Translator: Ilze Garda
Reviewer: Denise RQ Hi! I'm Joe Strout. I have two boys, 10 and 14 years old, and the three of us have been working
for the last year or so on a video game about space settlement. But it's not just a game. In fact, it's the most detailed and accurate
space colony simulation program that has ever been made. We simulate everything from gravity,
radiation, and rotational dynamics down to individual buildings
and traffic paths for the people inside. All this is quite a lot of work
as you can imagine. But we feel it's important. For my part, I'd say it's the most
important project I've ever worked on. I'd like to share with you
some of the big ideas behind it and why it matters so much. In the early days of space exploration,
things proceeded very rapidly. Twelve years from Sputnik
to the first Moon landing. People assumed
this pace of change will continue, and we would soon be moving
into space in large numbers. Researchers looked carefully whether the best site
for a growing society is Earth, the Moon, Mars, some other planet,
or somewhere else entirely. Surprisingly, they found
the answer to be inescapable: the best site is
"somewhere else entirely". Researchers concluded that the best place
for humanity to live in space is not on the surface
of any planet or Moon, but rather in free-floating
orbital space colonies. Numerous papers were written and studies
were done working out the details. This was just before the Space Shuttle which was expected
to dramatically lower the cost to orbit. Cost analysis showed that we could have orbital cities
of tens of thousands of people, perhaps by 1995 or so. Well, obviously, that didn't happen. The Shuttle program turned out to be
quite a bit more expensive than expected, and funding for the space
program was reduced. Also, the energy crisis of the 1970s
temporarily abated, reducing the need to look for clean, cheap energy sources
such as space-space solar power. So we retreated to low Earth orbit, going around in circles
for more than three decades. But now things are changing again. Private enterprises are entering
the space business in an aggressive way with ventures like SpaceX
reducing the cost to orbit down to the sort of levels
we were expecting in the 70s. Virgin Galactic is preparing
to make routine passenger flights to the edge of space. Bigelow Aerospace has tested
private inflatable space stations, and several companies
are now seriously proposing to mine near-Earth asteroids. So, amidst all this renewed activity, people are starting to think again
about colonizing space. But what destinations
do people think about? The top of the list is, as always, Mars. Mars holds a fascination for us, and it has been a target
of colonization dreams since the early days of space exploration. Next up is the Moon, which has the unique advantage of being
only a few days away all the time. A few thinkers have considered Venus, which might support floating cities
at just the right level in the atmosphere to have an Earth-like
temperatures and pressures. Then, so far down on the list that most people don't even give it
any thought, orbital space colonies. So let's talk about those.
How do they work? And should we be giving
them more attention? First, let's look at gravity. We know that one Earth gravity,
like what we're all sitting in right now, is good for us. And we know from years
of living aboard space stations, that zero gravity is not healthy for us. It causes bones and muscles to weaken,
immune deficiency, heart problems, and increased risk
of things like kidney stones. But what do we know
about intermediate levels of gravity, like the 1/3 G on Mars,
or the 1/6 G of the Moon? Well, here is what we know. Nothing. (Laughter) Nobody has ever lived
at any intermediate level of gravity for more than a few days. So we just don't know the effects
of these G levels, even on adults. Much less children, who are likely to be more succeptible
to developmental problems. This is a big problem
for planetary colonies because you can't get Earth-like gravity anywhere except Earth
and, possibly, Venus. But without children,
you don't have a colony, you have at best an outpost. Orbital space colonies produce
pseudogravity through rotation, just like amusement park rides
some of you may have tried. The larger the radius of rotation, the slower it can spin and still
produce an Earth-like gravity. One-kilometer-colony, for example,
only needs to spin 1.3 times each minute to produce one Earth gravity. Of course, if we discover
that less gravity is acceptable, then we can either
build smaller or spin slower. In fact, one cool thing
about an orbital colony is you can have multiple, different
levels of gravity at the same time. Higher decks, closer to the spin axes,
