Introduction
A. Genesis
This section follows up on the work and research from me finding out about the amazing YouTube channel Science and Futurism with Isaac Arthur which I discovered while researching my post on the Kardashev Scale. Following publishing my Kardashev post I updated my policies with a mention of Humanity potentially surviving long enough to evolve to a K2 civilization (see my Kardashev post above for more information on what that means). Even with that having been added I still knew I was missing something, but I had no idea what it was, until…
The needed revelation was prompted by my posting of the video of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Keynote Speech for the 28th National Space Symposium (2012) to my blog. If you have not already watched that amazing video then please do this now so you have the background to understand and appreciate this section. My above linked post also has a transcript with some visuals too, or you can watch video below:
Following watching this amazing video I realized that I needed to add a brand new section to my policy site, a section that would set a scope and vision that I did not know I was desperately missing. A goal oriented driver that could possibly unite a nation or Humanity in order to achieve it. One that could inspire us to work together to accomplish what has been thought of as unthinkable, or only found in the realm of science fiction, something that was only possible for future generations to accomplish and not by ours. This is a scope and a culture that we have lost since the 1970’s, something that we had before and lost, but we can definitely can have again.
Here is an article covering a similar sentiment:
B. Interdependence and a Space-faring Humanity
As below (on Earth), so it shall be above (in space).
James O’Neill
Humanity carries it’s cultural, theological, emotional, intellectual, and social baggage with it wherever it goes which creates perpetual strife, exploitation, and conflict. If we cannot live in harmony here on our planet of origin then we will never be able to live in any semblance of harmony in a space station nor anywhere else in the universe. This is the Star Trek vs The Expanse conundrum. The only real way to accomplish peace in space is to create peace here on Earth.
As a globalized species we need to advocate for a change in Humanity’s social, environmental, political, and economic systems so that we can save ourselves and our planet of origin from our own self-inflicted horrors and the systems and structures that created them, otherwise we shall NEVER know peace, even as much as we would like to idealize life in space and space colonies, etc. Nothing will change with Humanity in space if we do not ourselves change here one Earth.
The entirety of the policies here on Interstellar New Deal are aimed at just that – creating all of those changes so that Humanity may finally know peace on Earth and wherever we shall find ourselves throughout the universe.
The 8 Philosophical Pillars for Peace form that foundation for all of the polices here.
C. Goal Setting for Public Gain
We need to set aggressive short and long term goals for galactic exploration and research to give us a powerful reason to do all of the other stuff that I talk about in this massive policy site. Setting such goals for these sorts of lofty pursuits will drive the economy, innovation, and cooperation, and excite and unite the people around a seemingly impossible goal as well as inspire children into STEM fields, environmental conservation, and connecting them to the rest of Humanity. Perhaps, even more importantly, it will create visceral and powerful cultural and policy changes which will help to make these goals a reality.
Without these goals for galactic exploration hanging out there as a core driver and vision of where are going, goading us to push harder and father, and to innovate more then the rest of the policies might falter and never come to fruition. The return on tangible and intangible return on investment from this will be astronomical.
Here is an amazing article and book by the same author, Erasmo Acosta, talking about similar ideas:
I. Greatly Increase Funding for NASA
In order to fund our ambitious long term interstellar mission we will need the funding for NASA to at least increase from half-a-penny per tax dollar (0.47% in 2019), which the lowest the US has spent on space to date, to at least 5 (5%) full pennies per tax dollar, which would only be a smidge more than what was devoted to NASA during its height in the 1960’s (4.41%). Doing so will greatly drive the economy and innovation, STEM in schools, as well as provide powerful positive shifts in our culture towards environmentalism and humanism.
- Here’s what NASA could accomplish if it had the US military’s $600 billion budget (Business Insider)
- Budget of NASA (Wikipedia)
How will we get the funding to make this happen? Just keep in mind that this question is never asked when we talk about another military action or war! However, check the following 2 sections of this document for that answer:
Plus, you will also need to remember that a large space program will result in inspiration, technological advancements, and innovation which will also open avenues for expensive new industries such as asteroid mining and space tourism too which will contribute to our resources and taxes, all of which will mitigate our direct spending.
