Imagine the first human colonies in space. The futurist Tom Cheesewright already did it and, according to him, these colonies will include little more than a few mines, oil rigs and manufacturing outposts to refine minerals. That being said, Cheesewright adds that asteroids are probably more likely to be the first “places” to receive long-term colonisation projects.
The futurist’s company, called Book of the Future, helps companies anticipate future changes in their industry, so he knows what he’s talking about.
“Human beings have always pushed boundaries and in this case we’re going to be pretty motivated. The global population is likely to crack 10 billion before it starts to decline, and with climate change eating up land mass, we’re going to need the space“, he told the website Mancunian Matters.
Although he admits that, for some people, this might sound far-fetched, he also likes to remind that:
There are already well-financed plans to send out robot miners to collect asteroids and bring them into orbit for mining. This could be happening in the next few years. (…) Manufacturing in zero gravity has all sorts of advantages, and you have ready access to energy from the sun, so there will be plenty of work.
Cheesewright believes that if humans prove space mining can be profitable and safe, people will follow the opportunities. However, colonising planets like Mars is not happening for a while, due to the inhospitable environment. But when the time of necessity comes, we’ll have to leave the planet.
For now, he advises people all over the world to invest in renewable energy and waste reduction methods that can be applied at home. The expert guarantees it’s mandatory to start researching new technologies in order to deal with global warming.
Unfortunately, he says, “the world doesn’t seem to be responding to the threat with anything like the requisite level of urgency. Sadly I don’t think we will respond with sufficient force until more people start dying”.