have proportionally less gravity. So maybe if we'll find that elderly
or injured patients are safer at 1/2 G, they can just stay on a higher deck. At the centre, you can have
zero gravity sports and recreation, and still be at home in time for dinner. (Laughter) OK, let's talk about radiation. Free space is filled
with radiation from the Sun, and a much harder radiation
in the form of cosmic rays which stream in from all directions. Here on Earth, we're protected largely
by the Earth's magnetic field, and secondarily, by the tons
of air above our heads. Mars, Venus and the Moon
have no significant magnetic fields. And apart from Venus,
not much atmosphere either. So every time you step outside there,
you're dosing yourself with radiation. You'd have to stay
underground most of the time to avoid problems like cataracts,
cancer, and infertility. Orbital space colonies
are built outside-in. We'll want a few meters of soil
beneath our feet anyways to support a robust biosphere; that alone provides a substantial
shielding against space radiation. In fact, a colony in a low Earth orbit would have less radiation inside
than we experience here on Earth. Outside of Earth's magnetic field,
additional shielding might be necessary, but it's still nicer to have that
beneath your feet than over your head. I'm going to touch only briefly
on the day/night cycle. Obviously, we evolved
with the 24-hour-day. The Martian day is
very similar: 24.6 hours, and this may be a part
of our fascination with Mars. A space colony would have
exactly the day length that you want, most likely, matching Earth's. Daylight would either be sunlight, reflected into the habitat
through shield mirrors, or artificial lighting, but so far over head that it produces
an outdoorsy daytime feel. You can probably tell by now that I see
a lot of advantages to orbital colonies. As soon as you let go of the assumption
we need a planetary surface to live on, you quickly come to the conclusion that orbital space colonies
are the place to be. In short, we can do better than Mars. This is why my sons and I are building
our game called "High Frontier". We've built it to be
as accurate as possible: the physics, radiation levels,
ecology, and everything else is based on real science. So players of the game
aren't just playing, they're exploring the vast design space and finding solutions
that might actually work. At the very least, they're learning about an alternative
to planetary colonies. And we hope that some day some of those smart, educated players
might help and make it actually happen. When it does, it might unfold
something like this. The little green dots you see here
represent orbital space colonies, each one home to anywhere from 10,000
to 10 million men, women, and children. Recent work, based in part
upon "High Frontier", has shown it's best to begin
in low Earth orbit, within the Earth's magnetic field. But we'll expand from there
to higher Earth orbits, and then orbits near the Moon. After that, colonies around Mars
might make sense with its two moons providing materials. From there, we'll expand
into the Asteroid Belt with an estimated billion or so objects
at least 100 meters in diameter, which may not sound like much, but a 100-meter-asteroid weights
about 10 million metric tons. In fact, experts estimate there is enough material
in the main Asteroid Belt alone to built space colonies with the combined area of 3,000 times
the livable land area of Earth. And then there are more
asteroids in Jupiter's orbit and, of course, the Jovian System itself which has dozens of minor moons
and rings massing about 10 billion tons. After that we'll move to the Saturn System
which has similar resources, and just think of the view
you'd have out the windows there. And then onward to Uranus and Neptun. And then the Kuiper Belt with an estimated 70,000 dwarf planets
out in the cold and dark. The Solar System is vastly larger
and richer than most people realize. It's full of exactly the materials
and energy that we need. And remember,
unlike past human migrations, there are no ecosystems here,
no natives that will be displaced, these are sterile chunks of ice and rock, just waiting for us to bring
warmth, and light, and life. This greening of the Solar System, turning dead chunks of rock
into millions of inside out worlds full of trees, and birds,
and bugs, and people, this is the bright future I see for us. And it all starts here: smart,
enthusiastic kids playing a video game where they get to decide
how and where to built space colonies, how to run them when they are built, how to balance the ecosystem,
manage resources and budgets, and educate each generation. That is why we're building
"High Frontier", and that is why it's not just a a game. Thank you. (Applause)