Here is a list of NASA’s Spinoff Techs that Humanity has benefited from due to their research and work.
II. Planning for An Interstellar Humanity
A. Why Do We Need a Seemingly Impossible Long Term Interstellar Goal?
Why is setting a specific and seemingly impossible long term goal in order to drive a space-faring Humanity necessary for us to set? Because, in order for Humanity to achieve this ambitious goal we will need to make drastic and radical changes of all sorts to get there. Here are some examples of the changes we will need to make in order to achieve such radical and long term interstellar goals:
In order to be able to:
- fund these “lofty” space-faring goals we will need to have a powerful, efficient, and sustainable economic system
- build the required massive orbital rings, space elevators, spaceships, colonies, and other technological marvels we need to be able to develop and utilize the automation, AI, and 3D printing technologies to harvest resources from our planets and stars, and to build these megastructures
- peacefully travel, work, and colonize interstellar locations we need a society that has sustainable energy, sustainable agriculture, sustainable recycling
- work together and to ensure there is peace among the stars and within space stations and colonies where there is limited space to roam in a space station or space ship, and so we do not waste our limited resources on war and violence, we will need to have a new society and values which are peaceful and cooperative
- even attempt to successfully terraform or manage a newly forming planar biome we need to be able to successfully sustainably manage our own climate and ecology
- manage galactic travel and colonization we need powerful and efficient recycling technology that can recycle everything we use, for resources will be scarce. We will only have access to that which we bring with us or can harvest through our travels
If we cannot achieve any of these on Earth then we sure as hell will not be able to do any of it in space either. To believe otherwise is naive and spells doom for ALL of Humanity.
As its is below (on Earth), so shall it be above (in space). Therefore, fixing our own planet and societies is the first step towards such radical and visionary plans!
Working towards accomplishing the policies in this site for the sake of accomplishing them in order to fix some very broken things is great and all, but they are so much more sweeter and necessary – an imperative really – when they are needed to help us in our potential plans to colonize Mars or to send a generational ship (or fleet) to Alpha Centauri. Shouldn’t we dream big? We CAN do it, can’t we? We can! And, we should be aiming for the stars, right?
B. What Should Our Interstellar Goal Be?
How should we determine what Humanity’s first long term goal should be? The very first long term goal should be extra-solar in nature, the farthest and most difficult goal that Humanity could possibly attempt to accomplish. Because, in order to accomplish this seemingly impossible goal, we will need to achieve many other intermediary goals and discoveries in order to get to this farthest one. If our goal is not extremely difficult and does not require an extreme levels of technological advancements, innovation, and scientific discoveries, and social change, then it will NOT inspire or challenge us to attempt to accomplish the impossible. Also, and perhaps more importantly, the social and cultural changes that will evolve in order to help make reaching this difficult goal a possibility will radically and positively change the face of Humanity.
What should our first long term interstellar goal be? I would suggest the following interstellar goal to really challenge us and to push us to the limits of our collective innovation:
- explore and colonize the farthest galaxy in the known universe
Even if we do eventually accomplish this goal there will always be something else to more difficult and challenging accomplish to drive us forward onto greater understanding and exploration of the universe. We must always keep moving the goalposts to keep Humanity inspired, challenged, innovating, and peaceful.
C. Sample Intermediary Goals
The below goals are just a wide sample of of the sorts of intermediary steps we may have to first work towards in order to get to even have a chance to achieve the long term goal so you can see the sort of technological challenges and discoveries that are going to be needed to address to make progress towards that eventual long term goal:
1. Earth
- Fusion – Continue work on developing fusion which is perhaps the greatest chance we have for a universal clean energy source which would radically change the face of Humanity on Earth and in space.
- Sustainable Launch
- Micro-Satellites – Launch a swarm of microsatellites over the poles to provide shade (block infrared) for the poles to cool it down and to reduce the effects of global warming and to help restore environmental equilibrium. They could collect also store solar power, as well as contain as sensors to send data to the surface and micro-cameras (large telescope), or even act as a charging station for satellites, etc.
