Wanderers: a short film of humanity's expansion into the Solar System [video](vimeo.com)
vimeo.com
Wanderers: a short film of humanity's expansion into the Solar System [video]
http://vimeo.com/108650530
132 comments
This is beautiful.
For me, Carl Sagan's voice is incredibly inspirational. He knows just what to say and how to say it to elicit a beautiful and optimistic feeling of wonderment.
And the visuals were stunning. A tantalizing glimpse into the next century or two of human exploration and experience.
Thank you for this.
Edit: Reddit thread at http://www.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/2nseb3/wanderers...
For me, Carl Sagan's voice is incredibly inspirational. He knows just what to say and how to say it to elicit a beautiful and optimistic feeling of wonderment.
And the visuals were stunning. A tantalizing glimpse into the next century or two of human exploration and experience.
Thank you for this.
Edit: Reddit thread at http://www.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/2nseb3/wanderers...
What a fantastic video.
My favourite part: BASE jumping from Verona Rupes - the tallest known cliff in the Solar System - somewhere from 5km to 20km vertical:
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110404.html
By comparison the tallest vertical drop on Earth is on the surreal Mount Thor at 1250m:
http://www.amusingplanet.com/2013/03/mount-thor-greatest-ver...
[Some great details - like the Earth coastlines used in the asteroid interior (mentioned on the film's website) and the Taijitu in the crater at 1:54].
My favourite part: BASE jumping from Verona Rupes - the tallest known cliff in the Solar System - somewhere from 5km to 20km vertical:
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110404.html
By comparison the tallest vertical drop on Earth is on the surreal Mount Thor at 1250m:
http://www.amusingplanet.com/2013/03/mount-thor-greatest-ver...
[Some great details - like the Earth coastlines used in the asteroid interior (mentioned on the film's website) and the Taijitu in the crater at 1:54].
Frustrating to realize that perhaps only 1 or 2 years of Earth's military spending would enable mankind to achieve this (approx $1700 billion/year). Not saying we don't need to spend money on defense, merely taking one the world's expenditures as a yardstick. It would be so great if mankind is able to cooperate in the colonization of our solar system.
> It would be so great if mankind is able to cooperate in the colonization of our solar system.
We already collaborate for the exploration of the solar system, via robotic probes and giant telescopes. That's good enough. Colonization is an all different matter, and a weird one if you ask me. Earth is the largest place with a solid ground in the Solar system, and it's by far the most hospitable. Settling on an other planet like mars would cost an insane amount of money[1] and would at best double the available real estate for our species. It's not so sure it would be worth it, especially considering that a lot of people would end up having contributed for something that other people will benefit from.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YDnGHaXdxw
We already collaborate for the exploration of the solar system, via robotic probes and giant telescopes. That's good enough. Colonization is an all different matter, and a weird one if you ask me. Earth is the largest place with a solid ground in the Solar system, and it's by far the most hospitable. Settling on an other planet like mars would cost an insane amount of money[1] and would at best double the available real estate for our species. It's not so sure it would be worth it, especially considering that a lot of people would end up having contributed for something that other people will benefit from.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YDnGHaXdxw
> Settling on an other planet like mars would cost an insane amount of money[1] and would at best double the available real estate for our species.
Not quite. Having the technology to live on Mars or on the Moon would enable us to settle pretty much anywhere in the habitable zone of the system. Just imagine how much real estate can be built in the form of rings or tubes with materials mined from the Moon or the asteroid belt.
Planets are nice for mining, but going up and down deep gravity wells is not something an interplanetary species would want to do regularly.
Also, keep in mind there are a lot of global catastrophes that could easily wipe out our civilisation.
Not quite. Having the technology to live on Mars or on the Moon would enable us to settle pretty much anywhere in the habitable zone of the system. Just imagine how much real estate can be built in the form of rings or tubes with materials mined from the Moon or the asteroid belt.
Planets are nice for mining, but going up and down deep gravity wells is not something an interplanetary species would want to do regularly.
Also, keep in mind there are a lot of global catastrophes that could easily wipe out our civilisation.
> Having the technology to live on Mars or on the Moon would enable us to settle pretty much anywhere in the habitable zone of the system. Just imagine how much real estate can be built in the form of rings or tubes with materials mined from the Moon or the asteroid belt.
To build something you don't just need raw materials. You need tools, man power, basically you need an industrial complex which currently only exists on Earth. The idea that you can mine raw minerals on an asteroid and somehow turn them into a house with a full life support is not realistic, to put it mildly.
> Also, keep in mind there are a lot of global catastrophes that could easily wipe out our civilization.
If you want to save the scientific and technological knowledge that makes a civilization, there are certainly cheaper and more efficient ways to do it than spending hundreds of billions in order to have a few people living in an hostile environment. It could even be argued that such a boondoggle might trigger the fate you were trying to avoid in the first place.
To build something you don't just need raw materials. You need tools, man power, basically you need an industrial complex which currently only exists on Earth. The idea that you can mine raw minerals on an asteroid and somehow turn them into a house with a full life support is not realistic, to put it mildly.
> Also, keep in mind there are a lot of global catastrophes that could easily wipe out our civilization.
If you want to save the scientific and technological knowledge that makes a civilization, there are certainly cheaper and more efficient ways to do it than spending hundreds of billions in order to have a few people living in an hostile environment. It could even be argued that such a boondoggle might trigger the fate you were trying to avoid in the first place.
> You need tools, man power, basically you need an industrial complex which currently only exists on Earth. The idea that you can mine raw minerals on an asteroid and somehow turn them into a house with a full life support is not realistic, to put it mildly.
