Spacecraft to carry 2,400 people on a one-way trip to the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri

[quote]where it could shuttle them to the surface of the planet Proxima Centuri b — an Earth-size exoplanet that is thought to be potentially habitable.

The plan is to scan that planet first thing in 2029 when the ELT comes online, so maybe wait until then before you buy yourself a ticket.

Also, a machine that's supposed to run continuously for 400 years? And a stable government to shepherd people through four centuries of isolation? Good luck with that.

Are we sure this isn't an expensive Door Dash delivery?

This will end in (space) tears.

They gonna space the homos? No use for them if they're not gonna breed.

None of this makes sense in the real world.

It’s the movie “Passengers”.

And also the plot of numerous Star Trek episodes.

Danger Will Robinson!

Cf. The Konstance section in Doerr's Cloud Cuckoo Land.

I"m already on a space ship, thank you. this one has climate controls and other accoutrements if we can keep them.

Maybe in 200-400 years when the technology is not so beta.

Aliens don't do this earth tech stuff. They use light, gravity, physics, wormholes, time things.

Carl Sagan envisioned this.

This winning plan also required that the inhabitants live in an isolated environment for 70+ years prior to departure to ensure that they get along and can function as a unit. So, no Americans obviously.

r12 So they're sending only old people and the Amish on this mission?

[bold]Space Ark Crashes on Pluto. All Lost. Democrat Fascist Communists Charged.[/bold]

R13 has no actual experience with old people and the Amish when it comes to getting along and functioning as a unit.

What a weird response. I was simply asking how you can send someone who's been sequestered for 70+ years. Obviously that rules out young people, unless you're sequestering whole families/generations.

Would I go? No. No I would not.

“Potentially habitable?” Not good enough. It would have to be a certified paradise to motivate people to endure that journey. Or Earth would have to be permanently toxic.

Can we volunteer people? I have a fucking list of cunts this planet would be better off without.

[quote]sequestering whole families/generations.

That's the point. And, I'd argue, not possible, at least for Americans and our rugged individualism ethos. The likely participants in this hypothetical journey would have to come from societies in which families from multiple generations live and work together harmoniously while observing or complying with an overall system of government that would require planning of nearly every detail. Can you imagine a single American willingly agreeing to give up their autonomy essentially in perpetuity? Yeah, I'm sure there's Americans out there that would be fine with mandatory birth control and scheduled pregnancies as determined by the governing authority who could, on the unexpected death, require a woman to get pregnant... or in the event of an unscheduled pregnancy, force an abortion.

It would be hilarious if this thing spent four centuries in space and, by that time, we'd invented a spacecraft that could do the trip in a month, which beats them there by a week.

I'm a strong supporter of space exploration. And while I think robots can do most of it, I do think it's important to humanity to send actual people from time to time. I'll cheer when he have the first person visit Mars. It's good for humanity's collective soul to have actual humans able to share feelings and thoughts about their experience.

But this idea is dumb. 400 years is a long time. Those in between generations may have their own ideas. And what the hell would they do when they got there? Establishing a permanent place to live on a planet that, even if it's in the habitable zone in terms of location to its star, will have an atmosphere that our lungs and bodies aren't used to, and land that is a different composition than ours, is much more challenging than just a short visit.

Great idea for a movie or TV show, r21.

But why just a week? Even better they arrive to find an established society

“To compensate you for the unfortunate multigenerational hardships you are your ancestors endured, here’s a coupon for 20% off at the Bed Bath and Beyond located on East Base 27.”

There would be war, as the two cultures would have nothing in common.

Are they going to sequester infants?

This is the stupidest idea I've read today.

I assume it will never happen r25. They won some contest for some ship design competition. But if it ever does start, I assume it will end sometime during the 70-80 years that you are expected to live in an isolated community in Antarctica, to test your psychological fitness. And I think we all know if you are basically joining a cult that tells you to live in Antarctica for the rest of your life, you are already certifiably nuts. So there's that. Jesus, at least put your damn cult in Guyana or somewhere warm and paradise-y.

[quote] Are we sure this isn't an expensive Door Dash delivery?

What is it?

[quote] It would be hilarious if this thing spent four centuries in space and, by that time, we'd invented a spacecraft that could do the trip in a month, which beats them there by a week.

Been there, done that.

If that fucking asshole donald trump isn't there and everyone agrees not to ever mention him, I'm onboard.