- Tethered Ring – As a precursor to the Orbital Ring next we can start by building a Tethered Ring which is something that we can build with materials that we have existing today.
- Orbital Ring – Build an orbital ring to help all get access to space by radically reducing the cost to access space. We can do this now because we have the technology needed to make this happen.
- Space Elevator – Build a space elevator from orbital ring which will be required for future space travel and mining.
- Rotating Space Stations – Build a rotating habitat space station (Von Braun and/or O’Neill Cylinder) to facilitate research, further travel, building, and colonization. Perhaps the Von Braun station will come first as a preparatory step prior to building an O’Neill Cylinder:
- O’Neill Cylinder
- Von Braun Space Station
- Space Ports (Science and Futurism)
The Gateway Foundation (an organization working on building a Von Braun space station now) - SpaceX Starship and The Von Braun Rotating Space Station (video from the Gateway Foundation)
- Orbital Assembly (a sub-company of the the Gateway Foundation concentrating tools for space manufacturing)
- their Drones for Space Operation Kickstarter from 2018
- Space Ports (Science and Futurism)
2. Moon
- Create a mining station on the moon and then build solar panels on the moon so we can beam power to Earth, to other space stations, to spaceships, and/or to be used in a stellar laser propulsion system.
- Build a colony on the moon to mine it and to create a way-station and resupply station for other trips to our solar system, as well as to provide raw materials for other space-based manufacturing. Check out
- build a rotating habitat/space station (Von Braun and/or O’Neill Cylinder) to facilitate research and further lunar exploration
- build a liquid mirror telescope
- build a launch loop
- Set up an orbital station with a space elevator on the moon to:
- facilitate ore processing from asteroids (Kurzgesagt)
- manufacture things in space
- make it easier to transfer people and things to and from the moon’s surface
- mine asteroids and other planets instead of tearing up and polluting our own planet.
3. Intra-Solar
- Design a system of modular and configurable stellar and interstellar transportation that can be shared for governmental and commercial access to space.
- Create the automated systems needed to tear apart the planet Mercury in order to start the creation of a Dyson Swarm around the sun to start our progress towards a K2 Civilization. A Dyson Swarm with solar concentrators could also be used with laser sails to propel craft to relativistic speeds.
- colonize and terraform mars or Venus
- mine asteroid belts
- Build resource stations throughout our solar system to facilitate travel, resource harvesting and refueling, data exchange and communication, and refueling.
4. Extra-solar
- Send a probe to nearest solar system (might need the Dyson Swarm for that)
- Send one probe to a black hole to collect data and one to enter one to collect data
- Tear apart a planet in order to create a generational ship or fleet to explore and colonize the nearest star system
- Tear apart a planet in order to create a generational ship or fleet to explore and colonize the farthest galaxy
D. How Might the Interstellar Mission Schedule Look?
The following table was something I just put together, so take this with a grain of salt. I will check with the Science and Futurism with Isaac Arthur for more appropriate timelines. I may be off by 10 years, 30 years, or all the years, but the time span is not the primary issue here. The fact that we are reaching and pushing toward this massive long term goal is what matters. Each step we complete will result in technological advancements that will make all of our lives better as well as create global awe and inspiration.
You should also notice a sort of a pattern that I will use here (4 stages) which should make this work easier to replicate as we replicate our work process from stellar location to stellar location such as: from Earth to the Moon to Mercury to Alpha Centauri, etc….
As we finish Stage 0 on Earth and move on to Stage 1, the technological advancements from our previous work on the Earth shall make our successive steps on Earth and on other stellar locations such as the Moon faster, more powerful, more efficient, and so on as we progress through the planets with each successive stage compounding the technological advantages of the previous stages.