A very good point - which is exactly why we should do it. Depending on our industrial complex on Earth means that in case of a global natural or man-made disaster we could loose everything our civilisation has achieved so far, even if Earth stays perfectly habitable after the dust settles down. Encapsulating and packaging our civilisation also means creating a backup of our knowledge, both in science and arts - something that could become invaluable one day, even back on Earth.
A very good point - which is exactly why we should do it. Depending on our industrial complex on Earth means that in case of a global natural or man-made disaster we could loose everything our civilisation has achieved so far, even if Earth stays perfectly habitable after the dust settles down. Encapsulating and packaging our civilisation also means creating a backup of our knowledge, both in science and arts - something that could become invaluable one day, even back on Earth.
> Encapsulating and packaging our civilisation also means creating a backup of our knowledge,
You don't need to go to space to do that. It is much, much easier to build such "backups" on Earth, in the form of underground bunkers or something. As a matter of fact, such facilities already exist, for instance the Svalbard Global Seed Vault[1], or any of the secret bunkers built during cold war[2]. Survivalism is a terrible reason for colonizing space, for space is a very hostile environment in the first place, so it makes very little sense to consider it as a place to rely on for survival.
1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svalbard_Global_Seed_Vault
2: http://io9.com/the-secret-world-of-underground-bunkers-51160...
You don't need to go to space to do that. It is much, much easier to build such "backups" on Earth, in the form of underground bunkers or something. As a matter of fact, such facilities already exist, for instance the Svalbard Global Seed Vault[1], or any of the secret bunkers built during cold war[2]. Survivalism is a terrible reason for colonizing space, for space is a very hostile environment in the first place, so it makes very little sense to consider it as a place to rely on for survival.
1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svalbard_Global_Seed_Vault
2: http://io9.com/the-secret-world-of-underground-bunkers-51160...
Coming from an Engineering background we should all know that building something that actually works as a test case is the only way to know for sure for complex systems. Civilisation being the most complex system we have, I don't think that any group of individuals can account for everything that is needed in order to rebuild it. Lots of the underlying problems will only surface once a working 'civilization 2' is being attempted.
All the more reasons not to make things more difficult than necessary by building those things in space.
The history of the human race is a long succession of people contributing for something that other people will benefit from. Sometimes just knowing that you're enabling the dream is enough.
> The history of the human race is a long succession of people contributing for something that other people will benefit from.
I hope you will acknowledge that this applies to some of the most sinister parts of this history, though.
I hope you will acknowledge that this applies to some of the most sinister parts of this history, though.
It will be worth it when we build space-ship building robot factories, which can also build robots, and send them to an asteroid or so .. and in return get ourselves a fleet of robots in space ships to do other things with. There is no need for us to actually go there; we can do all the building from here. Vote for me and I will vow to make the space-ships, with robots, show up!
It would be even better if we could spend this amount of money to fix the problems we already have on this planet, like global warming, pollution and hunger and stuff.
This is fundamentally a question of the balance between our efforts focused on the long-term vs those focused on the short-term. Space exploration offers significant benefits long-term but generally provides no immediate pay-off next quarter.
I'm personally baffled by the desire to focus all our resources on the short-term. The questions of the long-term future of humankind and our place in the universe, make the immediate issues like pollution and disease look petty and irrelevant by comparison.
Also, from the practical angle, we're already spending a huge amount of money on solving our local, short-term problems here on Earth. Adding ~$2 trillion would be an increase, but not a game-changer. OTOH, humanity spends under $50 billion/year on space [1]. Adding $2 trillion would constitute 4000% increase! This might be enough to transform humanity from a precarious single-planet species into an interplanetary civilization in a few generations.
Another important point is that a lot of our problems here on Earth are entirely self-inflicted (e.g. inequality, pollution, global warming) and so they can't simply be fixed by throwing money at them: they need political transformation.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_government_space_agenci...
I'm personally baffled by the desire to focus all our resources on the short-term. The questions of the long-term future of humankind and our place in the universe, make the immediate issues like pollution and disease look petty and irrelevant by comparison.
Also, from the practical angle, we're already spending a huge amount of money on solving our local, short-term problems here on Earth. Adding ~$2 trillion would be an increase, but not a game-changer. OTOH, humanity spends under $50 billion/year on space [1]. Adding $2 trillion would constitute 4000% increase! This might be enough to transform humanity from a precarious single-planet species into an interplanetary civilization in a few generations.
Another important point is that a lot of our problems here on Earth are entirely self-inflicted (e.g. inequality, pollution, global warming) and so they can't simply be fixed by throwing money at them: they need political transformation.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_government_space_agenci...
I would agree, if space exploration was initiated under better terms than the Cold War. We started to send rockets into space in order to become better with annihilation of the opponent. We were really lucky that it turned into something we have today. But that will not last. Privatization of space travel is already underway. That bears the question: Who benefits?
I am afraid that if we invest in space exploration and colonization, we would shift priorities from saving this world to escaping it. Only a few would be able to escape it - those who have the resources.
(It is kind of what the movie Interstellar is about.)
We need to save this world first, before we can allow ourself to "infect" other worlds. If we cannot sustain on this planet, e.g. stop global warming in the next years, we are doomed and it becomes impossible to even think about shooting a single human into space again. If we need to test things in space for that, I'm fine with that. But lets not lose track of our short term problems.
I am afraid that if we invest in space exploration and colonization, we would shift priorities from saving this world to escaping it. Only a few would be able to escape it - those who have the resources.
(It is kind of what the movie Interstellar is about.)
We need to save this world first, before we can allow ourself to "infect" other worlds. If we cannot sustain on this planet, e.g. stop global warming in the next years, we are doomed and it becomes impossible to even think about shooting a single human into space again. If we need to test things in space for that, I'm fine with that. But lets not lose track of our short term problems.
