Since 1960's our rockets aren't getting any better. What we're getting much better at is miniaturization. I propose that we use our strengths and forget about our weaknesses.
It takes 4.5 ×10^17 J to accelerate a 1000 kg spaceship to 10% of the speed of light. However, it takes only 4.5 x 10^8 J to accelerate a 0.001 kg to the same speed. Is 0.001 kg enough? Yes it sure is. If we keep progressing at our trajectory in science, we will soon be able to implement the following plan:
Create nanobots that can build nano-factories. Those nano-factories produce micro-bots that build micro- factories. The micro-factories produce factories that produce robots. The robots produce big factories that produce big stuff including the first robot mom. The robot mom has a robot a "test tube womb" where it will grow the human babies. 5 colonists each year. Spread 1 years apart. In 20 years there will be 100 colonists ready to be human parents and reproduce on their own and/or with help of the robo-moms
Can a robot be a good mom?
- Once we've gone down the road of miniaturization and perfected AI it sure can. It can shoot the predators likely to inhabit our new-Earth wishing to snack on our pink- meatbag pioneers
- It can teach them to be good humans
- It can teach them about their roots from old-earth (or if they are sent there by evil dictator, teach them false propaganda).
- It can cuddle them. The robot mom would be made out of the softest cuddliest material.
- It can read them books at night, change their diapers and scold them (hopefully not with it's laser) when they misbehave.
- Most importantly it can teach them that they are more than their mother. That their real mothers and fathers are far away on old-earth and that they have something special called consciousness and emotions.-- ixnaum, Apr 17 2014 Circular Spaceship Accelerator Circular_20Spaceship_20AcceleratorThis could be the propulsion mechanism [ixnaum, Apr 17 2014] 'My Girlfriend's A Robot' by The Hanson Brothers https://www.youtube...watch?v=8nBmeiCD16o [DrBob, Apr 25 2014] We are already nanobot constructs.-- normzone, Apr 17 2014 //We are already nanobot constructs
I'd agree with you if we could find evidence of ancient nano technology that pre-dates DNA etc. Also, I'd agree with you if humanity sprang to life from nothing to full glory in 20 years. The anthropological evidence indicates otherwise. If someone did this to us, why would they want to wait millions and millons years for evolution? Why not take the 20 year shortcut and be done with it? Or fine, maybe there is good reason to slow it down a bit (maybe to avoid the cultural problem with robo-moms) but even if they started with mammals and let the rest evolve, that would still leave millions of years worth of waiting for humans to evolve - and thousands of years waiting for humans to catch up technologically. Would they be that patient? We're impatient, I'd think our creators would be the same.-- ixnaum, Apr 17 2014 Project management practices differ depending upon the end goal, resources available, and the team hired to do the job.-- normzone, Apr 17 2014 The last lesson would be difficult to prevent from perpetuating, until we created at last a race of spoiled uberFrenchmen.-- RayfordSteele, Apr 17 2014 [+] More immediately viable then sending 75 kg meatbags off into interstellar space.
//We are already nanobot constructs.//
Perhaps. Or perhaps were are the spaceships of microbe civilizations.-- the porpoise, Apr 17 2014 So, periodic flu and cold events are the vacation season for bacteria when all the mass transportation systems get overloaded and it's difficult to get a room.-- normzone, Apr 17 2014 "Luke, I am your mother."~Darth Mater~-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Apr 17 2014 " Project management practices differ depending upon the end goal, resources available, and the team hired to do the job. "
I'm sticking with my original position. Once you rack up sufficient manufacturing experience from the Quality Anthropology point of view, you begin to see that "Intelligent Design" is just another 7.XXXX ISO 9001 variant of inadaquately managed wantrepeneurship.-- normzone, Apr 18 2014 //they have something special called consciousness and emotions//
//if they are sent there by evil dictator, teach them false propaganda//-- pocmloc, Apr 18 2014 It would, surely, be much simpler just to send bacteria, and give evolution a bit of time to work after they arrive.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Apr 18 2014 //send bacteria
Will you want to wait millions of years to determine success or failure?
with my approach, we will send the probe and within 50 to 200 years we get back a signal with a human face saying "Hello Earth". If we don't, we know we have to send a new batch with improved nanotechnology.-- ixnaum, Apr 18 2014 This is the commonly published idea of "send fetuses and let robots train them" with "just add nanotechnology" attached. Unoriginal [-]-- Voice, Apr 18 2014 Even more unoriginal, because "just send nanobots and have them build us" has also been published a few times.-- Hive_Mind, Apr 20 2014 Terrible echo in here <memo to Jutta (more soft furnishings please)>-- not_morrison_rm, Apr 20 2014 random, halfbakery