The Long-Range Program
The Director, who obviously has been under considerable excitement for several days, takes time to gulp down a container of protein drink spiked with a high concentration of water-soluble vitamins. After a few seconds he continues, “We should not let our space program be dominated by this single event. This is only the beginning, and we should think in long-range, overall terms. Let me review where we are today.”
“As you all know,” the Director says, “we first reached the moon around 1969, and within a decade several permanent stations were established there. The first permanent station was established on Mars in 1987. There are now over 10,000 people there. Venus took longer because of the 800 degree Fahrenheit surface temperature. We were able to utilize an enormous mountain that offered more comfortable temperatures. We have had an underground station on Venus since 2018. We will soon begin to cool the planet and oxygenate the atmosphere.
“Mercury presented us with interesting problems. It’s nearest the sun, and it is approximately 3,200 miles in diameter. We have a choice of a surface temperature of about 800 degrees on the part facing the sun or 400 degrees below zero on the part away from the sun. We’ve had an underground station there since 2026.
“It took us about a quarter-century after Mercury to work out the problems of Jupiter. We first landed on the largest moon, Ganymede. Temperature and radiation on the surface of Jupiter have not been as much of a problem as we expected, thanks to improvements in force-field technology. Jupiter has eleven times the diameter of earth and over a hundred times its area. The atmosphere is largely hydrogen and helium, and it is by far the stormiest of all the planets. Pressure was our biggest problem for no conventional space ship could withstand its crushing pressure that is approximated on our earth only at the bottom of our deepest oceans. Although this was one of the most hostile planets, we’ve had a colony of hardy scientists holed up on the South Pole of Jupiter for several decades, making valuable studies that have helped us in exploring the interior of the earth.
“Within ten days we expect to land on Titan, one of the moons of Saturn. Two years ago a manned space ship surveyed Uranus and its five moons. Our unmanned probes over the past century have given us vital information on both Neptune and Pluto. So much for the planets.”
A Self-Sustaining Explorer
“We must no longer think in terms of our solar system. We have a universe to explore. We should begin work on an inter-galactic spacecraft engineered to leave this earth and never return!”
At this point there are muffled gasps throughout the room as the immensity of the conception breaks upon the audience. The room becomes quiet again. The Director continues.
“This spacecraft will be a sphere about a half-mile in diameter. It will carry 1,000,000 years supply of nuclear energy, which will be replenished by absorbing radiant energy in space. The astronauts may get raw materials by ‘mining’ space for asteroids and comets. The replicator aboard will enable them to convert energy to matter and also to convert matter to energy, whichever is needed.
“The spacecraft will probably have about 1,500 people aboard when it leaves us. Perhaps they will replicate people when more are needed. They will have craft for exploring and landing on unknown planets in the great reaches of space. What sort of personnel are best equipped to man this expedition toward infinity? Should we send humans? Perhaps we should redesign humans for survival in outer space. Are humans hardy enough for the rigors of space? Should we send cyborgs—mechanical bodies with human brains? As you know, we have been successful in mechanically duplicating and improving every part of the human body, including the brain. Should we send mechanical men who have no fragile human parts? They would not be affected by radiation, below zero temperature, or lack of oxygen. They could accomplish hazardous jobs in space that would mean certain death to a human. They would have no food or elimination requirements. Energy for a century could be built in. These mechanisms would survive stress that would kill everyone else. They would be immortal; any part that might wear out could easily be replaced. Although mechanical men with these specifications are not available today, we expect to have them soon. Perhaps we should plan to use all three types on this expedition.
“This vanguard of our civilization will probably receive our signals for forty years. Because of the time lag we will probably hear from them for forty years after our signals have become too dim for them to pick up. Then these explorers will really be on their own—never again to communicate with us in any way. They may choose to branch out over the planets of the entire universe so that billions of years from now these children of earth will approach the outside of the universe—if it has an outside. There are probably over ten billion planets suitable for the birth and development of life as we know it. No matter what they do, people on earth will probably never know about it. Even if communication were possible, it would hardly be hot news by the time we received it.” There are several chuckles throughout the room.
“Although we will never know where they are or what they are doing, we can be sure that they and their offspring colonies will be very busy. The diameter of the galaxy of flaming suns in which our earth is located is 100,000 light years across. As you know, light traveling through space at the rate of 186,300 miles per second will travel about six trillion miles in a year. Alpha Centauri, the nearest star beyond our sun, is approximately 25 trillion miles away. It takes light about four and a quarter years to