>Space exploration offers significant benefits long-term but generally provides no immediate pay-off next quarter.
Really? What about all the inventions discovered during the space race...The biggest impact inventions being integrated circuits, satellite communications and GPS, but there were so many others like Corningware[1], Tempur foam [2], LEDs, Freeze Drying Technology, etc [3] that one could argue provided many short term benefits and enabled discoveries of countless others.
[1] http://www.corning.com/about_us/inside_corning/did_you_know/...
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempur-Pedic
[3] http://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2008/tech_benefits.html
Really? What about all the inventions discovered during the space race...The biggest impact inventions being integrated circuits, satellite communications and GPS, but there were so many others like Corningware[1], Tempur foam [2], LEDs, Freeze Drying Technology, etc [3] that one could argue provided many short term benefits and enabled discoveries of countless others.
[1] http://www.corning.com/about_us/inside_corning/did_you_know/...
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempur-Pedic
[3] http://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2008/tech_benefits.html
These short-term benefits are minuscule compared to both the costs and the long-term benefits. There are more cost-effective ways of developing better frying pans, pillows and small blinking lights than running a space exploration program. OTOH, there is no other way to ensure long term survival of human civilization than diversifying our real estate away from one planet.
The only reliable way to argue for space exploration is by explaining how important the long-term benefits are.
The only reliable way to argue for space exploration is by explaining how important the long-term benefits are.
> The only reliable way to argue for space exploration is by explaining how important the long-term benefits are.
It is a gamble. Gambling is nice as long we have the resources. Global warming can eat those easily.
It is a gamble. Gambling is nice as long we have the resources. Global warming can eat those easily.
> Another important point is that a lot of our problems here on Earth are entirely self-inflicted (e.g. inequality, pollution, global warming) and so they can't simply be fixed by throwing money at them: they need political transformation.
Yes, but so long as global warming is a threat then the notion of humanity expanding to the stars is a pipe-dream. If the planet becomes incapable of supporting advanced social structures -- or, worse, complex lifeforms whatsoever -- then no one is going to be going anywhere: there will be no one left to travel.
Yes, but so long as global warming is a threat then the notion of humanity expanding to the stars is a pipe-dream. If the planet becomes incapable of supporting advanced social structures -- or, worse, complex lifeforms whatsoever -- then no one is going to be going anywhere: there will be no one left to travel.
None of that is going to happen anytime soon. Market forces (oil prices are down now, but in the long term they will go back up forcing us to move to cleaner alternatives) as well as the beginning effects of global warming (flooding) will force us to change long before the planet becomes uninhabitable.
IPCC says +5 deg at end of this century... isn't that soon ? Last time this happened (250 millions years ago) 95% of existing species were wiped out (http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/27714-are-humans-going-ex...)
I hope so. But honestly, I think we will not be able to stop it. There is too much traction from behaviors that will prevent us from actually doing anything. Preventing it would require us to give up many luxuries and things we call a standard. Greed is too strong. Earth will probably end up like Venus because of us.
Explorer to Queen Izzabella (or whomever): "We'd like to sail west and find a shortcut to the Indies."
Queenie: "Sorry. We've got poverty and people who are hungry here, you'll have to wait."
(400 years later)
Descendant of that Explorer: "Can we go now?"
Queenie: "Sorry, still haven't solved that poverty stuff. Go do some farming or something."
----
A lot of the "poverty and hunger stuff" is caused by corruption and unworkable politics and ideologies. Another big factor is simple human nature. "The poor will be with us always." It's a wicked problem that will probably never go away. We shouldn't use it as an excuse. (I would be quite happy trading military and secret-police spending, which is basically out of control).
Oh, we can try to address poverty. But putting everything else on hold doesn't make sense. A rising tide floats all boats; more resources and better technology will help everyone, at least a little.
[I'm actually not a big fan of manned exploration any more; it's expensive, and robots can do way better than we can, for the foreseeable future. Oh, putting men on other planets has undeniable poetry and significance, but if you want to do science or mining or whatever, you're better off with metal than monkeys].
Queenie: "Sorry. We've got poverty and people who are hungry here, you'll have to wait."
(400 years later)
Descendant of that Explorer: "Can we go now?"
Queenie: "Sorry, still haven't solved that poverty stuff. Go do some farming or something."
----
A lot of the "poverty and hunger stuff" is caused by corruption and unworkable politics and ideologies. Another big factor is simple human nature. "The poor will be with us always." It's a wicked problem that will probably never go away. We shouldn't use it as an excuse. (I would be quite happy trading military and secret-police spending, which is basically out of control).
Oh, we can try to address poverty. But putting everything else on hold doesn't make sense. A rising tide floats all boats; more resources and better technology will help everyone, at least a little.
[I'm actually not a big fan of manned exploration any more; it's expensive, and robots can do way better than we can, for the foreseeable future. Oh, putting men on other planets has undeniable poetry and significance, but if you want to do science or mining or whatever, you're better off with metal than monkeys].
A man named Thomas Malthus proposed an explanation why this is and will always be the case, back in the early 1800s.
Populations will always grow, even if there aren't enough resources for the next generation. As a result, some catastrophe must happen to keep the population in check: war, disease or famine.
These days we like to think that we've escaped the malthusian limit, as first world nations tend to have a naturally shrinking population.
Of course, we haven't solved any other of our philosophical vices, I'm inclined to think this isn't any different.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malthusian_catastrophe
Populations will always grow, even if there aren't enough resources for the next generation. As a result, some catastrophe must happen to keep the population in check: war, disease or famine.
These days we like to think that we've escaped the malthusian limit, as first world nations tend to have a naturally shrinking population.
