Hint: there’s no right answer. This has been a topic of controversy in the scientific world for decades, sparking heated ethical debates mostly involving hypothesizing about the future. Imagine your favourite sci-fi movie suddenly becoming a reality. Absurd as it is, who knows what humanity may face in a century and whether we have the capability to handle it? Along with moral, social, and political dilemmas, scientific as well as environmental difficulties will also plague the human race. Read on to learn about the factors in play for both sides of this great space argument. After all, what’s the harm in thinking ahead?

SOCIAL:

AGAINST

Society already has a handful of pressing issues that have yet to be resolved, such as climate change, war, diseases, and poverty—the list goes on and on. We should focus our efforts on these problems before expending our resources on a space colony that has extremely low chances of succeeding. Colonizing another planet would also mean bringing the exact same problems to a new planet. If humanity is unable to solve our problems on Earth, it is absurd to believe that we are able to handle problems on two different planets. Moreover, the colonization of space will most certainly cause public unrest, raising questions such as, “Who gets to colonize space?” and “Who decides who goes to space?” There would be disputes over resources, discoveries, and settlements, both on Earth and the planet we choose to colonize.

FOR 

Colonizing space can save humanity from extinction. A space colony would act as a “failsafe” for humanity if something catastrophic, such as nuclear war, an asteroid collision, or disease, were to plague the Earth. Society currently does not have a backup plan if our species faces an immediate danger, but colonizing space would act as this plan. By creating a new settlement, humanity has the ability to survive without planet Earth. In the scenario that something devastating happens on Earth, the entire population’s health is at risk. Although the space colony may not be failproof, it can be argued that we should sacrifice a few for the betterment of society as a whole.

Issues such as climate change, overpopulation, and other societal problems will also be resolved (or at least lessened) if we colonized space. In addition, the colonization of space could be a motivator for some since many are fascinated by the possibilities of space exploration. Colonizing space would motivate and reassure society, knowing that there is another planet if all else fails.

RESOURCES:

AGAINST

There are numerous risks involved regarding resources. This is because it is very unrealistic to execute a perfect mission. There are bound to be mistakes, and mistakes can cost us our future. This is because we are at risk of losing valuable resources and experts. Note that there are only a finite amount of resources on Earth. We would be risking a large portion of these resources aboard a spaceship to an unfamiliar planet. In turn, this would have a large toll on our economy. There is a hefty price tag on all the resources required for a space mission, and so we would be gambling with billions of dollars that could instead go towards dependable causes.

The colonization of space would also mean putting the lives of talented individuals on the line. Since most individuals who are sent to space are intellectuals and extremely talented, should the mission fail, an entire spaceship of bright minds would die and perish along with all of the resources.

FOR 

The colonization of space promotes the advancement of humanity. It is a step forward in advancing mankind, a chance to expand our knowledge and bring new possibilities to light, and an opportunity to learn more about planets that are unlike ours. Understanding others will assist us in the process of understanding ourselves better. As humans, we always want more: Observing Mars from Earth was not enough; we wanted to learn more. Landing rovers on Mars to gather information is not enough, we want to colonize Mars. And eventually, living on Mars will not be enough. Thus, is very likely that humanity will colonize Mars, as it is simply human nature to “reach for the stars”. When push comes to shove, our curiosity will still drive us to venture out into space. 

ENVIRONMENTAL:

AGAINST

Regarding the environment on Earth, we should use our resources to conserve our current planet. Even keeping the prospect of colonizing space could give others the hope that there is a “failsafe” planet if Earth were to face a catastrophe. This is extremely dangerous, as people may begin to start disregarding Earth altogether and halt conservation or preservation efforts. Earth would then deteriorate at an unprecedented speed, perhaps even becoming inhabitable. We would then resort to the space colony. But as seen in many dystopian films, one blunder could, quite simply, cost us our entire future. We should steer clear of unavoidable issues while concentrating our focus on Earth, where we have the power of healing, rather than some other place where we have little to no control.

Additionally, with space colonization comes planetary protection, which is the practice of protecting celestial bodies. Settling on another planet could bring deadly consequences to the environment and potential life on the planet. Humans have the chance of contaminating the planet on which we settle by bringing diseases, bacteria, and pollution. We still do not fully understand the planets in our own solar system, much less outside our solar system. Therefore, it is safe to assume that living on an unpredictable surface would not have a favourable outcome. We may unintentionally harm the planet in other ways as well, such as interfering with its physical geology (e.g. mining, extracting water) and possibly the atmosphere (e.g. if human gases are released). Not to mention the risks involved — one miscalculation, one misdoing, and the entire planet would be at stake.

FOR

It is possible to colonize space whilst simultaneously conserving the Earth. Colonizing space is simply a “Plan B” if everything else goes wrong. Balancing our efforts would only reap benefits for us because Earth is preserved while humanity has a failsafe colony to resort to. This is possible because we realize that solving Earth’s environmental problems is not just something that will happen overnight. It would take at least 150 million years for our planet to reach utter destruction if it ever were to reach this stage. Therefore, advancing our technological efforts in space is certainly not an issue of time. This gives us at least 150 million years to further our conservation efforts and save our planet Earth. However, just in case something else happens along the way, we would still have another colony on another planet. 

Is space colonization good or bad? You decide. 🙂

SOURCES: Image