Buzz
Following Space X’s recent vertical rocket landing, it feels as though the future has arrived. Humanity is on the verge of stepping onto Mars, corporations are gearing up to mine asteroids, and Earth-like planets are being discovered at an astonishing rate. Cheers to technological advancement!
However, the future brings its own unique challenges and questions that demand answers before they even become relevant. Here are some of the most intriguing sci-fi dilemmas our experts are currently addressing.
10. Crafting The Martian Constitution
Who dreams of living on Mars? Nearly 90 percent of you just exclaimed, 'I do!' For decades, the idea of residing on the red planet has been a fantasy for space enthusiasts. However, establishing a human colony on Mars isn’t just a logistical challenge—it could also become a political minefield.
Recall the villain in Total Recall who disrupted oxygen supplies to rebel-controlled areas on Mars? Surprisingly, this is a genuine concern. The International Extraterrestrial Liberty Conference (ELC), based in London, warns that a power-hungry colonist could potentially control Mars’ oxygen supply, granting them unchecked authority.
Other issues also arise. What happens if your employer terminates your contract while you’re stranded on Mars? How can leaders prevent political disengagement? The ELC believes the answer lies in a Mars constitution.
Initially drafted in summer 2014 by a group of 30 scientists, philosophers, and legal experts, the proposed constitution for Mars seeks to tackle these challenges and more. Drawing inspiration from the US Constitution, along with elements from Icelandic, Mongolian, and Japanese frameworks, it outlines principles such as the right to oxygen and the 'right to leave.'
Additionally, it proposes a political system inspired by ancient Greece, combining elected officials with representatives chosen by lottery. This approach aims to combat political apathy and prevent powerful interests from dominating the colony.
While their current draft holds no legal authority, the ELC envisions it as a potential blueprint for an actual Martian constitution. Their goal is to encourage governments to begin contemplating these issues independently.
9. Addressing a Martian Revolution
The ELC’s focus extends beyond the Martian constitution. In summer 2015, they convened at the British Interplanetary Society to explore a concerning possibility: What if Mars fell under a dictatorship?
A dictatorship on Mars could be far more perilous than one on Earth. A despot might exploit control over water or oxygen to dominate the population. A rebellion on Mars could also lead to disaster. A single disgruntled individual could breach the colony’s walls or destroy its water reserves, endangering everyone inside. With Earth 225 million kilometers away, the chances of external intervention would be slim to none.
While this scenario may seem far-fetched, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility. This is why the ELC has been releasing scholarly works on the topic. Beyond a robust constitution, they’ve proposed practical measures such as colonies equipped with backup water, air, and power systems distributed across multiple sites.
Additional factors must also be considered, such as the appropriate strength of a Martian government. While no one desires an oppressive regime, Mars’s harsh environment makes a libertarian paradise unfeasible. Striking the wrong balance could easily fuel discontent and spark rebellion.
8. Conducting Complex Surgery in Space
How many of you have ever suffered a broken bone? You likely recall the excruciating pain, followed by the relief of anesthesia and perhaps a brief hospital stay. In the depths of space, however, the experience would be drastically different. A broken limb there would plunge you into an unending ordeal of agony and chaos.
Currently, no one is far enough into space for this to pose a significant problem. On the International Space Station, the protocol is essentially to 'return the individual to Earth as swiftly as possible.' However, for future deep-space missions, this won’t be feasible. Since 1991, NASA has been researching how to conduct life-saving procedures in zero gravity. These experiments have been gruesome, to say the least.
Experiments conducted on rabbits during zero-gravity flights revealed that blood clings to the surgical surface instead of flowing away, complicating operations. Severing an artery could cause blood to disperse into the air, creating visibility issues. Additionally, the risk of infection is significantly higher, as bacteria-laden particles remain suspended in the air of a space station.