Of course, we haven't solved any other of our philosophical vices, I'm inclined to think this isn't any different.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malthusian_catastrophe
> These days we like to think that we've escaped the malthusian limit, as first world nations tend to have a naturally shrinking population
Ugh, that's not how we escaped Malthus' predictions. We escaped precisely thanks to scientific discoveries and technological advancements.
Ugh, that's not how we escaped Malthus' predictions. We escaped precisely thanks to scientific discoveries and technological advancements.
Plain and simple, either our species spreads or we die.
We die not only because we can't seem to solve our immediate problems (I bet global temperatures will cross the +6 Celsius in this century) but we die the next big space rock hits Earth or the next time Yellowstone erupts, or the next time some weird highly energetic phenomenon we are absolutely clueless about roasts our high atmosphere just enough it starts letting the sun's UV through.
It's stupid to colonize other worlds and ignore our current problems because they'll kill us before we get there, but it's equally stupid to ignore the long-term problems of putting all our eggs on a single planetary basket around a single star. While I'm quite sure the Sun will not blow up on the next quarter or before the next couple elections, I'm quite sure it'll not last forever and really think it'll eventually misbehave in some deadly fashion. There are several mass extinctions in fossil record and I'd much prefer our species would not end up as a museum curiosity for the following civilisation.
We die not only because we can't seem to solve our immediate problems (I bet global temperatures will cross the +6 Celsius in this century) but we die the next big space rock hits Earth or the next time Yellowstone erupts, or the next time some weird highly energetic phenomenon we are absolutely clueless about roasts our high atmosphere just enough it starts letting the sun's UV through.
It's stupid to colonize other worlds and ignore our current problems because they'll kill us before we get there, but it's equally stupid to ignore the long-term problems of putting all our eggs on a single planetary basket around a single star. While I'm quite sure the Sun will not blow up on the next quarter or before the next couple elections, I'm quite sure it'll not last forever and really think it'll eventually misbehave in some deadly fashion. There are several mass extinctions in fossil record and I'd much prefer our species would not end up as a museum curiosity for the following civilisation.
It's like the entire point of this video just whooshed right over your head.
You seem to not realize those are problems for us, human virus, and not the planet problems. Those so called problems are natures way of trying to balance things. If you cut hunger and make a breakthrough in healthcare you will immediately accelerate population growth, and in effect accelerate pollution and energy use.
Earth is unsustainable in the long run. No one is willing to accept euthanasia, birth limits, basically efforts to maintain population caps. People might say its a good idea others should implement, not them personally :)
Earth is unsustainable in the long run. No one is willing to accept euthanasia, birth limits, basically efforts to maintain population caps. People might say its a good idea others should implement, not them personally :)
To learn more about population growth and the many misconceptions around it, I'd recommend watching something from Prof. Hans Rosling. Here are a few things:
http://www.gapminder.org/videos/dont-panic-the-facts-about-p...
http://www.gapminder.org/videos/dont-panic-the-facts-about-p...
I would suggest this too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-QA2rkpBSY
While there are many who people do not understand exponential growth, such as that video's target audience, I'm pretty sure that none of them are population projectionists.
Its not that they dont understand, they dont even think about it. Even Hans Rosling from the clip above spends whole 3 seconds on the subject of energy needed to support 20 Billion people living at the same comfortable level as top billion people today in developed countries.
I seem to remember some funny back of envelope calculations that put energy needs of earth in 100 years (assuming current growth) at _full output_ of our sun.
I seem to remember some funny back of envelope calculations that put energy needs of earth in 100 years (assuming current growth) at _full output_ of our sun.
While I somewhat share your misanthropy, "nature" isn't really an entity and doesn't really have a goal in mind.
So it's not so much an external agent responding to our behavior as our behavior being poorly though out.
Also, these problems does not necessarily only affect us; some of them might result in irreparable damage to the ecosystem.
Pedantry aside, factors that contribute to Terra's apparent lack of long term sustainability are easy to spot, and there are plenty of options to try before having to resort to birth limits, euthanasia etc.
Insufficient reproductive education, lack of birth control, local scarcity through international inequality (i.e. exploitation), patterns of use and consumption, low food production efficiency, pollution from energy usage (non-alternative forms) and population density/distribution are all things that can be altered, upon which the constraints of viability rests.
Of course, none of these would be particularly easy to change, but I suspect many of us would find attempting to do so preferable to the alternatives.
Pedantry aside, factors that contribute to Terra's apparent lack of long term sustainability are easy to spot, and there are plenty of options to try before having to resort to birth limits, euthanasia etc.
Insufficient reproductive education, lack of birth control, local scarcity through international inequality (i.e. exploitation), patterns of use and consumption, low food production efficiency, pollution from energy usage (non-alternative forms) and population density/distribution are all things that can be altered, upon which the constraints of viability rests.
Of course, none of these would be particularly easy to change, but I suspect many of us would find attempting to do so preferable to the alternatives.
Don't the nations with the best health care also tend to (perhaps not always) have slower population growth?
I think there is a host of factors to keep in mind about the nations in question.
These nations (good health care, slow population growth) [1] tend to be highly developed countries [2], with relatively high average education of its citizens [3] and high life expectancy [4]. Many of them also have high social equality and high cost of living because of higher taxation (e.g. the cost of social programs and universal healthcare) [5].
[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population...
[2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Deve...
[3]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_Index
[4]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expec...
[5]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_inequality...
These nations (good health care, slow population growth) [1] tend to be highly developed countries [2], with relatively high average education of its citizens [3] and high life expectancy [4]. Many of them also have high social equality and high cost of living because of higher taxation (e.g. the cost of social programs and universal healthcare) [5].
