Space Exploration and Colonization

The history and conditions of the settlement of our Solar System

The colonization of the Solar System (including the Moon, Mars, the Asteroid Belt and the orbital colonies) differed from extra-solar colonization in three major aspects, all related: technology, confidence, and the link to home.  The settlement of the Solar System occurred via voyages on small, slow, cramped spacecraft coasting from one body to another while constantly remaining in contact with Earth with a communication lag of just minutes.  The journey to the stars, on the other hand, happened in (relatively) large ships under constant acceleration with little or no communication with the home world.  The first voyagers to Mars were engineers and guinea pigs in an extended experiment to show the way for others.  Later, the first travelers to the stars were visionaries and ordinary people, aware that they were starting new lives for themselves.

The colonization of the Solar System began with the first missions to Mars.  A concerted effort by the New Chinese changed this from simple exploration to genuine settlement.  Mining trips to the Belt started as a sort of slash-and-burn industry, but numerous repeated trips slowly turned the miners into permanent (and amazingly self-sufficient) residents.  The Moon was colonized almost as an afterthought, first just as a support for science stations and later just because it was so close.  Finally, the enormously expensive orbital colonies began as a conscious effort to replace the horrible conditions on the hard-working space stations above the Earth and Mars.
 

  
The Near-Earth Era 
 
Mid 2001 The International Space Station is finished and occupied
2002 Space station experiments yield drugs that can counter the much of the negative aspects of zero-G (bone, muscle, fluid loss).  This has important implications for long-duration space voyages, but deep space is still dangerous due to radiation.
2005 Current shuttle fleet starting to be phased out, but there is still no functional replacement in sight yet.  NASA/international money is starting to be spent on the Mars mission, so there's not much left to spend on transport engineering.
2006 A new line of computer chips is invented that uses a new etching technique that does not require clean room constraints, so the idea of space manufacturing of electronics is deflated.  This is one more serious blow to the space station project.
2010 A single-stage to orbit (SSTO) craft is finally perfected just in time to carry the first manned mission to Mars into Earth orbit.
2011-2012 A lunar colony is proposed and the US spends money on it, but soon Congress cuts it to concentrate the space budget on Mars.
  
The Early Mars Era 
 
2000's Plans are made to colonize Mars via the "Mars Direct" plans as a joint US/ESA/Japanese organization called World Space Fund at first and later the World Space Alliance (WSA).
Sep 2007 The first unmanned rockets are launched from Earth to Mars.  These rockets contain an empty habitat unit as well as a return ship for the explorers to use at the end of their mission.
 
Mars Direct
This plan, championed by Bob Zubrin, intended to get humans to Mars cheaply and quickly using basic technology.  The main ideas included: 
  • Saving launch mass by synthesizing return fuel on Mars
  • Boosting safety by sending critical equipment ahead long before any people departed
  • Fast, but efficient trajectory gets astronauts to Mars with minimal radiation exposure.
  • Long stay on Mars maximizes the science return
  • Including the goal of subsequent missions in the initial plans
Reference: The Case for Mars by Robert Zubrin
 
Mar 2008 The robot crafts reach Mars and land.  The return craft begins to synthesize methane fuel from onboard hydrogen and atmospheric CO2.
May 2010 First manned ship launched from Earth on a new Single-Stage to Orbit (SSTO) rocket.  This ship carried four explorers and their supplies. 
Nov 2010 Manned ship arrives at Mars.  The explorers send a lot of video back to Earth and many watch the mission at first, but the mission is so long that many tune out. 
  • No signs of life are discovered.
  • Some contaminated food sickens the explorers and two of them nearly die.
  • Civilian viewers on Earth want to bring them back, but NASA explains they need to wait for window.  The realities of colonial life sink in to some.
    		•
    Apr 2012 After 1.5 years, explorers leave Mars for return voyage to Earth
    Oct 2012 The first Mars explorers return to Earth to a hero's welcome
    Dec 2012 The second manned mission to Mars is launched, despite arguments that the mission should be rethought and improved.  The voyages from the first mission are biggest advocates for more trips.  Russia, India and Australia join the WSA. 
    Jun 2013 The second mission arrives on Mars.
    The second mission is much more successful than first and they manage explore a lot more territory.  Much of the Western world becomes desensitized to the novelty of the mission.  But New China sees Mars as a rallying flag.  With a stabilized economy, growing technological base and bursting population, they plan their own addition to the established base.  However, unlike the WSA missions, the Chinese intend to go as emigrants to establish Martian China (jokes abound about the Red Planet).  China declares that it will have 10,000 people on Mars by 2033. 
    Jul 2015 Three manned Chinese spacecraft follow to Mars six unmanned ones launched earlier.  At the same time, two smaller ones are launched by the American/Japanese/European alliance.  This brings the total Mars population to 38 (30 of them Chinese).  During the mission, one of the WSA habitats is damaged and the Chinese gain points by saving the WSA astronauts.
    2017-2030 New China continues to send many people to Mars.  A disaster in 2019 does not slow them down, as the Chinese people back home have been quite educated of the risks of life in space and see it as a patriotic death.
     

     
    Further details on Solar System settlement:
    The Mars colony expands and grows into a civilization nearly independent of the Earth.  During the expansion of the colony in the 2030's, people visit the Asteroid Belt and begin to make inquiries into the economic feasibility of Belt mining.  By the 2040's, several private corporations have established semi-regular operations in the Belt.  Most companies of this sort mine asteroids and refine materials on the spot with processing ships.  Then freighters bring the cargo back to civilization.  With the advent of Artifact-technology engines, freighters become faster and cheaper to operate (although they are quite expensive to build), so the pace of the mining operation rapidly increases.  By the late 2040's, many mining companies have established permanent bases in the Belt.  Many stake their claim to particular rocks by sending an employee to live there, so the asteroids become home to many, for professional and personal reasons.

    During this time, the Lunar colonies have been slowly expanding.  The Moon can't compete with either Mars or the Belt for settlements since it is neither as comfortable as the Red Planet's colonies nor as profitable as the Belt for corporations.  Most of the Lunar bases arise from haphazard additions to scientific outposts.  Moon residents are often seen as inferior or strange since they aren't as novel as Martians or Belters, but they aren't quite Earthers either.
     
     

    See also:  New China and other nations
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