Here are the basic stages I have used:
- Stage 0: establish autonomous mining and building to build basic structures and solar arrays
- Stage 1: start building an orbital station with its space elevator, and a form of a space station (Von Braun and/or O’Neill Cylinder); perhaps even an interstellar navigation beacon if needed
- Stage 2: send colonists and more equipment
- Stage 3: finish main part of orbital ring and space station, send more people and research, expand to primary function
- Stage 4: expand and continue work
Again, I just pulled these from my head and it is just a sample based on no real reality yet:
| Years | Goals/Description |
|---|---|
| 0-2 |
Earth (Stage 0) Design and plan for what needs to be done to create a generational ship or fleet to send to the farthest galaxy we know of |
| 3-5 | Earth (Stage 1)
Moon (Stage 0) Send autonomous bots to moon to start building/3D printing:
|
| 6-9 | Earth (Stage 2)
Moon (Stage 1)
Mercury (Stage 0) Send autonomous bots to Mercury to start building/3D printing:
|
| 10-12 | Earth (Stage 3)
We can start housing much a larger space-faring workforce now as well as research Moon (Stage 2)
Mercury (Stage 1)
|
| 13-15 | Earth (Stage 4)
Mercury (Stage 2)
|
| 16-20 |
Sun
Moon (Stage 4)
|
| 21-23 |
Mercury (Stage 3)
|
| 24-26 |
Mercury (Stage 4)
|
| 27-29 | everything continues to build and expand |
| 30 |
|
III. National Space Society’s 31 Steps to an Interstellar Humanity
Introduction
Update: This section was added on 12 July 2020.
I found out about this today after SFIA’s coverage of it, so then I had to add it here. I have not had a chance to really look at this yet, but am excited to see what they think and how my thoughts match (or don’t).
Here is SFIA’s general coverage:
- SFIA Coverage (Part I – Steps 1 – 12 – General)
- SFIA Coverage (Part II – Steps 13 – 17 – Cislunar Space)
- SFIA Coverage (Part III – Steps 18 – 21 – The Moon)
- SFIA Coverage (Part IV – Steps 22 – 25 – Mars Base)
- SFIA Coverage (Part V – Steps 26 – 28 – Asteroid Mining & Orbital Settlements)
- SFIA Coverage (Part VI – Step 29 – Terrforming)
A. The 31 Milestones
Below are the National Space Society’s 31 Steps to an Interstellar Humanity. Here is their PDF of the entire Roadmap with explanations too if you prefer download of it.
- INTRODUCTION
- Part I: GENERAL MILESTONES – GENERAL BARRIERS TO SPACE SETTLEMENT
- MILESTONE 1: Dramatically Lower Launch Costs to Orbit
- MILESTONE 2: Continuous Human Occupancy in Low Earth Orbit – Construction of continuously occupied pressured structures in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
- MILESTONE 3: Development of a Space Tourism Industry – Growth and development of a robust space tourist industry, including frequent orbital and suborbital flights and a growing number and sophistication of space hotels.
- MILESTONE 4: Establishment of In-Space Commerce by Private Companies – Establishment of commerce in or between locations in space by one or more companies.
- MILESTONE 5: Crew Habitats for Use Beyond Low Earth Orbit – Safe habitats for crews operating well beyond Low Earth Orbit and outside Earth’s protective magnetosphere.
- MILESTONE 6: Use of Rotational Artificial Gravity for Habitats and Industry – Building rotating structures that can produce artificial gravity of the desired strength.
- MILESTONE 7: Legal Protection of Property and Other Rights – Legal protection of property rights enacted to provide prospective off-Earth investors and settlers with the security to take financial risks.
- MILESTONE 8: Land Grants or Other Economic Incentives for Space Settlement – Effective economic incentives, such as “land grants” or prizes, to encourage private investment in off-Earth settlement and any supporting ancillary development.
- MILESTONE 9: Technology for Adequate Self-Sufficiency – People leaving Earth with the technology and tools needed to settle, survive and prosper without needing constant resupply of survival essentials from Earth.
- MILESTONE 10: Demonstration of Multi-generational Human Survival off the Earth – Human reproduction and raising of children to adulthood over several generations in space.
- MILESTONE 11: An Effective Asteroid Defense System – A system capable of detecting and defending against Earth-approaching asteroids or comets built and standing by for a deflection mission on short notice.
- MILESTONE 12: In-space Fabrication and Construction of Large Pressurized and Unpressurized Single Piece Structures – Microgravity construction methods developed to fabricate structures that are too large to be launched intact from Earth.