[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population...
[2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Deve...
[3]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_Index
[4]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expec...
[5]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_inequality...
I imagine this cooperation will happen, probably towards the middle of this century, as resources become ever more scarce and general ignorance of the population at large decreases.
If our history is anything to go by, then lack of resources and competition for what remains wont lead to "co-operation" but will lead to war.
> general ignorance of the population at large decreases
I like sci-fi, but this is the real world we're talking about here.
I like sci-fi, but this is the real world we're talking about here.
Wow; that was incredible. I wish it were three hours long.
That dude floating in that debris belt (ring of Saturn?) -- that looked a bit dangerous. Hopefully he had a force field around him.
There's so much out there, just waiting for us to get off our duffs and explore. We have much of the technology; if we could just stop spending trillions on machines of war and instead spend it on machines of exploration....
That dude floating in that debris belt (ring of Saturn?) -- that looked a bit dangerous. Hopefully he had a force field around him.
There's so much out there, just waiting for us to get off our duffs and explore. We have much of the technology; if we could just stop spending trillions on machines of war and instead spend it on machines of exploration....
> There's so much out there, just waiting for us to get off our duffs and explore. We have much of the technology; if we could just stop spending trillions on machines of war and instead spend it on machines of exploration....
I agree with this 100%. But while we're moving outward, however slowly, don't forget Sagan's Caveat:
"Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity – in all this vastness – there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
The Earth is the only world known, so far, to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment, the Earth is where we make our stand."
Absolutely, go see what's across the street. But make sure your house is clean and safe.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_Blue_Dot#Reflections_by_S...
Carl Sagan - Pale Blue Dot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wupToqz1e2g
I agree with this 100%. But while we're moving outward, however slowly, don't forget Sagan's Caveat:
"Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity – in all this vastness – there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
The Earth is the only world known, so far, to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment, the Earth is where we make our stand."
Absolutely, go see what's across the street. But make sure your house is clean and safe.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_Blue_Dot#Reflections_by_S...
Carl Sagan - Pale Blue Dot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wupToqz1e2g
My reaction to Wanderers was also to consider our own planet. For all the curiosities out there yet to be discovered, Earth is flat-out stunning. I was watching segments from David Attenborough's Africa earlier and thinking that what we have already discovered is incredible, and (in general) we're already doing some excellent work in trying to wreck it.
> The Earth is the only world known, so far, to harbor life.
I often reflect on this sentiment and have half-convinced myself that the current definition of 'life' we use in this sense to be far too limited to capture the infinite diversity of existence.
In other words, our explorations will never reveal any creature like us (or other known forms of life on Earth) because the life that develops in other environment will be uniquely suited and predicated on existing in that environment exclusively.
I would add to what Sagan said: the whole universe is alive in ways we have not yet even conceived or be capable of conceiving.
I often reflect on this sentiment and have half-convinced myself that the current definition of 'life' we use in this sense to be far too limited to capture the infinite diversity of existence.
In other words, our explorations will never reveal any creature like us (or other known forms of life on Earth) because the life that develops in other environment will be uniquely suited and predicated on existing in that environment exclusively.
I would add to what Sagan said: the whole universe is alive in ways we have not yet even conceived or be capable of conceiving.
Well, it's not 3 hours (the Wikipedia page lists a 42 minute running time), but you might be interested in In Saturn's Rings, a documentary nearing release made using only photographs from space missions:
http://www.insaturnsrings.com/watch/
http://www.insaturnsrings.com/home/ (with another teaser video not on the "watch" page)
http://www.insaturnsrings.com/watch/
http://www.insaturnsrings.com/home/ (with another teaser video not on the "watch" page)
You should really go see interstellar, I saw it last night and it is probably the closest thing to a 3hr version of that short video that exists. They are both really fantastic films. I would also add that interstellar is worth seeing in IMAX if you can.
Well, Interstellar would be okay if you removed the plot. Unfortunately all the SciFi bits and special effects were ruined by Hollywood schmaltz.
----- arguably the movie is already spoilt, but spoilers -----
And seriously, NASA couldn't find astronauts apart from a farmer?
Someone falls into a black hole and SURVIVES.
Is given the power by 5 dimensional light beings to alter time?
The list could go on.
----- arguably the movie is already spoilt, but spoilers -----
And seriously, NASA couldn't find astronauts apart from a farmer?
Someone falls into a black hole and SURVIVES.
Is given the power by 5 dimensional light beings to alter time?
The list could go on.
If this is the top of your list of what's wrong with the plot of Interstellar, it feels like you're really nitpicking.
1. It was clearly established he was an ex-pilot for NASA. To describe Coop as just a farmer is horribly misleading.
2. We don't actually know what happens in a black hole. There was certainly some questionable science in the movie, but given that they gave an explanation for what happened in the black hole, and we don't know what really happens to contradict the movie's explanation, this seems like a valid use of artistic license.
3. I'm not even sure what this means.
1. It was clearly established he was an ex-pilot for NASA. To describe Coop as just a farmer is horribly misleading.
2. We don't actually know what happens in a black hole. There was certainly some questionable science in the movie, but given that they gave an explanation for what happened in the black hole, and we don't know what really happens to contradict the movie's explanation, this seems like a valid use of artistic license.
3. I'm not even sure what this means.
Awesome creation. Image Gallery and Explanation: http://imgur.com/a/Ur5dP
Art and source photos aside, this link is sort of disappointing. For example,
>As Mars' diameter is about half of the Earths, the elevator cable wouldn't have to be as long to reach geostationary orbit and due to the lighter gravitational pull it wouldn't suffer as much stress from its weight.
Mars' diameter has nothing to do with the distance to stationary orbit, which is a result of gravity (and thus its mass).
