| < Just another bottleneck > |
| Let's imagine the most extreme case: An asteroid similar in size to that wiping out the dinosaurs has hit the Earth. In wise foresight, humans have set up a space colony cycling between the orbits of Earth and Mars. Maybe we are writing the year 2525. Man is still alive. A few individuals live on the moon, others on Mars, and still others man the biological space colony on its stereotype orbit. The colonies telecommunicate with each other, but there is no message from Earth. |
| Let's further assume that all colonies function perfectly. They recycle their resources to 100%. They stay where they are for some years. They hopefully observe the Earth - the colony on the moon is in the best position to do so. But they still observe unbearably high temperatures and unhealthy gases in the atmosphere. They have to wait for a longer time. Maybe they even decide to raise children. But for how long can they trust into their habitats, into their equipments? |
| Well, we live in the year 2525; maybe materials will be much better than today, life-span of computers much longer, and biological equilibria can be maintained. But this will not go on forever. The best balloon will burst, the most durable machine will break after some time. Maybe we will make it for 10 years, maybe for twenty, but for not much longer. Our only chance for continued survival will be a return to Earth. If we are lucky, this is possible, before our extra-terrestrial habitats break down. |
| For the return trip, we will need spaceships. And the colonies on the moon and on Mars will need sufficient propulsant in addition, to escape gravity. Less propulsant will be required for the return from the space colony to Earth: here, we need only a slight correction of orbit. People from Mars will need to join the space colony at the right time for a return, people from the moon will be able to return in their own ships. Most importantly: they will probably not be forced to return alltogether at the same time. |
| To reach the surface of the Earth we need (1) some propellant for orbit corrections, (2) an intact heat shield, and (3) a functional parachute (let's hope that in 2525 parachutes are made of a very durable material...). The first successfully returned crew might communicate the conditions on Earth to the others; the remaining colonists may then decide to join them or to wait. It will, however, be difficult if not impossible to find each other if landed in different spaceships, most likely on different continents or oceans. |
| I guess the human race would be able to survive with this strategy, but many thousand years later, after the rediscovery of scientific research, future anthropologists will debate just another bottleneck in human evolution, without any idea of the ingenious endeavours enabling the few surviving heroes to master it. |
| MB 8/13 |
| next: A first likely option back to: A new Garden of Eden? overview |