- Part II. UTILIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF CISLUNAR SPACE
- MILESTONE 13: Use of Space Technology and Resources on and for Earth – Space technologies, techniques and resources used widely and benefiting all on Earth.
- MILESTONE 14: An Integrated Cislunar Space Transportation and Logistics System – Infrastructure and transportation systems providing regular movement of people, cargo and propellant among locations in cislunar space.
- MILESTONE 15: Robust Space Infrastructure for Human and Robotic Operations
- MILESTONE 16: Development of the First ELEO Settlement – A small (about 100 m diameter), rotating habitat for permanent residents, providing about 1g in Equatorial Low Earth Orbit (ELEO) below about 500 km.
- MILESTONE 17: Space Solar Power System (SSP) – Establishment of an operational space-based solar power system harvesting solar energy in space and transmitting that energy to markets on Earth.
- Part III. TO THE MOON – PARTICULAR BARRIERS
- MILESTONE 18: Robotic Confirmation of Lunar Resources – Orbiters and robotic landers to determine the nature and extent of lunar ice, volatile deposits and other lunar resources, and to provide the information necessary to guide the choice of the best sites for a lunar outpost and/or a lunar mining base.
- MILESTONE 19: A Lunar Research and Development Facility – A crewed lunar research facility established to study human habitation, test various equipment and techniques, test mining of lunar resources, and conduct lunar science investigations.
- MILESTONE 20: A Continuously Occupied Multi-Purpose Lunar Base – An initial lunar facility evolving into a permanently occupied, ever-expanding lunar base (or such a base created at another site), using what has been learned from the initial research and development facility, and increasingly performing commercial functions such as production of rocket fuel from volatile deposits and shipment of the fuel to orbit.
- MILESTONE 21: A True Lunar Settlement – A lunar base or other lunar habitations evolving into a permanent settlement, increasingly self-sufficient and increasingly focused on commercial activities.
- Part IV. TO MARS – PARTICULAR BARRIERS
- MILESTONE 22: Robotic Exploration of Mars for Local (In Situ) Resources – Satellites orbiting Mars and robotic landers, supplemented if needed by rovers teleoperated by an orbiting crew, determining the location, nature and extent of Martian resources, especially ice, guiding the choice of the best sites for follow-on human missions.
- MILESTONE 23: An Integrated Martian Space Transportation and Logistics System – An integrated and sustainable system capable of safely transporting humans and cargo from Earth and/or cislunar space to the Martian surface, maintaining the crew on the surface, and having the ability to return the crew back to Earth or cislunar space.
- MILESTONE 24: A Continuously Occupied Multi-Purpose Mars Surface Base – Following identification of a suitable base location and the selection of the particular infrastructure and equipment needed there, establishment of a continuously occupied multi-purpose Mars surface (or sub-surface) base.
- MILESTONE 25: A True Martian Settlement (making us a multi-planetary species) – The Martian base evolving into a permanent settlement, increasingly self-sufficient and increasingly focused on commercial activities.
- Part V. ASTEROID MINING AND ORBITAL SPACE SETTLEMENTS
- MILESTONE 26: Robotic Characterization of Asteroids -Remote or robotic characterization of near-Earth (and other) asteroid orbits, compositions and structures.
- MILESTONE 27: Utilization of Asteroids – After robotic identification of suitable asteroids, robotic and human crews following to establish mining bases and habitats for transient occupation, and eventually building permanent human settlements nearby.
- MILESTONE 28: Development of Orbital Space Settlements Orbital “cities in space” built from asteroid or lunar materials.
- Part VI. ADDITIONAL EXPANSION AND GREATER SUSTAINABILITY OF HUMAN CIVILIZATION
- MILESTONE 29: Terraforming and Para-Terraforming
Modification of other planets or moons to support human, animal and plant life in a manner similar to the Earth. - MILESTONE 30: Development of Interstellar Travel and Settlement
- Human travel to other solar systems and establishment of settlements in space and/or on extrasolar planets in these solar systems.
- MILESTONE 31: Survival of the Human Species via Space Settlement
- MILESTONE 29: Terraforming and Para-Terraforming