A reality check on plans to build cities in space

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The idea of building cities in space dates back decades. However, it’s unclear if this will ever be possible: 

  • Humans don’t yet have the technology to build asteroid cities. 
  • It’s possible that we will never have the industrial space infrastructure necessary to make this idea a reality. 
  • It might not be possible to manufacture enough carbon nanowire to make the asteroid bags. 

NASA plans to build houses on the moon by 2040. In 2022, it announced an additional $60 million for a space-based construction system that can be used beyond earth. 

The general idea of space cities is broadly based on the philosophy of Gerard O’Neill’s work.(source google)

Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos may harbor multibillion-dollar dreams of sending millions of people to live on Mars, on the moon and inside free-flying space habitats — but a newly published book provides a prudent piece of advice: Don’t go too boldly

There are many obstacles to building a space city. For example, it would take almost 70,000 launches of BFR to orbit the materials needed to build a 10-million-tonne housing capacity. 

Other challenges include: 

  • Gravity The city would need gravity to live there for any length of time. It would have to spin or be built on a body with natural gravity. 
  • Cost All of the people in the city would have to be very rich, likely multi-billionaires because living in space is very expensive. 
  • Resupply It may be practically impossible without occasional resupply of things. Some of the problems are to do with the regeneration of air / water / water from waste. 

The International Space Station (ISS) is the only permanently inhabited structure currently in space. An international crew of seven people live and work while traveling at a speed of five miles per second, orbiting Earth about every 90 minutes.

There are no plans for building space settlements by any large-scale organization, either government or private. However, many proposals, speculations, and designs for space settlements have been made through the years. 

Some researchers suggest that future Manhattan-sized cities of 22 square miles (57 square kilometers) could be built on asteroids, assuming the base asteroid is at least 1,000 feet (300 meters) across. 

A domed city on the Moon is technologically viable. The technology development required for this project will directly result from the technology required for large-scale space solar power satellites and helium-3 production

Here are some events related to cities in space in 2023: 

  • Cities in Space® 2023 Student Competition and Conference Students presented, competed, and learned from each other about building a new world beyond Earth. 
  • Cities in Space 2023 STEAMSPACE Education Outreach® presented this event on Friday, March 24, 2023 at Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, TX. 
  • Russian lunar lander Luna 25 Launched on August 10, 2023, this was the first Russian attempt to land a spacecraft on the Moon since 1974. 
  • Apogeios A space city concept imagined by Olivier Boisard and Pierre Marx. 
  • International Space Solar Power Student Competition A global, undergraduate and graduate level annual event presented by SPACE Canada.

Space is very dangerous and without protection, people would not be able to survive there. The environment of space is lethal without appropriate protection. The greatest threat in the vacuum of space derives from the lack of oxygen and pressure, although temperature and radiation also pose risks. 

To live permanently in outer space, humans would need: 

  • A reliable and sustainable source of food, water, and oxygen 
  • A way to protect themselves from radiation and the vacuum of outer space 

The longest contiguous amount of time a human has spent in space is 437 days. That was done by Valeri Polyakov, almost 20 years ago. His first flight was 240 days long.

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