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Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: The Future of the Solar System

*After the following was posted earlier today, it got me thinking and rethinking certain matters. 

What if this story were true?  Is the future of the Solar System to be as the past history of Earth has been:  The wealthy elitists taking a conquering approach and claiming this-and-that territory as their own? 

Maybe we can hear John Lennon in the background, singing "Imagine" as we wander away from home and into space...but I wonder how overly optimistic that is.  No, don't tell me...I know how overly optimistic it is already.  Thank god at least a treaty or two has been penned and signed years ago, regarding "extraterrestrial real estate"...but then, we know how it goes with treaties and the like (breakable on whim). 

Is the future of the Solar System that of being divided up like a pie, with aggressive territorial stakes and claims made on the rings of Saturn, portions of Europa, all of Mars, etc.?

We live in a society, now, where no natural satellite, planet or even asteroid is considered PROPERTY of some nation or small group of exclusive, elitist individuals.  I don't want to lose that; I don't want to see the solar system divided up some day between exploiters and glory hunters, slicing it up between them all like a huge pie which orbits the Sun. 

I had to ask myself today:  Do I believe in manned space exploration AT ANY COST?  No, I don't.  Is it possible for mankind to reach out into the solar system without grabbing and demanding this belongs to me, you take that, etc.?  I wonder.  I hope so.

I can't imagine our Solar System some day being divided up as property between nations or other groups of people.  The thought repulses me.

I'm -NOT- seeking a debate, not interested in debating this; rather, I'm seeking opinions about this issue. 

What is your opinion?

--Cindy

Bill Gates to Lead New Private Mars Effort

A MARSNEWS.COM EXCLUSIVE

April 1st - In a stunning announcement made today, many of the world's leading financial barons will fund a new program of human Mars exploration and will launch a piloted mission by 2010. The group also hopes to claim the entire planet using existing laws.

http://www.marsnews.com/

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We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: The Future of the Solar System

Adrian, this thread duplicated itself somehow...please delete this one?

BTW, I've been having problems with threads I begin and individual posts duplicating themselves automatically. 

--Cindy

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We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

MarsGuy2012

Banned

Registered: 2003-01-22

Posts: 122

Re: The Future of the Solar System

I think that without private ownership investors will not send people to the other planets.  The outer space treaties have shown that governments lose interest if they can't claim the new territory.  Private individuals want ownership of what they develope as well.

But, it doesn't have to be they same as it currently is on Earth.  A person can own as much land as they want even if they never set foot on it.

Here's a law that might prevent that:  A person may own extraterrestrial real estate only if that person lives on that extraterrestrial body.

Only Martians can own Martian property.  Only Asteroidis can own Asteroids.

What do you think?