>As Mars' diameter is about half of the Earths, the elevator cable wouldn't have to be as long to reach geostationary orbit and due to the lighter gravitational pull it wouldn't suffer as much stress from its weight.
Mars' diameter has nothing to do with the distance to stationary orbit, which is a result of gravity (and thus its mass).
The diameter actually does have an effect on where geostationary orbit is: it changes how fast the surface is spinning, and hence the orbital speed needed for a stationary orbit.
Mars spins once every 24 hours 37 minutes. If the diameter was twice as large, it would have to be moving twice as fast to maintain that length of day.
Interestingly, since you orbit faster the closer you are to the surface, a decreased diameter actually pushes geosynchronous out away from the planet. This effect is, of course, very much negated by the absence of mass. Still, two equally massive planets with the same rotational period but NOT the same diameter will have different geostationary altitudes.
Mars spins once every 24 hours 37 minutes. If the diameter was twice as large, it would have to be moving twice as fast to maintain that length of day.
Interestingly, since you orbit faster the closer you are to the surface, a decreased diameter actually pushes geosynchronous out away from the planet. This effect is, of course, very much negated by the absence of mass. Still, two equally massive planets with the same rotational period but NOT the same diameter will have different geostationary altitudes.
I assumed he was thinking of mass as a function of diameter, which for a rocky planet makes sense to me. I thought his comments were pretty amazing myself!
I would like to see a full length Wanderers movie. The optimistic feeling of adventure, travel and belief in science, would make it well worth spending a couple of hours watching.
It'd make a great sequel to Interstellar actually...
Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy is apparently being made into a TV series now. This guy must work on the visuals for that. He gets it; he really, really gets it.
I read KSR's Mars Trilogy after hearing about it repeatedly on /r/spacex and I highly recommend it. In fact, given that it is a 20 year old work at this time, I think it has stood the test of time very well.
I'm glad to hear it's being made into a tv series, but I worry that you really need a high budget to make it come alive (like Game of Thrones)
I'm glad to hear it's being made into a tv series, but I worry that you really need a high budget to make it come alive (like Game of Thrones)
[deleted]
When I saw the movie I immediately thought of Kim Stanley Robinson's work. I think this short may be heavily inspired by that.
Beautiful.
You might be interested to learn that Erik Wernquist is also the person who created Crazy Frog some ten years ago.
You might be interested to learn that Erik Wernquist is also the person who created Crazy Frog some ten years ago.
Martian sunset at 1:50 is based on an actual photo:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_rover#mediaviewer/File:Ma...
See also gallery here: http://www.erikwernquist.com/wanderers/gallery.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_rover#mediaviewer/File:Ma...
See also gallery here: http://www.erikwernquist.com/wanderers/gallery.html
I had that picture as my workstation's wallpaper.
People dropped by and asked where I took the picture. I loved to explain to them the picture was taken by a robot on Mars.
There is also another one, with a small Earth shining above the horizon. That too was my wallpaper, and that too caused countless people to be amazed.
Inspiring people is important.
People dropped by and asked where I took the picture. I loved to explain to them the picture was taken by a robot on Mars.
There is also another one, with a small Earth shining above the horizon. That too was my wallpaper, and that too caused countless people to be amazed.
Inspiring people is important.
I used it as a wallpaper for a long time too :)
> There is also another one, with a small Earth shining above the horizon.
Do you mean a shot on Mars? Can you link to it please?
> There is also another one, with a small Earth shining above the horizon.
Do you mean a shot on Mars? Can you link to it please?
I'm having trouble getting to the files myself (the NSA proxy must be offline), but depending on networking conditions, you may be luckier: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAct...
It worked for me, thanks! Great shot. Here is the actual page for the image: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA17936
There is also an outline of each of the shots and images used on Erik's page. Very, very cool indeed!
Don't forget that you can download the video using youtube-dl (if you like me, get annoyed that Vimeo doesn't continue buffering when you pause it, and deletes the current buffer if you rewind)
http://rg3.github.io/youtube-dl/
http://rg3.github.io/youtube-dl/
Or VLC or XBMC which do a vastly better job of buffering than online players.
Youtube-dl is my first choice though (and is how I viewed this video).
Youtube-dl is my first choice though (and is how I viewed this video).
Wander? From earth into the rest of the
solar system? If we'd grown up anywhere else
in this solar system, then the place, the
dream destination, in this solar system would
be earth.
Since I'm already here, no way do I want to leave!
Send some machines to gather some data and transmit it back to us here on earth? Fine. Maybe terrific. Go there, in person? For me, no way!
Since I'm already here, no way do I want to leave!
Send some machines to gather some data and transmit it back to us here on earth? Fine. Maybe terrific. Go there, in person? For me, no way!
If someone offered me the chance to travel the solar system, watch the sun rise on mars, jump off vertical cliffs on a moon, see jupiter and saturn up close, ... I would do it in a heartbeat
Do I think human space travel is feasible or even necessary at least at this point in time? No, not by a long shot. Machines can do a better job and will probably always be able to do it better if technology keeps advancing. Machines don't need air, water, food, living space, and that's some of the stuff needed just to keep us alive in an hostile environment, all resources can be instead focused on the mission itself.
I think that people tend to forget that we don't just happen live on planet Earth, we where born by it, molded by it :)
If we'd evolved anywhere else then that place would probably be by far the best possible habitat for us too.
Although If we could somehow get rid of the human body, just take a brain, equip it with a neural interface of some kind and put it in a water tank ...
Do I think human space travel is feasible or even necessary at least at this point in time? No, not by a long shot. Machines can do a better job and will probably always be able to do it better if technology keeps advancing. Machines don't need air, water, food, living space, and that's some of the stuff needed just to keep us alive in an hostile environment, all resources can be instead focused on the mission itself.
