Where will space exploration take us in the next 50 years? | BBC Ideas — Transcript

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1. 0:00We can't predict the future.
2. 0:01And when it comes to imagining the future of space exploration,
3. 0:05it's easy for things to get a little, well, sci-fi.
4. 0:09But what if they're not?
5. 0:11Here are four things that could actually happen in our lifetimes.
6. 0:17For decades, science fiction writers have imagined a future
7. 0:20where space elevators transport us almost effortlessly into orbit.
8. 0:25Scientists now believe that this could, in theory, become reality,
9. 0:29using new materials like graphene, thought to be
10. 0:32the strongest of all known materials.
11. 0:35Picture this - a docking station somewhere on Earth
12. 0:39with an ultra-strong and super lightweight tether cable,
13. 0:42which would crawl up like a lift into orbit.
14. 0:46Space elevators could also transport things between planets and moons.
15. 0:51That could be useful, for example, on Mars,
16. 0:53which has a very thin atmosphere,
17. 0:55making it really hard to land a spacecraft.
18. 0:57A quick space elevator trip between Mars' moon Phobos
19. 1:00and the Martian surface could make things much easier.
20. 1:04Space tourism could become a very real thing.
21. 1:07You'd take a space elevator to the orbit
22. 1:10and then take another mode of transport to your destination.
23. 1:13Day trip to the Moon, anyone?
24. 1:16The planets, moons, and asteroids in our solar system
25. 1:19are packed with rare materials such as nickel, iron, and cobalt,
26. 1:25which are used for batteries, electronics,
27. 1:27and many low-carbon technologies.
28. 1:30The most valuable asteroid in the solar system is 511 Davida,
29. 1:34whose value is estimated at $27 quintillion.
30. 1:39That's 27 and 18 zeros.
31. 1:43Meanwhile, other objects in the asteroid belt are full of diamonds.
32. 1:47We could potentially reduce damage to the Earth's ecosystem
33. 1:51by shifting the mining of many resources to space.
34. 1:54Some companies and governments are already interested
35. 1:57in exploring this, but is it theirs to exploit?
36. 2:01In the near future, space mining is more likely to be used
37. 2:05to make human populations in space self-sufficient,
38. 2:09supplying fuels and materials to space stations and settlements
39. 2:13on the Moon and Mars.
40. 2:15Much easier than taking it with us from Earth!
41. 2:18In the next 50 years, it's very possible
42. 2:21that the surface of the Moon will be dominated by
43. 2:24industrial-scale mining and giant structures
44. 2:28that we've built from the materials we've mined.
45. 2:31In 50 years' time,
46. 2:32there may well be permanent settlements on Mars,
47. 2:36but life for those early explorers will be tough.
48. 2:39There's no breathable atmosphere,
49. 2:41relentless dust storms and extreme temperatures.
50. 2:44These pioneers will face lots of challenges
51. 2:47to grow and sustain a human presence on Mars.
52. 2:52For example, how to grow food.
53. 2:55Martian soil is full of chemicals toxic to humans,
54. 2:59meaning that any food grown there would be lethal.
55. 3:03Humans living on Mars may need all sorts of gadgets and gizmos
56. 3:08to help them cope in that environment,
57. 3:10such as robotic exoskeletons to counteract muscle wastage
58. 3:14and loss in bone density.
59. 3:17Satellites orbiting the Earth tell us the weather,
60. 3:20provide GPS navigation and climate modelling,
61. 3:24and since 2019, the number of satellites orbiting Earth
62. 3:27has increased from approximately 2,000
63. 3:30to more than 10,000.
64. 3:33Every time a satellite collides with a piece of space junk,
65. 3:36it increases the chance of future collisions.
66. 3:39This could set off a chain reaction known as Kessler syndrome,
67. 3:44where the Earth is surrounded by so much space junk
68. 3:48that launching anything into space becomes risky.
69. 3:52But there's huge potential too.
70. 3:55Some chemical reactions happen differently in space.
71. 3:593D printing in microgravity works really well, for example -
72. 4:04much better than on Earth,
73. 4:06making it possible to create replacement organs in space.
74. 4:12Global electricity demand has skyrocketed
75. 4:15due to advances in AI.
76. 4:17Google's greenhouse gas emissions alone have risen 48% in five years.
77. 4:22In the future, power-hungry data centres could be located in orbit,
78. 4:27fed by the plentiful renewable energy from giant solar panels,
79. 4:32and manufacturing in space could become a thing.
80. 4:36Who knows, maybe the label on your next prescription
81. 4:40or a T-shirt might one day say: "Made in Space".