering feat in itself. To replace computer chips from raw materials and manufacture them in a deep space environment might cost more energy than it does to replenish biological requirements. In deep space, conserving energy improves the chance of a successful outcome.
Time is not our friend if we are to be a successful space species. If we can engineer ways to replenish resources well enough to stave off the natural decay of resources then we will be doing really well. In order to do that we first need to know where the resources will be. Not where they are now but where they will be by the time we can get to them.
Time spent travelling is time spent decaying so unless we know the physics and the chemistry of our universe then we may be like a puppy chasing butterflies and spending more energy than we regain. It’s a basic law of life in nature or any invested system in the cost of energy against the return for that cost.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX
It looks like we are heading in the right direction for being able to engineer vessels for space journeys that may take millions or perhaps even billions of years in the harsh environment of space and so if we can make the vessels then we really need to get the science of mapping and navigating the universe as best a possible. At present, our understanding of meteorology is quite good, but still, we get the forecasts wrong because the dynamics are too chaotic for precision beyond chance. If we could predict the universe systems of when it will metaphorically rain in space or when assets might become available then we have an increased chance to succeed in deep-space travel. The more accurate that prediction model is then the better our chances of success.
If we don’t move on from using only the gravitational collapsing nebula as our model for predicting mineral asset formations and with its 80-90% error margin for Dark Matter or 8/10 - 9/10 failures to predict correctly. Our deep space descendants will run out of energy before finding resources or another home planet to inhabit. So we really need to refine this on the other side of the scale and down to 20 - 0 % error or 8/10 - 10/10 successful outcomes.
So if we are to succeed as a deep space species then we’ll need to get this modelling thing right.
So a question might be, Can it be done? I’m ever the optimist of science and am certain it can be done after all it’s just chemistry and physics on workable scales without the need for dark physical unknowns.
Another question might be, Will it be done? Of this, Well, I’m not Nostradamus so I’m not certain. It’s down to short-term politics of pride and profits against long-term outcomes beyond the planet. We might if we unite because unity gives us strength and abilities that independence or division simply can’t provide but for the love of all life and our wonderfully bizarre histories unity is not one of our strongest traits unless there is a direct enemy in common. I think the enemy-in-common is obvious to just about everyone but our leaders who are blinded by their own politics or ambitions.
More on this stuff later. It looks like global politics is encountering nuclear uncertainty. Such a sad state of affairs. What is certain is that if the globe goes nuclear nuts now, all the devastation, despair and death will be bad enough for us in the present and for our future generations. The future would suck more than it already might. Our engineering knowledge and resources drop dramatically and the chance of success in deep space?, well it’s already very close to Zero so a world at war only reduces that chance furthermore by reducing resources and people and perhaps even the spirit and drive and long-term purpose of, and in life. With our tech, logistics, knowledge and access to resources the window is open now, but it won’t be forever.
You may be thinking back in time when life has come back from the brink of extinction several times, or even a bit closer to home where highly technical civilisations came and went and came back even bigger and better. Yes it has been a colourful history on our planet and another window may be available in the future but then again, it may not be as the planet was never a forever thing for life but just a temporary opportunity.
Image from NASA Via the Solar Cycle - Wiki Link
The planet may be seeing a warmer period at the moment, similarly as it has done in the past but overall, it is losing black body radiation to outer space. It is cooling and so is our Sun and so it won’t be too long before our planet freezes over and the sun? Well, the conventional theory suggests it will go supernova and fry things up but if it does then even before it does that, the sun will dim and will likely have lost its ability to ionise carbon atoms and thus no longer transmit carbon frequencies essential for photosynthesis.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologic_temperature_record
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_cycle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geological_history_of_Earth
With reduced oxygen levels, the deep sea anaerobic biome will thrive and through its chemosynthesis will give off H2S ( Hydrogen Sulphide ) Gas filling the atmosphere with poison. Aerobic life will be almost completely dead as the planet freezes over for one last time as its core then cools to entropy and the plate tectonics solidify and seize and the internal planet warms life no more. Of course that’s just one of many scenarios that will likely happen.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extinction_event
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4802792/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/oxygen-minimum-layer
Our planet was never a forever thing.
Political pride might be the downfall for all our children, for all our futures for any chance of becoming a successful space species.
Take care.
Murry
If you would like leave a message that would be great. Here’s a link to a nice message and my response. I was schooled about artificial gravity in space.