I think that people tend to forget that we don't just happen live on planet Earth, we where born by it, molded by it :)
If we'd evolved anywhere else then that place would probably be by far the best possible habitat for us too.
Although If we could somehow get rid of the human body, just take a brain, equip it with a neural interface of some kind and put it in a water tank ...
Other than earth? I might like to visit there, but I don't
want to live there!
But with the realities, as you outlined, of visiting, really I wouldn't want to do that, either.
Mars? Okay, send a lot of robots. Let the robots get a good base going. Let the robots mine Mars to get fuel for return trips. Let the robots come and go until it all seems highly reliable. Go to the trouble to get enough mass for cosmic ray protection. Let some high risk takers go and return. Then, maybe, maybe, maybe I'd consider a visit! But that whole scenario is not nearly realistic at all soon.
But with the realities, as you outlined, of visiting, really I wouldn't want to do that, either.
Mars? Okay, send a lot of robots. Let the robots get a good base going. Let the robots mine Mars to get fuel for return trips. Let the robots come and go until it all seems highly reliable. Go to the trouble to get enough mass for cosmic ray protection. Let some high risk takers go and return. Then, maybe, maybe, maybe I'd consider a visit! But that whole scenario is not nearly realistic at all soon.
If you'd grown up or evolved elsewhere in the solar system, there's a high chance Earth would be inhospitable to you, just like Mars is to us. Your dream home would be Saturn, or Venus, etc.
The universe has a history of destroying the majority of life on Earth. It would be naive to think that statistics don't apply to the human race.
The universe has a history of destroying the majority of life on Earth. It would be naive to think that statistics don't apply to the human race.
Crazy how one man can do something that normally would take hundreds of people to accomplish.
Wouldn't it be nice if Erik Wernquist was in charge of the filmatization of "2312" (the novel that inspired his "Iapetus Ridge" scene).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2312_(novel)
Wouldn't it be nice if Erik Wernquist was in charge of the filmatization of "2312" (the novel that inspired his "Iapetus Ridge" scene).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2312_(novel)
I was immediately reminded of Robinson's work a few seconds in. There is so much to discover out there and the extremes of physical state and sheer size make it so hard to imagine it all. His writing offer a window into that world and this short was a great visualization of it.
Robinson is a fantastic author at conveying "a sense of place" - particularly Mars, of course. I fell in love with Mars because of Robinson, unrequited love of course - Blues for the Red Planet indeed....
Also, I also loved his book Antarctica which is effectively "White Mars" - at least there is a chance of visiting incredible places like the Airdevronsix icefall - arguably the largest waterfall on this planet (5km wide and 400m high):
http://www.wondermondo.com/Countries/An/Antarctica/Antarctic...
Also, I also loved his book Antarctica which is effectively "White Mars" - at least there is a chance of visiting incredible places like the Airdevronsix icefall - arguably the largest waterfall on this planet (5km wide and 400m high):
http://www.wondermondo.com/Countries/An/Antarctica/Antarctic...
As a first step, I wonder how feasible it would be to have a constant presence around these planets and moons? A 'standard' orbiter, mass produced? I was reading about the Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer mission, and it's incredibly exciting, but it won't get there until the 2030s, and even then it'll be a temporary presence.
The reason I think of this is that I recently came across this animation from New Horizons showing a 330km-high eruption that recently happened on Io:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Io_(moon)#mediaviewer/File:Tvas...
It's utterly captivating, at least to me, and I can't help but wonder what effect it would have on the public's imaginations to be able to see images like that every day, in high definition, from all over our solar system.
The reason I think of this is that I recently came across this animation from New Horizons showing a 330km-high eruption that recently happened on Io:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Io_(moon)#mediaviewer/File:Tvas...
#mediaviewer/File:Tvashtarvideo.gif){kind=link}
It's utterly captivating, at least to me, and I can't help but wonder what effect it would have on the public's imaginations to be able to see images like that every day, in high definition, from all over our solar system.
Check out Reid Gower's videos as well, the Sagan Series, a collection of videos he did that also used Carl Sagan's voice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY59wZdCDo0&index=1&list=PLF...
And of course, Cosmos, which is where all the audio is from in all these videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dADUBcoEEHw&index=1&list=PLB...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY59wZdCDo0&index=1&list=PLF...
And of course, Cosmos, which is where all the audio is from in all these videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dADUBcoEEHw&index=1&list=PLB...
Episode 2 of the Cosmos series playlist gives me this:
> This video contains content from eOne, who has blocked it on copyright grounds.
> This video contains content from eOne, who has blocked it on copyright grounds.
All these visuals made by just one guy? I'm impressed. It has higher quality than many hollywood fx products.
hollywood blockbusters have many shots that are very labor intensive, and they can be pretty cavalier about throwing money at a problem. For example, films with a lot of mixed live action and CGI can take a lot of manual frame by frame work, and anything involving realistic character animation is a huge time sink. Not to mention huge server farms.
It looks like this film uses a limited number of shots (no cutting rapidly like action films), takes advantage of a lot of nasa and other imagery/data (no army of matte painters), limits characters to simple walking movements (no Pixar gesticulating), and probably keeps the particle effects and physics sims minimal (no computational fluids sims for glorious explosions).
It looks like this film uses a limited number of shots (no cutting rapidly like action films), takes advantage of a lot of nasa and other imagery/data (no army of matte painters), limits characters to simple walking movements (no Pixar gesticulating), and probably keeps the particle effects and physics sims minimal (no computational fluids sims for glorious explosions).
