Human Space on Space?

            As we progress through each moment in life there are many new advancements being made every second. Humans might be complicated beings, but we have made various progress in different aspects of life. One very amusing thing to us humans recently has been the idea of space and other planets. Whether it’s good thoughts or bad thoughts humans have been intrigued by the topic of space. The real question however is should humans even try to think about life on space and other planets? Many scholarly sources have been written to answer this question directly or indirectly. Some of those include articles such as “Human Adaptation to Deep Space Environment: An Evolutionary Perspective of the Foreseen Interplanetary Exploration.”(HATD), “The hazards of space travel”(THOST) and “Human Exploration of Space: why, where, what for?”(HEOS).

            One main thing we need to consider before thinking about leaving for space is will, we be able to adapt to these environments. Scientist and researchers need to really be certain that the human body can take control of the conditions present in space and other planets before we think about settling there. We can start this journey and spend billions of dollars but if our population only suffers more once we get there, is it really worth it? As stated by HATD, “Firstly, not everything in evolution is adaptive. Some of the genetic and phenotypic traits that we observe are the results from the best of misuse strategies. There are many examples in evolution showing that some behaviors, some reproductive tactics, or some phenotypes originated from genetic conflicts or life-history trade-offs, which precludes organisms from perfectly adapting to their environment. Thus, it can be considered that humans may never optimally adapt to the space environment.” (Front Public Health, 4) This really goes to showcase that humans might not survive in the space environment because certain organisms(us included) really require a “safe” environment that they can relate with to grow and prosper. We might need certain behaviors and certain genetic modifications that we acquire from the environment present on Earth that we can’t get access to in space.

Now keeping HATD’s point in mind a good question to think about here is whether this can change how humans look and act if we one day fully make the move to space. Richard B. Setlow agrees with Front public health and states in THOST, “First and foremost, space is an unforgiving environment that does not tolerate human errors or technical failure.” (Setlow, 2) This goes to showcase that the room for trial and error that we possess here on Earth as humans is totally different in our target destination. Each step in space needs to be carefully analyzed from every angle because in space we would be starting a new chapter in a book and if one page is written incorrectly then the whole book will not flow. Setlow goes into detail on the human body’s capabilities of adapting to the change in gravity. With a new environment come the change in gravity to which Setlow says, “There is much information on the adaptation of astronauts to zero gravity (0g) in space and on their return to 1g on Earth. Nevertheless, our understanding of these effects is not complete; nor have countermeasures to mitigate them been identified.” (Setlow, 3) This goes to showcase that even though our research might point towards having enough information on our capabilities of fighting gravity in different environments we are nowhere close to finding the perfect match for everyday living like on earth. Setlow lists effects such as “loss of bone mass and muscle deterioration”(Setlow, 4) to be present in humans after extended time in low gravity. HEOS on the other hand makes a claim that many of us might not have thought of. As stated in HEOS, “The demanding technology of space compelled us to push the limits of human science and engineering achievements which, in turn, is pushing technology on Earth further. Without the innovation that spaceflight demands, we would not have this technology for improved environmental monitoring, defense or the health of individuals.”(Vernikos, 7) This brings out an issue that the other two articles mentioned about environment but from a different perspective. Vernikos in HEOS is basically saying that yes there might be these environmental issues, but it is these same issues that have brought us to think of advancements on Earth so why can’t we use this same information to fix the problems on space.

            Another main thing that we must think about in the process of deciding whether we should potentially make the move to space/other planets is the benefits we will gain from it and how this decision would lessen the burden on Earth. Currently humans plan on moving to lessen the effect of climate change and the numerous years of burden they have put on Earth.  As stated in HATD, “The growing share of private companies involved in spaceflight often justifies their activities by the extensive possibilities of exploiting minerals and metals, and thus being able to address the ecological crisis on Earth. Others also invoke exploitation of space resources as a way of reducing the environmental cost of human activities on Earth, reconciling the words sustainable and economic development for future generations.” (Front Public Health, 5) This clearly brings out the fact that humans would want to use space and other planets to basically do our “dirty work” so that it can cover up the harm we have caused on Earth. However as Front Public Health later points out this become an issue of ethics and more involved in the philosophical field. This is because we are basically now just shifting to another place to do something that we already know has harmed the place we live in now. Mining and obtaining minerals and other substances might have hurt us here but why do the same in our planned new home?

To cover the positive side of our second point, Vernikos in HEOS takes this issue from a different perspective by showcasing how advancements in space have solved many issues we had on Earth. As stated in HEOS, “The need to monitor the health of astronauts at a distance gave birth to the field of telemedicine. Today, medical care in rural and other remote communities is supported with access to experts in a distant country.” (Vernikos, 4) This goes to showcase the increase in the troubles we had in the medical field on Earth that have been eliminated due to our exploration and interest in space. Having the invention of telemedicine for example can make many of us conclude that if we continue the process of potentially moving to space many new solutions can be brought forward for our problems present on Earth. Now this can kind of change our intent of whether we should actually move to space or whether we are just using space to fix Earth. Setlow in THOST doesn’t consider these changes and brings up the point that going to space will only damage us as humans. One of these damages he brings up is the effect that space radiation will have on our immune system. As stated in THOST, “Todd et al. (1999) estimated that the probability of the immune system’s being affected is equal to or even greater than the probability of inducing mutations. The problem of estimating these indirect radiation effects is compounded by the fact that the dose rates of HZE produced in experiments on Earth are relatively high, whereas the dose rates in space—except for the intermittent but rare solar flares—are rather low.” (Setlow, 3-4). This goes to showcase that one of our most important aspect of our body which is our immune system could be at danger when making this potential move. We can go to space but is it worth risking these essential parts of our life? Does this move only change our surroundings or does it do more than that?

            In conclusion, our potential move to different planets or even space would be a critical move. I think through these three scholarly sources the greatest thing we can learn is that this is a big shift that must be planned for a very long time before we put anything in effect. Even with various opinions these authors can agree on the practice of patience and the use of strategy to bring this to life. Articles like THOST really emphasize the fact that this potential move would be more on the bad side than good and would only impact the human population more negatively. Various examples of negative impacts are given in this article and it overall leans away from the idea of humans on space, but it doesn’t however lean away from the idea of this being a potential step in the future with dedication and time. On the other hand, articles like HATD and HEOS go into analyzing this topic from both sides showcasing both the good and bad, but they overall emphasize the message of patience and taking our time to get this out the right way. The explanation of space on space comes down to the key aspect of time. Whether this step is to save humanity or just to advance our understanding of space, our beginning to this chapter definitely requires multiple drafts and rewrites because these opportunities are not present once we get there.  

Work Cited/References

Criscuolo, François et al. “Human Adaptation to Deep Space Environment: An Evolutionary Perspective of the Foreseen Interplanetary Exploration.” Frontiers in public health vol. 8 119. 24 Apr. 2020, doi:10.3389/fpubh.2020.00119, April 24 2020 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7193087/

“How Humans Will Live on Other Planets.” WIRED Middle East, 13 May 2020, https://wired.me/science/space/human-life-on-another-planet/.

Setlow, Richard B. “The hazards of space travel.” EMBO reports vol. 4,11 (2003): 1013-6. doi:10.1038/sj.embor.embor7400016

Vernikos, J. “Human exploration of space: why, where, what for?.” Hippokratia vol. 12 Suppl 1,Suppl 1 (2008): 6-9.

Worrall, Simon. “Will Humans Ever Colonize Other Planets? They Should.” Science, National Geographic, 4 May 2021, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/there-s-only-one-way-for-humanity-to-survive–go-to-mars-?loggedin=true.