One potential solution involves performing surgery within a small, fluid-filled dome to contain blood and maintain a sterile environment. However, challenges remain. Weight restrictions mean surgical tools will be limited, and the crew may lack a specialized surgeon. Developing solutions now could prove lifesaving in the future.
7. Legal Framework for Asteroid Ownership
In November 2015, the US Senate passed a bill to legalize asteroid mining, marking a significant shift from earlier space laws that considered celestial bodies as shared resources for all of humanity. While individuals still cannot own an asteroid, they can now claim mining rights and retain the extracted materials. This decision has sparked a host of intriguing questions, regardless of one’s stance on the matter.
For instance, what occurs if two rival companies claim rights to the same asteroid? If both are US-based, the issue can be resolved in US courts. But what if one company is American and the other is Chinese? Since the Senate’s legislation may conflict with existing space law, there’s no global legal structure to address such conflicts.
Another concern is how to 'claim' an asteroid. Must a company physically land on it, or is remote surveying enough? If the latter is acceptable, some legal experts fear it could trigger a flood of unconventional intellectual property claims, as companies assert rights to asteroids they lack the capability to mine.
6. Creating a Warning That Endures for 100,000 Years
https://vimeo.com/111398583
Hidden deep within Finland’s icy terrain lies the Onkalo waste facility, guarding a lethal secret. As the repository for the nation’s most hazardous nuclear waste, it houses radioactive materials that will remain dangerous for the next 100,000 years. In 2010, Onkalo became the focus of the Danish documentary Into Eternity, which posed a fascinating question: How can we ensure people avoid this site for 100,000 years?
While it may seem straightforward, the ancient Egyptians attempted similar measures by inscribing dire warnings on pharaohs’ tombs. These warnings lasted anywhere from four to 2,000 years before being breached—and we could decipher their hieroglyphs.
There’s no certainty that future generations will understand any of our languages. Try reading Beowulf in its original Anglo-Saxon form. That’s how much English has changed in just 1,000 years. Multiply that by 100, and the challenge becomes clear.
As highlighted in the documentary, there’s no guarantee that symbols like the radiation warning will endure. More explicit signs featuring skulls or death imagery might even pique curiosity. For those designing a 'Keep Away' message to last millennia, these are compelling and potentially unsolvable questions that demand urgent attention.
5. Safeguarding Our Culture for Future Generations
Digital culture is far from eternal. Systems evolve, data degrades, links fail, and websites vanish. Eventually, everything from your digital photos to your favorite list-based site could be lost forever. This poses a significant challenge for future archaeologists. Consequently, scientists are exploring ways to safeguard our digital legacy for hundreds of thousands of years.
One potential solution is to store data in DNA. In 2012, researchers demonstrated that a megabyte of data could be encoded into DNA, retrieved, and accurately reconstructed. Since DNA is fundamental to life, future civilizations will likely retain the ability to decode it. However, ensuring its longevity is crucial, as DNA naturally degrades over time. The BBC recently highlighted plans to encase DNA in fossils for preservation.
We’ve successfully extracted DNA from fossils over 700,000 years old. While ancient bones offer some preservation benefits, glass is even more effective. In Switzerland, Robert Grass is developing a library of 'synthetic glass fossils' to store as much of our cultural heritage as possible.
Yet, challenges persist. For instance, how do we provide future civilizations with instructions to decode the DNA? More fundamentally, how do we convey its significance? There’s a risk that even if the DNA survives for 700,000 years, future archivists might dismiss it as worthless and discard it entirely.
4. The Flags of Mars and Earth
There’s no denying that humans hold their flags in high regard. They symbolize everything we cherish about our nations. If you’re skeptical, try burning your country’s flag in a public square—we’ll be sure to visit you in the hospital afterward.
As humanity prepares to expand into space, the concept of designing flags for planetary-scale use has gained traction. Consequently, numerous dedicated individuals have invested significant time in crafting flags for Earth and Mars.
