The Big Space Exploration Thread

[ch1le]

Originally Posted by VelesHomais

This is basically the greatest news in my life time... I'm 24

ive been also waiting for this for a long time already.

[Trelawny]

I hear the Weeb telescope which will be launched 2014 or 2015 will allows us to determine if there is water or not.

[Trelawny]

Originally Posted by VelesHomais

The dark half if the planet is not that extreme, especially if you factor in wind distribution of heat, plus things like gulf stream on our planet are not out of the question. I'm sure that once life evolve anywhere, then it can adapt to anything, such as on our planet. In any case, the worst case scenario is that life only exists on the ring of life, which is in the sunny side of the terminator area. I'm calculating potential heat distribution on the surface at the moment, when I'm done I'll post the first theoretical map of this planet. In either case, this is the greatest discovery of this century, to date.

Oh yes the wind. Maybe living in the dark side would be better, it could be a nice 10-20 degrees under the night sky. But there wouldn't be any plants and what not though. The sunny side could be 20-50 degrees, always sun.

[VelesHomais]

Unfortunately, it is all highly speculative, until NASA launches the TPF-1 in 2022. Then we will take direct images of the planet. There could also be fascinating moons in the neighborhood.

[Trelawny]

Lol at the girl saying it's here in our own solar system

[VelesHomais]

What's going to be even more exciting is when a terrestrial Earth-size planet is discovered in Alpha Centauri binary system, which is looking more and more likely now. We cannot detect it with current telescopes, but in 10-15 years it is going to become a reality. That's a system that can be reached in 40~ years using conceivable technology that is under long term development at NASA.

An optimistic time frame scenario:
2020 - Earth like planet discovered at Alpha Centauri
2030 - Nuclear Propulsion Drive or one of the other several concepts of propulsion systems capable of reaching 10% of light seed, becomes available
2032 - fully automated probe, with an orbiter and a lander, sent. Probably NASA (propulsion, scientific instrumentation)/ESA(orbiter)/JAXA(AI robotics)
2070~ Planet reached.
2075 - we (if still alive) are watching alien life forms on our tv's

[FREKI]

^that would be so awesome - but I wouldn't put any money on it..

[VelesHomais]

Neither would I, by then tv's would be obsolete, the footage is going to be projected onto artificial retina! Actually, alien life is going to be discovered on Europa in 2034.

[Rizzato]

Alright, say an astronaut forgot something important behind, wallet, phone, etc would they (the shuttle) come back and let em grab it real quick

[VelesHomais]

Okay.........

[Berris]

Originally Posted by VelesHomais

What's going to be even more exciting is when a terrestrial Earth-size planet is discovered in Alpha Centauri binary system, which is looking more and more likely now. We cannot detect it with current telescopes, but in 10-15 years it is going to become a reality. That's a system that can be reached in 40~ years using conceivable technology that is under long term development at NASA.

An optimistic time frame scenario:
2020 - Earth like planet discovered at Alpha Centauri
2030 - Nuclear Propulsion Drive or one of the other several concepts of propulsion systems capable of reaching 10% of light seed, becomes available
2032 - fully automated probe, with an orbiter and a lander, sent. Probably NASA (propulsion, scientific instrumentation)/ESA(orbiter)/JAXA(AI robotics)
2070~ Planet reached.
2075 - we (if still alive) are watching alien life forms on our tv's

I wish, but this sounds to me a bit like when in the 80's they said that today we would have flying cars...

[VelesHomais]

Well, either there is an earth like planet in alpha centauri system or there isn't. We will find out between 2017-2024. Everything else in the time frame depends on NASAs commitment to exploring it. And, of course, on lots of cash.

[VelesHomais]

I've come with a list of Prerequisites for Contact

It is a realistic possibility that we are observed by some advanced alien civilization that is waiting for us to reach a certain point in development before contacting us. The following is a speculative list on these requirements that we must reach. One of them, any or all.

1. World Government: without it, there is no one they can contact that will speak on behalf of the planet.

2. Interstellar travel: until we can get out of our Solar System, we can't interfere with anyone else, so we don't matter, on a galactic scale. For now, we don't even matter on the scale of our own planetary system.

3. Travel at the speed of light: same reasons as #2. As we become capable of traveling at the speed of light, we might pose danger to others. For instance, we could contaminate a world full of animals but no intelligent species, which may not be acceptable to other civilizations.

4. We must attain perpetual peace and harmony among ourselves: as long as we have wars, contact could give advantage to one side over another.

5. Escaping physical boundaries of whatever animals we evolved from. This could be an galactic standard for recognizing species as advanced.

6. Locate a probe (or a series of probes) that is waiting to be found somewhere in the Solar System, left by another civilization. For all we know at the moment, our Solar System could be full of alien probes and ships, we have no means of detecting them, unless they want to be seen/detected.

7. Some other level of advancement that we cannot comprehend at the moment.

Or, it is possible that no alien civilization is aware of us. There is also a remote possibility that we are completely alone. I'm not an advocate of this theory, but it does make one wonder why all life on Earth is related and not unique. The implications are depressing.

[Berris]

Originally Posted by VelesHomais

I've come with a list of Prerequisites for Contact

It is a realistic possibility that we are observed by some advanced alien civilization that is waiting for us to reach a certain point in development before contacting us.

My personal opinion, which has the same value of any other's opinion, is that it has more to do in conscience develoment and not in technical development. I mean, for example, a more united mankind (less racism, nationalism, religious fanatism... and more conscience in mankind as a whole), more justice, more equilibrium in resources for world regions, more respect to Nature, and the ability of thinking not in periods of time of human lifetimes, but in thousand and million of years (for everybody)... Of course all these is gonna happen after 2012

[VelesHomais]

Check #4

[Berris]

Originally Posted by VelesHomais

Check #4

#4 only talks about wars

[VelesHomais]

Perpetual peace and harmony encompasses all of those things, pretty much

[Trelawny]

The english moderator says we will contact aliens in 1 million years.

[VelesHomais]

I say in 300 years. But alien life will be found in our solar system by 2045

[2co2co]

Originally Posted by VelesHomais

Or, it is possible that no alien civilization is aware of us. There is also a remote possibility that we are completely alone. I'm not an advocate of this theory, but it does make one wonder why all life on Earth is related and not unique. The implications are depressing.

Any research papers on the likeliness of finding us?

If an extraterrestrial civilization is to find us by wobble method, they must be located somewhere on the plane of the Earth's revolution around the sun. But such position is not ideal if they are to use ocean glare method. I would imagine aliens living in certain parts of galaxy are more likely to find us than those living in other parts. Of course, the first criteria is that they are close (in astronomical scale...) to us.