Colonizing Kepler 452-B Essay Example

US based National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) recently announced that their Kepler Space Telescope (KST) discovered a planet that nearly resembles planet earth (Naser and Chehab). It is the latest addition on a list of 12 other promising habitable planets in the Universe. The planet, named Kepler-452b, has a diameter 60percent larger than that of planet Earth, hence considered a super earth size planet (NASA). Scientists are yet to determine the planet's mass and composition but previous research indicates that there is a possibility of planets the size of Kepler 452-b to be terrestrial as well as support water or ice. Kepler-452b may support human life leading to its colonization and hence, the paper sets to validate this claim.

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Scientists at NASA's Ames Research Center have determined that Kepler-452b has been in existence for 6 billion years, meaning that it has spent 6 billion years in its star's habitable zone (Pazar). It is a longer period as compared to planet earth's duration of existence in the universe. This means that there is a significant opportunity for life support at Kepler-452b planet should all the necessary life supporting mechanisms exist. Energy is the driver of all civilizations and if energy resources get depleted on planet earth, then there is great possibility of human beings getting to colonize habitable planets such as Kepler-452b to satisfy their energy needs (Hand). However, the colonization theory remains on paper since scientists are yet to establish human existence in other planets. Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, believes that human beings can be able to travel to other planets but cannot confirm whether they would be able to come back to planet earth if need be (Carroll 145).

In connection to studying the possibility of colonizing a different planet, various unanswered questions have come into play. For instance, scientists have asked whether human life is only present in planet earth, whether any civilizations exist in the different galaxies of the universe, and whether there is any evidence of alien life. It is through determination that few billionaires have invested their fortunes aiming to solve some of the mysteries the universe holds (Adams). Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos reignited space exploration in early 2016 when his company, Blue Origin relaunched and landed a rocket that had already made a successful trip round the stratosphere. Cosmologist Stephen Hawking suggested that rapid scientific progress on earth might lead to human life extinction over the next thousand years or so, which necessitates human beings to have moved to other planets. This would ensure that even if a catastrophe would occur on planet earth, the human race would not be wiped out.

Russian billionaire Yuri Milner funded the Breakthrough Listen project run by The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) institution (Adams). The project is aimed at detecting some evidence of distant technology such as a concentrated burst of energy or radio communication. SETI is one of the most sophisticated space exploration missions ever performed whose main goal is to determine whether the human race on earth is the only race existing in the universe. In the process, scientists would be able to determine more about the terrestrial nature of planets such as Kepler-452b. Scientists suggest that the Milky Way galaxy has at least 200 billion stars and the total number of galaxies in the universe is perhaps 100 billion. They also suggest that 50 billion planets in the Milky Way galaxy may be situated in the "Goldilocks zone", which is potentially habitable since it is neither too hot nor too cold. A senior astronomer at the SETI institute believes that one in ten stars has a planet, which could support biological life (Adams). Colonizing a different planet has become a matter of concern to cosmologists and other space scientists since it generates so much curiosity about the future of planet earth. People would like to know what forms of life may exist in other parts of the universe and whether commercial space travel is feasible.

A 2015 study on the possibilities of habiting Kepler-452B revealed that even though the planet may be earth's close cousin, living within it would still be an alien experience (Science Illustrated). Furthermore, it would need some warp drive or some sort of magic to travel to that planet since it is about 1400 light-years away from the earth (Kakaes). As mentioned earlier, the planet is 60percent wider and about five times bigger than earth. Thus, the force of gravity would be much stronger than that experienced on earth.

Simply put, a person would feel twice as heavy as they feel while on earth. Jon Jenkins of NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffet field California believes that it would be challenging at first for any human inhabitants to survive on Kepler-452b. However, John Grunsfeld, an associate director of NASA's directorate of science missions believes that humans would be able to meet that challenge (Kakaes). He added that after all, firefighters and other emergency operators often carry heavy loads, which could mimic the effect of increased gravitational pull. The first human inhabitants of Kepler-452b would become much stronger and develop tougher bones and muscles over long periods. This explains a positive adaptation to the possible life after colonizing Kepler-452b. Jenkins also suggest that human beings would become stockier over long generations while other life features on the "bigger earth" would not be new.

