Language Confusion in Space Exploration and Colonization
Some visions of our future involve planetary colonization and very long duration manned spaceflight, perhaps long enough for a new Tower of Babel.
To boldly go
In our optimistic moments, we look up at the stars and see a vast cosmos waiting to be explored. The fact that many of these stars have planets dancing around them spurs our imagination even more. Might there be worlds out there where we could possibly make a living?
As our telescopes and satellites improve, we are discovering more and more exoplanets. Some of those planets appear to tantalizingly fall within parameters that could sustain (human) life. Aka the Goldilocks zone. The only way to be sure, though, is to go and look. We are, after all, an exploratory species.
There are a couple of problems, however. The stars we dream of are far away. Really far away. And the space between them is not exactly conducive for human health. Vacuum, radiation, no gravity… No wonder some people are suggesting that deep space exploration will remain the realm of AI and robots.
Still, the dream of actually setting foot on an exoplanet persists. But unless we figure out how to thread wormholes or…