The most renowned of these is likely the Martian flag created by Pascal Lee. A scientist involved in NASA’s Haughton Mars Project (HMP) in Antarctica, Lee playfully designed a flag for a terraformed Mars inspired by the French Tricolor. Surprisingly, it gained popularity and was raised at the HMP base. In December 1999, astronaut John Grunsfeld even carried it into space, making it the closest thing we have to an official Martian flag.
Others have attempted similar efforts for Earth. In the 1970s, James Cadle introduced his Flag of Earth, which became closely linked to the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) and continues to fly at SETI sites globally. More recently, a Swedish team designed an Earth flag with the explicit goal of having it planted on Mars. They are optimistic that it will be displayed on the red planet by the 2030s.
3. The Independence of Mars
Let’s assume that a Mars colony will be established in our lifetimes and grow large enough to become self-sufficient, with a permanent population rather than a rotating group of scientists. At that point, we must address the question: 'To whom does Mars owe allegiance?'
This is a critical issue. History demonstrates that colonies often grow to resent their rulers within a few generations, frequently sparking revolutions. This pattern led to the creation of the US, India’s independence, and the Spanish crown losing control over 90 percent of Latin America. If this trend is common on Earth, there’s no reason to believe it won’t occur in space as well—unless we find a way to prevent it.
Some scholars are already addressing this possibility. Jacob Haqq-Misra of the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science proposes that Mars should be independent from the outset. His idea involves colonists renouncing their Earth citizenship upon landing on Mars. They would retain their equipment, govern Mars autonomously, and remain isolated from Earth until their society develops enough to establish a trade relationship with Earth.
However, this approach has its own challenges. The mutineers of the HMS Bounty were left to govern themselves after secretly settling on Pitcairn Island in 1789, and most perished in violent conflicts. Given human nature, it’s plausible to imagine a similar scenario unfolding on Mars.
2. The Ethics of Raising Children in Space
In November 1620, Peregrine White became the first English child born to the Pilgrims in America. It’s probable that we’ll witness the first off-world birth in the near future, either on Mars or aboard a multigenerational spaceship destined to create a new Earth. While this milestone may still be decades away, it raises numerous complex questions that are already being debated.
One major concern revolves around consent. For instance, a child born on a functioning spaceship would have no choice about living there. Just as Peregrine White couldn’t decide to return to England, the first 'star human' won’t have the option to return to Earth. The key difference, however, is that returning from our nearest Earth-like neighbor is far more challenging than traveling from America to England.
Another issue is the level of freedom these children will experience. Confined to a colony struggling to survive on Mars’ barren plains, most life choices would be stripped away. Opportunities for quality education, pursuing desired studies, choosing a career, or even relocating would be virtually nonexistent.
Other questions lean more toward anthropology than ethics. Imagine a multigenerational spaceship taking 500 years to reach a colonization target. What kind of society would emerge at the journey’s end? Would the descendants of the original crew feel any bond with Earth? Would they still be motivated to colonize the new planet? If not, what then? These questions are deemed significant enough to warrant scholarly focus. Mars One has even implemented a rule to prevent the first colonists from reproducing.
1. Transforming London Into a City-State
Not all significant future questions are tied to space exploration. Some are deeply connected to Earth’s immediate future. In the UK, one such debate is whether to secede London from the UK and transform it into a city-state.
This concept has been circulating since around 2012, when London rapidly emerged from the recession while the rest of Britain struggled in poverty. Although it’s unlikely to happen soon, reputable outlets like the BBC have explored the idea, and it remains a popular topic of discussion in certain circles.
The core proposal involves redefining Greater London as a European counterpart to Singapore. The remainder of England would become a separate nation, and London would no longer (as some residents argue) bear the burden of financially supporting the rest of the country.
Notably, many UK analysts have seriously considered this idea. Their proposals include strengthening England’s manufacturing sector to mitigate the economic impact of losing the capital and introducing a 'London pound.' While there are no concrete government plans to turn London into a modern Venice, it’s fascinating to imagine where this future might lead.