It's not going to work. Cosmic radiation will likely kill everyone on board within a year or so.

It's called a generation ship, and it's been explored in science fiction. Life onboard would be tightly managed - food and water consumption, physical space, and most critically of all, genetic reproduction. With such a small population, insemination would have to occur as a managed process, in a laboratory. Otherwise, the small gene pool would quickly dry up and everyone would be accidentally inbreeding. The ship would also need to carry THOUSANDS of frozen fertilized embryos for future gestation, to ensure continued genetic diversity on Alpha Centauri. To say nothing of the foodstuffs needed for a 400-year journey at sublight speeds. What are people supposed to eat in space?

And if they make it there, and the planet is habitable, that doesn't mean it will be hospitable to human life. The atmosphere may have trace gases that are slowly toxic to humans. The insect life might be fatal to us. Or, equally likely, we could introduce something to collapse the planet's ecosystem. Look at how dangerous it's been for humans to enter new biomes and continents just on our one planet.

Finally, what's the purpose of this colony? Any communication between them and Earth would take 4+ years one-way. Any minerals extracted there would take centuries to return to Earth for processing. It holds no resource or strategic value to us, and it's not positioned anyplace interesting. Why go there, and not to a dome on Mars?

This is not actually a plan. It’s just a concept. Not only is it “not going to work.” It will never be attempted.

“Why Trans and African Americans MUST Be Given Majority Preference On The Upcoming Chrysalis Mission to Alpha Centauri”

I call shotgun!

Yay! Let’s destroy yet another planet!

What a dump!

[quote] Can we volunteer people? I have a fucking list of cunts this planet would be better off without.

It's not those people it's their descendants. We cannot send anyone with known mental defects -- no sociopaths, no psychopaths, no schizophrenics, no BPD, no narcissists and no bipolar. So that means only about 10% of Americans would qualify. Then they have to have genetic testing to ensure they wouldn't pass along physiological defects. That would leave almost no one.

[quote] What is it?

Dinner

I say we rename the project Golgafrinchan Ark Fleet Ship B, and load it with all of Congress and the political leaders of America. Let the establish their dream world. Arks A and C will be following them shortly, with the rest of us aboard...

I read a book about something like this a couple of years ago. They were a couple of generations in, there was a technical issue yadda yadda…they were in some remote area and never left earth. It was actually well written and a surprise ending…

I know it’s a popular sci-fi trope, but generation ships won’t work until humans evolve beyond using the threat of violence. This is primarily because conservatives are by definition terrified of sex and of other people having it, even other heteros. So they will always use violence to increasingly control sex anywhere they are. Plus all conservative capitalists (and a majority of narcissist extroverts) eventually become violent when they can’t force introverts or respectful people into exploitative situations. It’s in their predatory nature to hurt those they see as weaker. They can’t just be peaceful and pleasurable toward others and they certainly can’t follow rules about fairness or division of labor.

They will slowly sneak their hierarchical ideas onto any “peaceful” thing, including a generation ship. “This subgroup needs more hardship than us because Jesus!” It won’t be pretty and it 100% won’t work if we’re still slaughtering each other over imaginary gods or sex down here. I don’t even see it getting off the ground if capitalists are still worshiping the orange god of austerity by that point. Why would they ever truly invest in anything anymore? Will higher education even exist after Trump shakes down all the colleges and forces MAGA courses?

In philosophy, there is a whole rabbit hole concerning the rights of future people and what role their lives should play in our considerations. This borders on topics like termination of pregnancies but also on topics like if we're allowed to ruin our planet. Imagine being born in a place like that where your options are zero and you life including sex life and whether or not you can have children yourself is regulated with a strictness like on a military base or in a sect. A nightmare.

All to reach a place that has no architecture, no art, no culture, just the Earthling weirdos you've spent the past 400 years with?

Fuck no. My will to keep myself and the human species alive against extreme adversity is perhaps not optimum for this mission.

Hoping the oligarchs gather up their crypto and climb aboard and leave us peasants to our fate on the big blue marble.

This will not happen in this century, so don't think you, your children, your children's children, or your children's children's children are going to ever be able to get on this thing and fly away never to be seen again.

This is pie in the sky 'til you die.

Gee, what could go wrong?

The plot of this movie involves such a spacecraft that is thrown off course and left adrift in space.

It doesn’t go well.

I don’t think artificial gravity is even a thing

They should call the project “Sure Jan”.

