Re: Terraforming?
 

[QUOTE=Alexa]That's a really interesting experience. I didn't know about the Kraken project. Do you know if the project developed since ?[/QUOTE]
I moved to Switzerland in 1972, and lost contact with everyone. However. it was sort of university based, without being an official umiversity project, so I suspect enthusiasm just waned as people moved off into real life.
But aren't we (OK me) diverting this thread from its original subject? (sorry, I get diverted)

Re: Terraforming?
 

I believe we still talk about the original question. Terraforming is the other option if nothing else is to be added for Earth. And I really believe you had a wonderful chance to participate in that experience. As long as we are not able to apprehend and master Earth's environment, we have no chances to conquer another planet or moon. Let's face it. In your experiment, you could get back on the ground and look for more supplies of energy. If a team is on the Moon or Mars or any other planet and they badly need something, the astronautes cound not get as easily what they need. So they can die meanwhile.

Terraforming on another planet is for the moment an utopia.

Re: Terraforming?
 

I don't think it's beyond the realm of possibility to terraform Mars someday.

The difference between controlling the atmosphere of Earth and trying to create one on Mars is that if we screw up Mars we don't kill anyone. (that we know of) :)

I don't think that we'll have people walking around on the surface in my grand children's lifetime, but by then we could see changes starting.

If it's possible, at least in my opinion, we should try it. I think we'd create some useful technology even if it failed and learn some more about how things work on a global scale.

Re: Terraforming?
 

Unfortunately we are not able to do a terraforming with the nowadays technology. I won't say it's impossible. Some day, the next generations may even assist "on line" somewhere in our galaxy. And like for the land on the Moon, there'll be among us some ready to grab the flag of " theory of conspiracy". And the team charged to do it for the first time will be made known on all the planet. Something like this you cannot ignore as a reporter.

Re: Terraforming?
 

[QUOTE=Alexa]Unfortunately we are not able to do a terraforming with the nowadays technology. I won't say it's impossible. Some day, the next generations may even assist "on line" somewhere in our galaxy. And like for the land on the Moon, there'll be among us some ready to grab the flag of " theory of conspiracy". And the team charged to do it for the first time will be made known on all the planet. Something like this you cannot ignore as a reporter.[/QUOTE]
Despite my negative reactions earlier in the thead I do believe terraforming possible with present day technology- it would be extremely long term (at least several millenia) and incredibly expensive, in real wealth (manpower and waterials, rather than cash) to the point that the space race up to now wouldn't even be visible as percentage points. Indeed, the only planet I could see being worth that much effort would be our Earth if we inadvertently damaged it enough to make that nescessary. However, technologies do advance, and by the time we are in a position to terraform it's possible that the price will fall, or that there will be enough disposable wealth to make it possible (Maybe self reproducing robots flexible enough to do the job with minimal human intervention?) The question remains- will those for whom the planet is being transformed require or even desire a whole world job?

Re: Terraforming?
 

Most likely it will be terraforming with some genetic adaptations of the human colonists. that would seem to be the quickest way to me.

Re: Terraforming?
 

[quote=edott]Most likely it will be terraforming with some genetic adaptations of the human colonists. that would seem to be the quickest way to me.[/quote]

>)

You just opened a whole bag of warms i've been trying for months clean up.

For example

"Maybe humans are the result of another species attempt of collonisation by using dna as there information carrier"

"maybe we should create a species of articifical intelligence to collonise mars in our name"

- point being, where does collonisation end and something else that could be quite different, begin?

Re: Terraforming?
 

[QUOTE=dreamwalker]>)

You just opened a whole bag of warms i've been trying for months clean up.

For example

"Maybe humans are the result of another species attempt of collonisation by using dna as there information carrier"

"maybe we should create a species of articifical intelligence to collonise mars in our name"

- point being, where does collonisation end and something else that could be quite different, begin?[/QUOTE]
I trust those are genetically optimised worms, associated with their tailored bacteria? After all, the aim of terraforming is to provide an environment in which human beings can survive indefinitely (comfort is optional)

Would you be considerin a Brin type uplift, a "chariots of the gods" type cross breeding with existing species, or more a Niven "ringed in black" descended from pond scum put in place to develope a breathable atmosphere , then forgotten? None of those are really colonisation. Or maybe descended from the two survivors of a spaceship crash, coincidentally calle Adam and Eve (oh, you've already read it).

Artificial intelligences could explore the cosmos for us - but they could only colonise it for themselves (unless you consider memes to be more important than genes) However, seriously modified lifeforms based on humans could be said to be colonising, though I suspect that unless standard humans pushed forward in close contact with the expanding wave (domed cities for the "normies", tents for the "modded"?) the colonies would soon discover they didn't have much in common with their ancestors and seek independance, probably forcefully.

And, if we ignore the birthing pains of independant nations, is that really such a bad thing? :p

Re: Terraforming?
 

[I]Oh my worms, my poor genetically optimised worms...[/I]

Re: Terraforming?
 

I may have missed this in one of the earlier posts, but if so -- delete.

Just ran across this: "Great Terraforming Debate"

[URL="http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1017.html"]http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1017.html[/URL]

Several articles long -- may answer quite a few questions.

Oh, and Chris: I couldn't find anything on the Kraken project; do you know where I might get more information on this, as I, too, had never heard anything about it. For that matter, in another thread I mentioned an experiment (imitation space colony) they ran over here in the '80s in Arizona(?) if I remember correctly. I haven't been able to dig anything up about that, either; do you recall hearing about this?