From "Interstellar" to "The Martian", human space exploration has been an important feature of science fiction blockbusters in recent years.
But in reality, what would a human space colony look like?
Space experts claim that human space exploration will begin with "technicians" building "portals" near Earth. They say the gates will help a handful of human explorers establish colonies on the moon, followed by Mars.
To envision what this would look like, technicians turned to Midjourney, a popular artificial intelligence art generator, to create images of space colonies and spacecraft based on these predictions.
Gateway stations near the earth
David Barnhart, CEO and founder of space company Arkisys, said human exploration will rely on "gateways" and autonomous "ports" in space that will transport human explorers to Mars and beyond.
He said in an interview: "The expansion of human exploration into the future will be based on how we build the infrastructure we need, which is the supply chain, housing, food stations, etc.
Just like on Earth, space will be explored by pioneers, who will then build the infrastructure they need for more people.
The ways of exploration on Earth took decades, but almost always started with pioneers, after which forts, towns, villages, etc. were built to receive the goods/services needed to grow and thus allow more people to be transported.
Arkisys' goal is to build a "port" – an orbiting beacon and beacon to serve travelers and spacecraft in Earth orbit, on the moon and on Mars and beyond.
Pathway station to Mars
Human space exploration will rely on "habitats" and "space stations", but also on robotic "ports" that transport goods and vehicles.
The large antenna will also allow for constant communication with Martian habitats or habitats deeper in the solar system.
Space station orbiting the Moon
NASA's original concept of sustainable lunar habitat was to build a "gateway" that would help fuel and personnel move to/from the surface, which in turn would serve as a transit point for possible Mars transportation.
Currently, both the government and the private sector are pushing for the development of infrastructure at different levels, from full-fledged space stations or habitats to "ports" that can scale autonomously.
Asteroid mining
Asteroid mining is one of the most potentially lucrative industries, and Neil Degrasse Tyson says the first trillionaire will be an asteroid mining tycoon.
Asterank measured the potential value of more than 6,000 asteroids tracked by NASA — and suggested that mining just 10 asteroids selected for their proximity to Earth could generate $1.5 trillion.
Among them, an asteroid, 16 Psyche, is estimated to contain $700 trillion in gold.
Manned lunar base
Philip Robert Harris, a former NASA consultant, noted that in the future, lunar bases and near-Earth space stations will be inhabited by technicians who will build the first infrastructure in space.
In his book Space Enterprise, he writes: "The construction of space stations and lunar bases lays the groundwork for space infrastructure over the next 50 years, leading to further space settlements, manned missions to Mars, asteroid mining, and eventually human colonies in space or elsewhere." ”
Starting with a handful of astronauts and extending to space construction workers who are technicians, the human population above could escalate to thousands of astronauts over this millennium.
In the book, former NASA expert David G Schrunk adds: "The moon is a plausible site for the first non-terrestrial human settlement. It provides protection from the dangers of space and has energy (sunlight) and material resources that can be used to support human activities, and it is an excellent platform for scientific research, especially astronomy.
Starship to Mars
Elon Musk has made various predictions about travel to Mars, and last year suggested that a human trip to the Red Planet could be feasible by 2029.
Musk hopes to use his reusable Starship rocket to reduce costs and allow Starship fleets to travel between planets.
Proponents of Mars travel such as Robert Zubrin argue that traveling light can minimize the cost of exploring Mars, which will not only unlock mining opportunities but also lead to new technological breakthroughs.
Musk said: "For life to exist on multiple planets, we may need 1,000 ships or similar items. ”
Permanent base on Mars
Musk believes that becoming a space civilization will help humans avoid the "filter" of extinction from events such as nuclear war.
If we can make life on Mars self-sustaining, we will pass one of the biggest filters. He explained: "This prepares us for interstellar life.
"In the long term, this is essential to preserve the light of consciousness. Eventually something will happen on Earth, hopefully not soon, whether natural or man-made, that will lead to the end of civilization. If we were a species that lives on many planets, civilizations would probably have a much greater lifespan. ”
High-tech orbiter designed by artificial intelligence
Vivik Conchery, chief executive of Graphene Space Habitat Ltd, based at the University of Manchester's Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre, said the future of space habitat would be built by high-tech materials using robotics and artificial intelligence.
Kongcheri's team has produced a 3D scale model of the spatial habitat and hopes to build a manufacturing unit to fabricate the spatial habitat.
Space Habitat will use graphene-reinforced composites.
"Graphene is a fantastic solution because it is lighter than metals previously used in space habitats, and it is a very good conductor of heat, so it can be used to dissipate heat in the warmest conditions," Koncherry.com said.
We know our structure won't be perfect every time, but you can make an educated guess, make a small prototype, and send it into space with a sensor.
I'm not saying everything will work from day one – some parts can and will fail. But if you want to research quickly, the only way is to quickly make something, test it, get data and learn from it. ”