[quote]This is primarily because conservatives are by definition terrified of sex and of other people having it, even other heteros. So they will always use violence to increasingly control sex anywhere they are.

I don’t think this is right. Some Catholic intellectuals are squeamish about sex because they see it as debasing humanity, but most conservatives are anti-women, not anti-sex. That’s why they don’t mind putting rapists in charge and ban abortion and birth control. They see women as property of men and are hostile to the idea they have independent agency. When they say they want “family” to be the foundation of society what they really mean is one man in charge of his woman and children.

Sexuality outside of marriage and procreation is a threat to their conception of an ordered society with men in charge. Historically, men have needed to control women so that they can know which children are theirs. DNA testing has taken some of the pressure off of this last point, but it cuts both ways as now women can prove inconvenient paternity resulting in unwanted financial obligations.

Conservatives are not anti-sex for men. They just don’t want their “good’ women having any.

Let's convince Elon Musk to go on this ship!

I’ve got a list of at least two hundred I’d personally pay for to get on that ship.

Elon plans to got to Mars where he can be with his kind.

They've yet to find another planet that has a breathable atmosphere and plant life.

"This winning plan also required that the inhabitants live in an isolated environment for 70+ years prior to departure to ensure that they get along and can function as a unit. So, no Americans obviously."

Yes, yes, we ALL know how cooperative Europeans have been over the last, well, forever.

Can all 2400 be from Staten Island?

[quote]Imagine being born in a place like that where your options are zero and you life including sex life and whether or not you can have children yourself is regulated with a strictness like on a military base or in a sect. A nightmare.

That’s why we must breed several generations selecting for the most eusocial individuals to create a hive mind social structure. Eventually they will know no other meaningful existence beyond sustaining the hive.

Bah. You don't need to breed several generations. The first generation born aboard the ship will know nothing but the world they were born into. IF the parents have all bought into the rules for the trip, that will simply be "normal" and very few in subsequent generations will question it. Each person aboard will know they have a purpose in their life, a role to play in society. Their primary needs will be met, and there will be socially accepted/acceptable ways to have fun and seek personal fulfillment. As there would be no way to turn back or seek another place to go, the mission would move forward until it arrives at Alpha Centauri. If it is habitable, great. If not, then there will be an enormous existential crisis among the crew. Their options would be based on whether or not the ship was truly self-sustaining with water, air, food, and fuel. They could opt to spend generations coming back to Earth in hopes that it is still habitable, or they could have a second colony planet already chosen (though the odds of making that thousand-generation trip are infinitesimal).

The current thinking is that there is no point on starting on a space voyage unless it will take less than fifty years to get to your destination. Any longer than that and you're likely to find that a ship leaving after you will have so many scientific advances that it gets there before you do. With our current propulsion technology the only thing that would make sense is if we developed a suspended animation/cryosleep system so that those who set off will be the same people who arrive, no matter how long the voyage.

All the better for the 200 I’ve got planned, R55.

We will be piloting this starship!

Can we lure Trump on board with the promise of Big Macs and 13 year old girls?

[quote] Each person aboard will know they have a purpose in their life, a role to play in society.

But will they know they're on a ship? If so, won't they question why? I think it gets to my point about individualism and why Americans (and Europeans R56, or anyone who's lived under any form of freedom/democracy) won't qualify. This is a project for China,, honestly. They could spark a whole new space race!

If we do, the ship should be launched at the sun, R62.

Seems like a 36 mile long spacecraft would be able to take more than 2400 people, that would be a distance of 79 ft between people if you lined them all up in a single line and clearly there are multiple floors to the spacecraft.

R65 you dumb cunt. They are going to start procreating faster than end of life for elders.

Load it with MAGA

R65 is a dumb cunt, R66, but not for that. Massive amounts of the ship's space will be given over to food/water/fuel stores and supplies for the eventual arrival. Such a ship would have gardens and other areas, as well as public spaces and private quarters. All fertile adults would be on birth control until such time as they are selected to procreate. No random babies! In fact, gay sex would likely be encouraged for fun, with traditional hetero sex reserved for intentional pregnancies. The notions of marriage and family would, by necessity, be very different from Earth traditions. Stable pairs or small groups would be maintained for raising children, but monogamy would be discouraged in light of the need to maximize the limited gene pool.

“Space Ship To Carry 2,400 People To Their Death”