> It has higher quality than many hollywood fx products.
Seriously. How are Hollywood CGI films so poorly made when this is possible?
Seriously. How are Hollywood CGI films so poorly made when this is possible?
In the same genre, I watch this when I need a touch of inspiration. They're quotations from The Pale Blue Dot, again with the Sagan voiceover.
http://vimeo.com/2822787
Often we forget how far we've come, and how far we have to go. It's easy to get bogged down in the minutiae of regular life. When I listen to Carl Sagan sometimes I feel like I've glimpsed a bigger perspective.
http://vimeo.com/2822787
Often we forget how far we've come, and how far we have to go. It's easy to get bogged down in the minutiae of regular life. When I listen to Carl Sagan sometimes I feel like I've glimpsed a bigger perspective.
Amazing video.
I especially like the world play here. Latin Planetes (as in planets) means wanderer. The name of this film can be understood as Planets.
I especially like the world play here. Latin Planetes (as in planets) means wanderer. The name of this film can be understood as Planets.
Ancient Greek actually – apologies for being nitpicky.
'A planet (from Ancient Greek ἀστὴρ πλανήτης (astēr planētēs), meaning "wandering star")' > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet
'A planet (from Ancient Greek ἀστὴρ πλανήτης (astēr planētēs), meaning "wandering star")' > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet
Yeah, but judging from Google's etymology of the word it seemed to suggest plananan as greek word for planet, and not planetes.
I went for the more similar sounding one.
I went for the more similar sounding one.
Nice observation. They got that name, of course, because the stars are fixed but the planets "wander" among them.
Videos like this make me truly yearn for our civilization to expand off of our home planet.
I've finally gotten into some of Philip K Dick's works, as well as adventuring in the game Eve Online.
Both make me question how far we could be in technology, medicine, civilization, if we all could work together and not have schisms divide us.
I suppose it's the same as wishing for a utopia, though.
I've finally gotten into some of Philip K Dick's works, as well as adventuring in the game Eve Online.
Both make me question how far we could be in technology, medicine, civilization, if we all could work together and not have schisms divide us.
I suppose it's the same as wishing for a utopia, though.
I never thought I'd use this quote here, but:
“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
[deleted]
"As for me, I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote. I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts." - Herman Melville
Wonderful quote by Sagan.
Wonderful quote by Sagan.
Well, it's not quite fair to call it a "quote by Sagan".
[deleted](1)
That was beautiful. I'd love to read more about how exactly the visuals were generated. This is a lot more than spheres rendered w/ NASA photo textures.
Definitely check out the imgur gallery[1] with explanations of all the scenes!
http://imgur.com/a/Ur5dP
http://imgur.com/a/Ur5dP
I want to go to there
Which planet would allow for the largest/densest brain size in an organism that evolved to maximum size there?
Wow ! This is beautiful. Stunning graphics + Sagan's legendary voice almost left me in tears.
Todo list:
1- Invent powerful machines for simulations and calculations(ok)
2- Stop with childish religious beliefs altogether (in progress - 5ys)
3- Review completely the social contract (in progress - 50ys)
4- Fix mortality (urgent - 100ys)
5- Explore the universe (2114)
There is no single social contract, but if there is, it very well has to be reviewed before we "fix" mortality. And who says that the further exploration of the universe (which is happening since a few thousand years anyway) is tempting to a critical mass with an unlimited lifespan where distractions are manifold and any simulation more convenient and less dangerous than the exploration of the universe in person.
> There is no single social contract, but if there is, it very well has to be reviewed before we "fix" mortality.
Just like I said.
>any simulation more convenient and less dangerous than the exploration of the universe in person
We have been risking our lifes to explorer our world for millenniums. Why would it be different for space?
Just like I said.
>any simulation more convenient and less dangerous than the exploration of the universe in person
We have been risking our lifes to explorer our world for millenniums. Why would it be different for space?
Because we have unlimited time and unlimited things to consume on earth. Who'd give a shit about what's behind the horizon?
I'm just saying the audacity to suggest to "fix" mortality is stunning. The implications are unforeseeable, on so many levels. People might not be as idealistic as you make them out to be.
I'm just saying the audacity to suggest to "fix" mortality is stunning. The implications are unforeseeable, on so many levels. People might not be as idealistic as you make them out to be.
> People might not be as idealistic as you make them out to be.
Well, not everyone needs to be "idealistic". There are a lot of people willing to risk their lifes just to see a little further behind the horizon. You are not one of them. And this is ok.
Well, not everyone needs to be "idealistic". There are a lot of people willing to risk their lifes just to see a little further behind the horizon. You are not one of them. And this is ok.
5 years? How do you figure that?
too bad we are not going to be around when mortality will be fixed. out of luck, i guess.
Actually, for Aubrey de Grey, that will be 50 years[1], but I think this is only to get more funds.
[1] http://www.ted.com/talks/aubrey_de_grey_says_we_can_avoid_ag...
[1] http://www.ted.com/talks/aubrey_de_grey_says_we_can_avoid_ag...
I really loved this. Are there anything else similar elsewhere?
Beautiful short film, excellent effects and voice-over. Like.
I loved it, thanks!
absolutely stunning. i will feel incredibly deprived if my exhaust without witnessing this sort of endeavor by mankind.
I'll just leave this here: http://youtu.be/FbpIwT9nV3Y?t=7m7s
Very uplifting.
Waiting.
Even the title has multiple meanings to it:
In ancient times, astronomers noted how certain lights moved across the sky in relation to the other stars. Ancient Greeks called these lights πλάνητες ἀστέρες (planetes asteres, "wandering stars") or simply πλανῆται (planētai, "wanderers"), from which today's word "planet" was derived.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet