Slashdot Mirror
Would You Move to Space?
garyebickford asks: "Slashdot discussions on the SpaceShipOne flight talked about whether folks would take the flight if offered. It reminded me of a question that used to go around. If you were offered the opportunity to move permanently into space - perhaps an orbital environment, or asteroid (mining?) or another planet, etc. - and you had an 80% chance of living five years, would you take it? What if your chances were 50%?"
80% chance of living for five years, and reaping the tremendous bounty of mining an asteroid? I might just take up that offer. It'd be a hell of a ride, whether or not I make it alive.
Also, just imagine the view every morning when you wake up. Every. Single. Morning. I'd risk my life for that, yes.
It'd be nice to live free for once.
"In the end they will lay their freedom at our feet and say to us, 'Make us your slaves, but feed us.'" -Dostoevsky
Do they have cable modems in space?
There are no karma whores, only moderation johns
An 80% chance of living 5 years? Isn't that the same as L.A.? Between the freeways, the gangs, and the smog, it sounds about right to me...
"If you were offered the opportunity to move permanently into space - perhaps an orbital environment, or asteroid (mining?) or another planet, etc. - and you had an 80% chance of living five years, would you take it? What if your chances were 50%?""
What if there was peace, love and understanding on the Earth, so we wouldn't feel the pressure to leave?
Being a college nerd with poor social skills, I'm tempted to say yes to just about anything if there was a good chance of getting laid with a healthy member of the opposite sex. But I'm sure I'd regret it as I die in the vacuum of space. So no, I probably wouldn't even under such ideal conditions as I've only imagined but were not mentioned as perks.
Can i access /. from there????
Yes and yes. Those aren't great odds but the odds of being safe inside a automobile aren't great either... I'd rather die doing something that no humans have ever done...
Kind of reminds of what someone much wiser than myself said on a similar subject here.
"To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit." -Stephen Hawking
But it'd probably get old, just like the Spice Girls. It seems like great fun at first, but you later realize that they really didn't deserve a movie, nor a nation-wide release. But hey, get back to me with the next big thing, like Furby 2.0 and maybe I'll be interested.
The Political Programmer
Yes and yes, in a heartbeat. Now, I don't think so. Maybe if the children were grown up. I would have to check with the boss though...
but seriously, who wouldn't. even if it sucks, humans are hardwired to explore new places, even if it's dangerous or they're not wanted.
for further reading on human nature see the works of Smith, Agent.
I've been trying to find a quiet, non-NWO spot on this planet to live, but there ain't none left.
:)
Give me a six-pack worth of O2 and enough water to recycle through myself for 10 years or so, and I'll oversee the robotics on any asteroid you want.
Of course, the issue of hydroponics - and what you can and cannot grow - would have to be worked out first.
Just sign me up for the standard "Human Sustenance Science Package" (strictly -NOT- from Ikea, please...) and I'm there. Got my boots on right now.
The possibilities for freedom on this planet have been long-since removed by the powers that be. Gimme another planet, or some other space body, and watch out. My descendants will be back in 50 years to re-claim Earth!
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
In fact, if there was a 100% chance of me dieing within an hour of me getting into orbit, I'd still go if given the chance. I mean, every night I look up at the stars and I just wonder. The chance to experience life outside the womb of mother earth for just one minute... yeah, that's worth trading my life for. I am willing to die just to gaze upon the earth, stars and other galaxies from the outside for just one minute.
In that one minute I would see, learn, and experience more than most people see, learn, and experience in their entire lives. I would have an idea of my place in the universe that few currently have.
All of that near infinite universe and the chance to experience it outside the earth? Yeah, that's worth dieing for. An 80% chance of dieing within five years? I'd consider that a bonus - more time to experience it.
Yeah, I'm an oddball.
More seriously, what's the pay? If asteroid mining rakes it in, maybe they'd need an IT Manager. Can't be worse than a fly-in-fly-out job in Tanzania.
it would probably make me happy if
*you* did. And take your friends, too!
I mean, really, earth would be a great
place if it wasn't for the people.
On a more serious note, though, until
we can travel at the speed-of-thought
and *then* find a suitable earth-like
planet, I'd rather we spent our time
trying to fix our damaged ecological
and societal systems.
Peace & Blessings,
bmac
Yes and yes. I'd go. If NASA called and said they had a pre-Challenger O-Ring shuttle that had been sitting in freezing rain for two days and they needed a mission specialist, I'd be on the next plane. Would I live there? If it meant *either* that I could do so undamaged (zero-gee, radiation) by the day-to-day experience, barring accidents; *or* that my doing so would increase the chances others would get to do so, then yes, in a New York Minute, baby.
A hero is someone who knows when to run away. I am a hero. -Trent the Uncatchable
Not that I know the actual stats, but 80% survival rate over 5 years sounds pretty good. What was the survival rate of the early European-American colonists? Accounting for disease, starvation, being stabbed by someone or eaten by something - would it be better than 80%? Probably not.
So hell yes. I'd go. Anyone with a sense of adventure and courage would go (or in Australia's case, anyone with a criminal record).
The rewards are potentially massive (better than a tiny farm plot which is all the early colonists got) and the experience?! To have your name recorded as one of the first to colonise off-earth! Immortality is yours! Go and take it!
I don't think anyone could argue that a shortage of highly motivated and suitable volunteers would be a problem. Rather, the real problem is getting us all up there. At 80% or 50% or even 10%.
I'm ready now.
Where's the signup sheet at?
:P Even 50% over 5 years. I'd be game for it. In a heartbeat. ScaledComposites, NASA, JSDA, John Carmack, whoever wants me, I'm available.
80% over 5 years... that's damn good odds. Better than driving in LA traffic for a year
As I walk through the valley of death I fear no one, for I am the meanest sonova bitch in the valley!
Being someone who is currently moving his life and family from one side of the world (Israel) to the other (Australia), I can clearly point out that as nostalgically charming as moving into space may sound,
** There is more to making such a decision than the presence (or lack thereof) of vaccum around the place we call home **.
Questions such as these arise:
* What are the prospects of a quality life there? (which leads to further questions like how we measure quality of life - by the amount of green around our house? the amount of accessible online gadget stores that ship to our location?)
* What are the prospects of economic prosperity there? Taxation? Salaries?
* Can I work in my chosen field there?
* Can I practice my recreation activities there? (Think diving, snowboarding, etc.)
* What kind of mentality do the people who live there share?
* WHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVES?
Hell, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Would I move into space? Tell me what's waiting for me there and what I'm running from here for starters, and I'll consider it.
The only people who'd answer such a question offhand are people who are either miserable with their current lives, don't have any, or are very deep into their fantasy worlds.
That kind of problem can usually be solved using much simpler methods.
-
According to my dad, I was nearly an astronaut.
He said if he'd pulled out 2 seconds earlier I would have been shot into space.
For problems, seek only the simplest solution, complexity brings with it more problems.
Need I say more?
Hm, maybe... Support Spacegeeks Worldwide at these (and many more) organizations:
Mars Society
Mars Frontier
Planetary Society
Space Frontier
Can I return?
I'd love to go into space, but I don't see why it has to be risky, or why we should accept high risks in a gung-ho fasion. There is plenty of intelligent and advanced engineering that can be done to minimise risk. I realise that people do dangerous things like mountaineering for sport and for fun, but that's not my cup of tea.
As I get older, and become more aware of the limited time available for life, I realise that there's lots to do. Anyone can put their body into space, alive or dead, for short periods of time. What I'm saying is there is more to most people than a physical presence.
I can imagine getting very bored with being in space, cooped up in a tiny craft for any length of time. Many of us don't appreciate the importance to our well-being and sanity of being in the natural environment which we've evolved to be in. Could you imagine being in a tin can for years breathing recycled air, having nothing to eat but a small selection of plants and freeze-dried food? What about experiencing day and night, wind, tide, rain, hearing bird song, the fragrance of flowers and freshly cut grass or a good chicken jalfrezi? What about the company of friends and family? What about gravity? Wouldn't you get bored with floating about all the time and not being able to walk?
I'd love to go into space, for a week or two, in a safe, reliable and comfortable craft. Some people have that gung-ho spirit and would throw their lives and well-being away for a few minutes of experience that one day will be as common as walking down the street. Whatever floats your boat.
Personally, I'd prefer a more considered and rational approach, but heck, I'm rapidly becoming and old git.
Stick Men
Five years is a long time. What is the quality of like like, and what am I achieving while I am there?
Five years sitting inside a small capsule just to prove it can be done - forget it.
Five years in a moderately cramped environment with good communications, building part of a real space station, participiting in the escape from Earth - you're on.
While danger is not irrelevant, the cause, the goal, is much more relevant. People have taken huge risks for a cause they believe in - and lost, not infrequently. I believe in trying to ensure that humanity is not limited by the finite resources of the Earth. I want humans to inherit the stars. I am prepared to risk quite a lot of danger, and quite a lot of discomfort, in that goal. But not infinite danger, and not infinite discomfot.
So - give me a worthwhile job to do, and I'll sign up.
Consciousness is an illusion caused by an excess of self consciousness.
One rule: Will move for bandwidth
Incidentally, probably the only thing the movie Armageddon has to contribute to society, is the answer to this question. The typical person who would most likely take on an assignment in space, like drilling into an astroid or setting up base there, would have to have little ties like family, be very well paid (at those odds) and more than slightly suicidal. This is not a scientist's (or nerd's) type of job. It involves following instructions to the letter (like: drill here) and very hard and continuous manual labour. After that part is done, people can start to think about *living* in space, at far better odds.
Depends on the asteroid's spin. There might even be a morning every hour. Too fast a spin might make working an asteroid impractical. (Coriolis, effective surface gravity, dizziness, etc.)
The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
Actually, 'very hard and continuous manual labor' is one thing very likely NOT required in any space situation. So far, we haven't been effectively able to cool the space suits. Every time I've heard of a mission that has involved significant EVA, especially active EVA, cooling and internal humidity have been the limiting factors. The astronauts have had to slow down to the cooling and dehumidification limits of the space suits.
The problem extends, and is more general. Every time I hear of electronics in space, radiation is a concern. But that's typically solved at the base technology level. The problem that really dogs the designers is temperature - cooling the electronics are when active and warming them when they're not, plus accomodating varying amounts of solar heating.
When we think of this giant sea of atmosphere around us, and then contrast it with the vacuum of space, we normally only think of breathing it. We don't think of the massive convective heat-and-humidity sink it also comprises.
The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
Of course at some point said colonies would get their independence, and presumably could offer some "freedom" for newcomers. Of course, acquiring independence has traditionally been a bloody mess, and as often as not has lead to a very unfree dictatorship...
Once independent, the new colonies would be kindly requested to sign trade treaties etc, and as a condition to doing so, promise protection for intellectual property etc. Until and unless they'd be totally self-sufficient, the colonies would have to agree to limit music downloads and software piracy and everything else the earthlings demand...
All in all, going to space will happen, it will be exciting, dangerous, and rewarding, but it will not provide much "freedom" in any way. That's my prediction.
In Murphy We Turst
Yes, without even thinking I would say yes. I am a science fiction junkie, what I cannot do in actuality I do in imagination. I explore the stars through fiction at least two hours a day, every day.
... then I go and read science fiction.
When most people look at the night sky, seeing the wonders of the universe layed out before them, they see many different things, signs from above, pictures etc.
When I look at the night sky, I see a billion suns that I will never visit (except in fiction), a hundred billion planets that I will never see, or walk upon. Looking up into the night sky makes me depressed that I was born in an age without interstellar travel
History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it - Sir Winston Churchill
...with terminal illnesses would see it as tremendous increase as well.
You guys are nuts. Think about this:
HIGH LATENCY TO QUAKE 3 SERVERS.
Even at 50/50 odds the chance to step a little closer to the stars appeals to me in profound ways. I don't know off the top of my head but what were the odds of surviving a trip to the pacific in a covered wagon? What were the odds for a British naval conscript to grow old? There have always been daredevils carrying the human race a few steps further away from the Tigris River. Had I been born 15000 years ago I would have been one of them.
I've hit Karma 50 and gotten a Score:5, Troll... I win!
If I were single the answer would absolutely be "Hell yeah!".
;)
Since I'm married with a daughter and a son on the way, I'd have to say no - unless I could persuade them to come with me.
I'd love to emigrate to Mars. If the option becomes available within my lifetime, I *know* I'll try to persuade them. My wife won't go for it, but who knows how my kids will feel when they grow up... maybe they can persuade Mommy
How do u know what the chances are of surviving? The question is just plain silly. Actually it reminds me of that lame series Codename Nikita, where everybody runs around looking very grave and doomlike and saying nillywit things like "the mission has a 5% chance of succes" or "if succesprognosis falls to 20% switch to extractionplan B". I mean come on. u cant go around tossing figures and numbers like that! Give the poster a job at the RIAA ("Piracy is costing us 222222222222 billion... umm oh make the 333333768 billion million $ a year"), or some othe lame organisation, where he can put his math skill to the test.
Ok, here a though one in the same alley. If u could fuck Kylie Minouge and only have a 5 % chance of gettin away with it with out ur wifey discovering it, would u do it? Ok, even with at 90% chance og getting gonnorea? Umm, ok, what if like she brougt her sister along. Hows that for toppling the odds...!
Twat.
When we are discussing this, remember that the same discussions were held nearly 500 years ago. Replace the word "space" with "the new world" or "the wild west". There is probably an added element of danger with it being space and all. It probably evens out with the pioneer days, animals, weather, etc.
I hate sigs.
FIrst off, I kinda like it here.
Secondly, and more importantly, here on Earth I have a family, the ability to enjoy the outdoors unencumbered by a survival suit, weather, seasons, and all the nice things that accompany a home. The only things I have here that I don't like are bills. But when you pay them, they seem to go away for a few weeks (go figure).
Giving that up to live in space, likely performing drudge work for whoever financed the trip is not my lifestyle of choice.
However, given favorable odds of survival and assuming I could either afford the trip or do the same drudgework to earn my keep, I would absolutely sign on for a short period of a month or less. To go to space is one of the few great experiences left I could imagine wanting to do. I'd just only like to do it if I can come back.
-- Josh Turiel
"2. Do not eat iPod Shuffle."
Right now as I type, and then as you read, we are traveling through space...
Just remember that you're standing on a planet that's evolving
And revolving at nine hundred miles an hour,
That's orbiting at nineteen miles a second, so it's reckoned,
A sun that is the source of all our power.
The sun and you and me and all the stars that we can see
Are moving at a million miles a day
In an outer spiral arm, at forty thousand miles an hour,
Of the galaxy we call the 'Milky Way'.
Our galaxy itself contains a hundred billion stars.
It's a hundred thousand light years side to side.
It bulges in the middle, sixteen thousand light years thick,
But out by us, it's just three thousand light years wide.
We're thirty thousand light years from galactic central point.
We go 'round every two hundred million years,
And our galaxy is only one of millions of billions
In this amazing and expanding universe.
The universe itself keeps on expanding and expanding
In all of the directions it can whizz
As fast as it can go, at the speed of light, you know,
Twelve million miles a minute, and that's the fastest speed there is.
So remember, when you're feeling very small and insecure,
How amazingly unlikely is your birth,
And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space,
'Cause there's bugger all down here on Earth.
-Eric Idle
The keep making comments like "what planet are you from" and "Geesh, Bob sure is spaced out today" and "if you don't stop that annoying humming, I'm going to fscking hit you so hard your next home will be the space station" and "Ok, that's it, Smith...I'm going up to H.R. and send you to the moon on a rocket"
Or am I missing something?
TDz.
Yes, in a heartbeat.
Don't take life too seriously; it isn't permanent.
An 80% chance to live 5 years may sound bad, but for me it's a reasonable trade-off. As a writer, experience is inspiration. Even if it was dangerous (micrometeor collision, radiation, not to mention catastrophic system failures), I would be happy to live in space whether on an orbital platform or on a small colony somewhere. There are three things I must have, however: 1) Other people. I can't live without some human contact. 2) Privacy. Too much human contact can drive anyone crazy. 3) An Internet connection to Earth. How could I live without checking Slashdot every day?
The drugs and hookers would have to be _really_ good. But forgetting to put your helmet on during decompression can be a mind-blowing bummer.
This overlooked movie has always been my standard to judge all movies about what "fun" it would be to work in the greater solar system.
After reading Kim Stanly Robinson's Red Mars I thought about this a lot. I considered whether or not I'd go to Mars if I had the chance, assuming it meant it was a one-way trip, with a high likelyhood that I would die on Mars, on account of the radiation. Not sure why I had this stuck in my head, there are ways to shield the radiation. But I think I'd do it, though not at this point in my life... I'd have to be older.
:)
:)
With an 80% chance of survival... I think I'd do it now, as long as my S.O. could go with me, and I think she would. As for 50%... well, let's just say that I'd wait a little while longer until the odds got better.
If you've not read Red Mars, as well as the rest of the series (Green Mars, Blue Mars) I highly reccomend it. KSR is on comissions at NASA and elsewhere for Mars colonization. He certainly knows what he's talking about. The really great thing about Red Mars is that it is very, very realistic- there isn't a lot that we couldn't do now with the right resources. When you read a book that is *so* close to what we could achieve now, it really makes you think, and makes you wish you could be one of the First Hundren.
Working toward a usable PDA environment in the spirit of Newton OS: Dynapad
The psycological issues of living in confined quarters in space are similar to those in prison or a submarine. Living in a very small space, with the same people for prolonged periods of time is not very nice, and it is what is considered as "removing the freedom" of a convict.
"There is no teacher but the enemy."-Mazer Rackham
Actually life in space could be quite pleasant. Low crime, pleasant real-estate, incredible view. Now that we have sucessfully been able to grow plants in space, I figure its only a matter of time before we manage to get animals to reproduce. Waste management would be efficient, incinerate all the trash in a controlled enviroment, then vent the smoke, gases into space. My only qualm would be if the odds for survival were below 40%...
in all sincerity, I expressed the following..
should the opportunity arise where I could go into space, even on a one-way trip (generation ship, suicide mission, whatever) and she could not go, (denied for whatever reason) I wouldn't go, but if she had the same opportunity, and declined to go,(doesn't want to leave the kids, doesn't want to leave the planet,) I'd go without her. she looked at me, said "ok" and immediately started laughing.
I meant it, most truly, and remind her about it occasionally..
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
According to myth, the fates appeared to Achilles and offered him a choice between a short but interesting life, or a long but unremarkable life. He chose the life where people would remember him after he was gone.
I'd have to take the chance if it was offered. How many people have had the chance to fly in space? Even with all of its risks, I'd have to try.
It's good to use your head, but not as a battering ram.
Ask Slashdot: Would You Move to Space?
What if we all said "please"? Would you do it if everybody signed a petition asking you to?
You're looking at life from a single-human point of view, which is quite flawed IMO. The length of a single human's life is irrelevant. It's the collective life of societies that matter, and the preservation of knowledge. I.e., it's important to document and share so when one dies others can pick up the work and continue, whether that work is cutting-edge research or maintaining a farm.
Big parts of our lives have been going on for about 2500 years, more or less, with some parts going back even futher. And our lives will continue for some time to come, even if individuals die young, old, or whenever.
So to me, it doesn't matter whether I have a 50% chance of survival or 80%. The important thing is to document and share the knowledge so that life can go on. This is also how the current societies living in the American continents were created, immigrants traveled there regardless of their chance of individual survival, and they concentrated on developing the society for generations to come, and not just for their own lifespan. (Note that the destructions of existing societies in those continents is a different subject altogether).
-hadohk
I'd do it. In a heartbeat. An 80% chance of living is pretty decent, especially if I would be seeing things no other human being alive (or ever) has seen before.
I've always had an interest in spaceflight, and in studying asteroids. I'd gladly give up a lot of things for the chance to fly up into space and live there, study there, put myself into the history books, etc.
Risk is always present. I might get run over by a truck tomorrow, or perhaps some Muslim bozo SOB will drop a nuke on Chicago and I'll die. But it's a calculated risk. 80% chance of living is a nice tradeoff against being able to see what nobody has ever seen before, has studied before.
I doubt, even if the crew of the Columbia knew they were going to die before they boarded that craft, that they would have refused to go. Spaceflight is a damn risky business. But who cares? Certainly the Wrights didn't. Certainly Chuck Yeager in his X-1 didn't. Certainly the guy who piloted the SpaceShipOne didn't.
I really can't understand the people who say spaceflight is risky and so we shouldn't do it. Everything entails risks. I'm sorry. But that's the way life is.
I remember a quote by somebody, I'll mangle it, but paraphrasing, it's, "The adventurous might not live long, certainly, but the scared do not live at all."
Definitely how I feel, and, if I may take liberties, probably how many geeks feel.
If you answered yes, then you probably have an antisocial disorder or are severely depressed. There is medication that can treat your chemical imbalance/disease. Get help. Now.
Yes but what if there were little green men who suicide bomb your shuttles and then shout 'Earthmen Go Home!' while dragging the bodies of your fellow species members behind their saucers and cutting the heads off any who let themselves be taken alive?
If the conditions are monotonous and potentially dangerous, and probably no chance of ever returning to earth, it might be worthwhile considering a prisoners-to-space program. It costs no small amount of money to keep people locked up for life down here anyway, and who else are you going to find to go?
"Anybody can change the world, but most people probably shouldn't." -- Marge Simpson
It seems to me that a big issue is having banks in space for space colonists to save up all of their mining money (tax-free, hard currency based on gold and other commodities). With this comes the concept of exchange rates with earth-based currencies, the ability to guage lifestyle in space against lifestyle on earth, being able to buy earth-based commodities and finished goods and have them sent up, etc.
The fact of the Earth gravity well dictates that there will not be all that much exchange between earth and any eventual colonies (at least not for a long time), since moving people and stuff between will remain prohibitively costly. In other words, the colonies will be independent in some important sense. Or rather, they would have to be, in order to be viable long-term ventures, hence the need for banks and such based (legally, at least) in space, and international agreements (or just between the USA and other space-faring nations) about the sovereignty issues of space colonies.
The prospect of total economic and political freedom, if laid out in detail beforehand, could provide a big incentive for people to want to move to space. The whole gravity well issue makes space wars over sovereignty kind of unlikely (it would be hard for earth to send up troops to enforce claims, etc.), but if it is not clarified, then it could still be a problem for individuals, if not for the space society as a whole. Especially individuals who continued to travel between earth and space semi-regularly, who, while they would ultimately be a minority, would still be a vital factor in the growth of space colonization.
"Anybody can change the world, but most people probably shouldn't." -- Marge Simpson
For me, the answer all boils down to the gravity at the destination. If you're talking about moving to Mars or the Moon, forget it: going somwhere where gravity is a third or a tenth of Earth's is pretty much a one-way trip since it would be very difficult to return to Earth's gravity after a few years away. For subsequent generations it would be even worse, since they'd be born and raised in low gravity. Going back to Earth would be a death sentence.
If you never intend to return to Earth this isn't an issue, but to me it seems to be a concept killer. I really don't understand why people gloss over this when they talk about colonizing the soloar system.
Now oribtal space colonies... that's different. I would love to move to such a place if I could get 1 g artificial gravity. At this point of my life I'd be willing to take the risk and try to survive there if I had the choice: to me it seems to be the future of space colonization, and I'd like to be a pioneer there. Alas, that's a choice I don't have.
"Why can't everyone just be straight with me?"
"Because we live in a bendy world, dear."
It'd be nice to live free for once.
Ever played the Playstation 2 games, Red Faction (1 and 2)? The possibilities of asteroid mining... a corrupt group of people dominating the mining on an asteroid... far away from all of those committees and investigation agents. Total freedom for corruption-- and profit.
However, I think I'd still give it all to head to space... the until dream. I mean, come on, how many of us have read those books, watched those movies and dreamed of seeing that, being there, doing that...
SpaceShipTWO here I come...
Xhentil Do'ana
I have read many posts where the author compares moving into space or another planet to that of the colonial period in North America. However, I think there is one key difference between that time in history and the possibilty of the current topic and that is oppurtunity. Many early settlers moved to the Americas looking for prosperity, some found it and others perished. Also, others moved looking for religious or other types of freedom. However, they knew that upon arrival they would find a lush land capable of supporting them. There is no such lush land on Mars or any of the planets close to us. Which brings about the question: what oppurtunity is awaiting these people? The only one I can think of is fame, which still seems remote to me. How many colonists from America can you name? Probably only a handful and certainly not Mr. John Doe who died from starvation. My point is, I don't think many people would be compelled to leave Earth permanantly. Certainly, the only way I would leave is if I knew that I could return in a reasonable amount of time. I'm not really in that much of a hurry to fly out to a giant red desert not meant to support human life.
SIGFAULT
Those who sacrifice security to condemn liberty deserve to repeat history or something. - Benjamin Santayana
A lush land capable of supporting lifestyles they expected?
Many colonies in America had some absolutely huge disasters. Buena Vista (now Los Angeles) was a small Spanish colonial settlement that died off completely due to a lack of water. The settlers litterally died of starvation. Similar problems happened in Jamestown for the original settlement of Virginia, where the entire settlement of over 100 people completely disappeared. There are some suggestions that the settlers "went native", and adopted the culture of the Native Americans that lived nearby for survival reasons, including marrying into those tribes, but for the purposes of England it was a complete disaster. I could give a dozen or so similar stories about early settlement of the area where I live right now, including mortality rates as high as 50% in one year due to just environmental causes.