Since Kepler-452b revolves around its sun-like star at nearly the same distance the earth revolves around the sun, it would feel much normal from a sunshine point of view. Plants growing in the planet would photosynthesize in normal fashion. As previously mentioned, the view of possible life existence and colonization of the Kepler-452b planet remain hypothetical due to its massive distance from planet earth. Imagining other life possibilities on the planet requires greater speculation and guessing based on modeling work. For instance, there is a model suggestion that Kepler-452b may soon experience tremendous greenhouse effect which mimics the one that changed planet Venus from a potential habitable planet to a very hot planet today. Since the planet's star is bigger than the earth's sun, there is a probability of increased energy output that causes Kepler-452b to heat up and lose its extensive water bodies. This could happen through evaporation, atmospheric escape, and subsequent breakup by ultraviolet light if indeed the oceans are there. However, scientists are yet to confirm whether Kepler-452b could lose its oceans over the nest 500 million years or so.

Despite the reality of possible colonization of Kepler-452b remaining dull, space travel enthusiasts have soldiered on in the search of extraterrestrial life in space. Space exploration is expensive, time consuming, and a preserve for the rich in society but that has not stopped human beings from being enthusiastic about discovering more about the Universe. Since the thrill of space exploration is far from over, it is expected that the next great phase of space exploration would involve a collaboration between governments and corporations. If both the public and private sector players come together, the greatest achievement in human history could be decades away from realization.

More people are starting to believe that launching rockets into space would not be enough but human beings should begin thinking about building infrastructure in space. This has seen the establishment of the highly criticized United States Space Force by President Donald Trump. Other indicators of real progress in space are the competition by billionaires such as Jeff Bezos of Blue Origin, Richard Branson who spearheaded the Virgin Galactic project, and Elon Musk of SpaceX Company. SpaceX launched one of the most powerful working rockets in the world with a Tesla automobile on board making it one of the most successful private space exploration projects. However, Bezos beat him by landing a reusable rocket.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the colonization of Kepler-452B remains hypothetical since now, it is close to impossible for human beings to travel a distance of 1400 light years from earth. Mathematically, the travel duration would be approximately 26 million years if one travels on board the New Horizons Spacecraft at a speed of 37,000 miles per hour. However, the planet presents great promise on the possibility of supporting human life. Cosmologists such as the late Stephen Hawkings suggested that human beings should have migrated to other parts of the Universe so that if the earth gets destroyed, the human race would still remain. This view has attracted great interest amongst billionaire businessmen, industrialists, corporations, and governments who have invested heavily in space exploration. There is a tremendous growth in scientific knowledge over the years and it is expected that the colonization of Kepler-452B will become a reality in coming decades.

Works Cited

Adams, Mark. "The $100 Million Hunt for Alien Life." Rolling Stone, 7 2016, www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/the-100-million-hunt-for-alien-life-201197/. Accessed 10 Dec. 2018.Carroll, Michael. "Could We Make Contact?." Earths of Distant Suns. Copernicus, Cham, 2017. 145-191.

Hand, Carol. Is There Life Out There?: The Likelihood of Alien Life and What It Would Look Like. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc, 2015.

Kakaes, Konstantin. "Warp Factor." Popular Science, 1 Apr. 2013, www.popsci.com/technology/article/2013-03/warp-factor. Accessed 10 Dec. 2018.

NASA. "NASA's Kepler Mission Discovers Bigger, Older Cousin to Earth." NASA, 23 July 2015, www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-kepler-mission-discovers-bigger-older-cousin-to-earth. Accessed 10 Dec. 2018.

Naser, Mohannad Z., and Alaa I. Chehab. "Materials and design concepts for space-resilient structures." Progress in Aerospace Sciences (2018).

Pazar, Cole C. Terraforming of Terrestrial Earth-sized Planetary Bodies. Technical Report. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2017.

Science Illustrated. "A New Era (Dreaming of Mars, Part 3)." Science Illustrated, 6 Aug. 2012, scienceillustrated.com.au/blog/science/a-new-era/.

Space Travel. Directed by Films Media Group, A&E Television Networks, 2008.