Humanity is on the cusp of an inflection point. Within the next five years, humans may have returned to the Moon and have landed on Mars. Space technology is advancing at a steady pace. Rockets are becoming more efficient, and launch prices are slowly coming down. Soon enough, humanity will have a permanent presence beyond low Earth orbit. By the end of the century, it is difficult to tell how far space technology will have advanced and what it will evolve to be.
For us to be a species of the solar system, galaxy, and universe, we can not only rely on advances in space technology. Space technology will only be a small part of our successful exploration. Humanity will need to apply other technologies to space exploration. The most important technologies will be the ones that can transform DNA, manipulate matter, and think for themselves.
The exponential technologies of biotechnology, nanotechnology, and robotics/artificial intelligence are pivotal to the successful exploration of space. The ability to manipulate our bodies, the matter around us, and the data we receive are just as important as the technology to get us to us to distant bodies. Let us explore each section in more detail.
Biotechnology
Biotechnology will have two significant roles in transforming our bodies and our environment. First, biotech will provide opportunities for our bodies to adapt and optimize to our environment. For example, if we can develop more efficient artificial red blood cells, we can decrease the load on life support systems in habitats and space suits. Other examples would include being able to efficiently repair damaged cells from radiation, repair muscle and bone damage from decreased gravity, and prevent degeneration of our eyes. Second, biotech can provide more efficient ways to produce food. We can develop and adapt plants to sustain in various environments optimal to the space environment. Food production, energy production, or life support management are crucial aspects of space travel that biotechnology can directly influence.
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology has the potential to be a revolutionary technology with many applications. Space is no exception. Nanostructures have the possibility of having enormous strength and/or conductive properties. Carbon nanotubes are associated with space elevators for there ability to have tremendous tensile strength. A crucial application would be to design a spacecraft with nanostructures which can dramatically reduce the weight of spacecraft and improve its structural strength. In the long run, autonomous nanomachines could rearrange matter to design structures in space or habitats on foreign bodies.
Robotics and Artificial Intelligence
In the near term, humans will have to rely on robotics to accomplish their goals. Humans have so many limitations that make it extremely expensive to send humans on missions. However, robots can be produced relatively cheaply and can aid humans in exploration. Since robots do not require sleep, they can work continuously tackling the mundane task and conducting hazardous research. Repair missions, rescue missions, and surveying operations are just a few of the plethora of potential tasks a robot could handle or aid in assisting humans. Humans will have to rely on robotics to successful inhabit other worlds. It would be extremely inefficient not to leverage the power of robotics.
The merging of exponential technology and space exploration is inevitable and will significantly enhance our ability to travel the cosmos. Like Khan of Star Trek, humans will be enhanced and exceed our natural biology. Science fiction naturally reveals the direction humans will evolve toward. However, there are still many unthought-of ways in which technology will improve our ability to explore the cosmos.
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