The point I'm making is that we know far more about how to live comfortably on Mars or the Moon in a permanent settlement than my great-grandfather did of the area he was going to when he hitched up his constaga wagon and headed over the Rocky Mountains. Unless we start seeing Science Fiction authors becoming incredibly accurate with stories of intelligent alien cultures spread throughout the solar system, we don't even need to worry about "native" peoples to interefere with. This would make settlement of Mars a genuine settlement of totally virgin real estate.
How many early colonists can I name? While not many, I can name my ancestors and on at least 10 different ancestral lines I can tell you who was an immigrant to America and when they arrived. Many of my ancestors where in America before the Revolutionary War (some even fought in that war). The reason you can't name them is because there were so many that except for a few like John Smith and Gov. Radcliff, there is no reason to memorize that many names. It was litterally millions of people who moved to America, often complete familes, and they were very ordinary people, not specialized training or people with titles (like a PhD or Esq. (more common in the 17th & 18th centuries))
Political/Religious reasons to leave Earth? I would like to move somewhere that a nuclear warhead could take more than 1 hour before detonation, simply because of the distance involved. A nuke on the Moon would have almost no impact on Lunar residents simply because they would already be pretty well dug-in and used to dealing with radiation issues anyway. You like MAD as a governmental policy where you are living right now?
I have also (recently) had some run-ins with the Police (I was never arrested, but it did cause a bunch of heartburn dealing with them), and at this point both my wife and I are willing to get the heck out of where I'm living and go anywhere else. The problem is just where do we move to? If the opportunity were available for us to homestead Mars, I would frankly grab it not because of some starry-eyed science fiction dream (which is partially true for me), but because I hate the political persecution that is occuring to me right now while living in America. It is exactly for this sort of BS that my ancestors left Europe. I would leave because I would like to have the freedom to do what I want and not have my neighbors keep putting their noses into my affairs. If I didn't like my neighbors, I could pack my bags and move on to the next place over the next hill (or piece of rock) and get set up without anybody telling me what to do. That freedom is gone from America, and there is no where else in the world that takes the place of that attitude.
I was mainly talking about Hurricanes and other storms, sea swells, and other weather/atmospheric problems that happen when you are out at sea. Most intelligent sea captains will steer their ships well out of harm's way and try to avoid the really nasty storms. If you are floating in one spot (like a giant city at sea), it is much harder to move to get away from those environmental issues. When 40' waves start to pound on you, how do you deal with them? A small craft simply rides out the storm, and a large boat simply ignores the waves. Of course you havn't see anything until you've seen a Nimitz-class Aircraft carrier get tossed around as if it were a child's toy. I don't even know how the pilots land on the ship in such weather, but I know it happens and have seen video footage of it happening. Raw skill and luck is my guess.
One other issue that you've neglected is dealing with resources. Water in particular, fresh clean drinking water and stuff needed to run a city in general, is going to be quite scarce although that can be taken care of with a desalinization plant. Food can be grown out in the middle of the ocean, including most of what you would like to eat. Growing space would have to be cultivated with an intensity that would rival Japanese farmers, simply because "real estate" is going to be a very precious commodity when at sea. Sure, there is plenty of acerage available for expansion, but to do that expansion is going to be very expensive, and will require materials that can't be made in that floating city immediately. A city of this nature could in theory become totally self-sufficient, but growing trees that would be strong enough for "expanding" the "raft" would still take quite a long period of time to grow.
I would grant that the level of technology necessary to maintain such a floating city is not nearly as great as maintaining a city in space. That said, there is a good reason this isn't happening, and perhaps we should try to see what other issues are involved in preventing such a floating city from actually happening.
I would do it in a heartbeat if I had the opportunity to return to Earth one day. For the chance to spend 5 years in outer space, encountering environments that no human has encountered before. Sign me up! Although I'd prefer to have a girlfriend/wife along for the trip because five years with no action might be too much for me.
Remember Shackleton's voyage into Antarctica? His periodical advertisement mentioned low pay, bad food, low chance of survival. Hundreds of people applied for the positions, and no man died. Many humans have an innate desire for exploration, and essentially all terrestrial exploration has been completed (the oceans leave lots of room, but I'd rather go into space myself!)