Beyond Earth (ATWG) - Chapter 32 - Planning the Oasis in Space by E. B. Kiker and R.S. Kirby
From The Space Library
Chapter 32
Planning the Oasis in Space
By Richard Kirby and Ed Kiker
Theory
A model is a theory, and it may be represented as a picture. When we create a model of a space oasis, we are creating a theory or hypothesis of what it may be like or should be like, at least in part.
It is said that the first model was created by Anaximander (c.610-546 BCE), who was "the author of the first surviving lines of Western philosophy. He speculated about "the Boundless' as the origin of all that is. He also worked in the fields we now call geography and biology. Moreover, Anaximander was the first speculative astronomer, originating the world-picture of the open universe, which replaced the closed universe of the celestial vault." (1)
When we build a model we are also engaging our will and our intelligence to create either a larger scale version (or smaller scale version) of the subject we are modeling. We may also be communicating our model as a theory of that which we are trying to understand. The first sense of model is technological, preparing to build a different scale version of the model. The second sense is scientific, our attempt to understand something such as the inner workings of the solar system or an atom. Aesthetics offers us another kind of model, a transcendent dimension that seeks the essence beauty. Aesthetics - sometimes called the general philosophy of art, or more precisely the general philosophy of the beautiful and the sublime - has also been called a search to reproduce from the Real, the Ideal. For example, the great painter J.M.W. Turner [1775 - 1851] shows an idealized version of a ship in a skyscape in his work "The Fighting Temeraire.'
But when we ask what we mean by "idealized,' we also introduce a different realm: the emotions. Impressionists depict how people feel or might feel about the meaning of something that they see, such as a rainbow, a landscape, or a bolt of lightening. Hence, many portrait painters do not attempt to create a "painted photograph," but rather to bring out the deeper, hidden meaning of their subjects.
Thus, a model builder may be a scientist seeking understanding, a technologist seeking the means to operate successfully upon the environment, or an artist looking to probe and discover the ideal beauty that is beneath the surface of the subject being modeled.
A fourth perspective is the spiritual dimension, where models integrate different viewpoints and address the realm of action or deeds. The moral contours of the human mind are, in a current idiom, "hard-wired' to admire what is done more readily than that which is merely described. Accordingly, the spiritual perspective on modeling oases in space seeks to integrate the scientific, the technological, the artistic, and the spiritual components of model building.
Experience shows that what is most personal is also what is most universal. The truth that is beauty, which is discovered by the poet, the artist, or the model builder, has the peculiar quality of being of more or less of universal appeal. The study of aesthetics leads not only to the statement of John Keats that "truth is beauty, beauty is truth this is all you know," but also to some ancillary truth, namely that truth, beauty, and love are all the same thing too.
When we create a model of a space oasis, we see that they need not be out in space itself: the time has come for us to create Earthly models of space oases. And if we ask ourselves what an Earthbound space oasis would be, we begin to ask, "What kind of Retreat Center would be suitable for Earth and space citizens?" Thus, the orbiting oasis should be modeled and lived in on Earth; we don't have to wait to escape terrestrial gravity in a literal sense.
What about the relationship between astronomical, or space, or cosmic culture, and spiritual civilization? What if then our subject suddenly becomes, under this gaze, a different one; and that is the question of turning all existing congregational temples into space oases.
Here we have the vision of a new norm for churches. Is it so strange to imagine, for example, that every steeple would sprout fins, and become a rocket? Is it too much to ask that we should have an orbiting satellite, at least in pictorial form, in every Narthex? Why not have an astronomical telescope in the courtyard of every church to signify that the church has healed the terrible rift between Galileo and the Church, between science and spirituality, thus giving us a new spiritual civilization for the Space Age.
Nicholas Eftimiades has proposed that space cities be formed from existing ones via the training of youngsters in a federation of galactic explorers. But the larger truth here is that the space perspective on the values and cultural norms concerning the city transform the whole theory of the city beyond just the question of how to educate the young. All these reflections follow from the simple question of modeling a space oasis.
Accordingly, the task before professionals in the field of space science - and even more so those in the field of space culture - is to ask the question, What will it mean to have as an oasis, the ideal recreational center for space citizens?
The question of the oasis is about far more than designing a place to replenish with water, fuel, or even palm trees. It has to do with touching and renewing the core of the soul's values through inspiration in the "natural" environment, by the activities, sacraments, liturgies or sacred rituals of love and communion, of community, and wealth creation, and beauty creation. We begin to inquire into the nature of the ideally balanced environment for work and play in the space age. Our inquiry then becomes a more general inquiry into the theory of the intelligent building, in the broad sense of social as well as spiritual intelligence.
What would be the experimental architectural theory best suited to the design of a space oasis? To this end, of course, we have to ask rather more foundational questions, such as What is a human being? For this purpose we would answer, simply, that a human being is one who lives in a community of love, among the ethos of a solar system, the galaxies, and the heavens.
Thus we begin to model our ideal space oasis, and we now move on to consider the physical and technical aspects of the fully realized oasis in space.
Practice
Oases in space are space stations, stepping-stone support communities from one space exploration region to another. We envision a Lunar Oasis, perhaps eventually several. There will be another on Mars, and several more in the Main Asteroid Belt. There will certainly be a Hohman Transfer Oasis in the Hohman transfer orbit crossing the orbits of Earth and Mars, where personnel in transit between Earth and Mars may live safely on the several-month journey.
Oases need not be only in outer space, but also under the oceans, in Antarctica, and other areas on Earth not served by existing infrastructure.
The essence of Oases is community. Each provides not only the necessary bare-bones consumables and communications tools for the explorers it serves, and provides the social support necessary for social and mental recreation. Humans are communal creatures - we require communal settings in order to function at our best, and so oases change space exploration from personal journeys into collective journeys. Oases in space are modeled on small towns: they include not only complete facilities for mission support, but all the amenities for rest, recreation, and permanent gracious living as well.
Oases are designed for large-scale expansion from Oasis to Town to City. They are designed to support families, and from these families come the space explorers, miners, settlers, artists, administrators, restaurant operators, barbers, store operators, plumbers, mechanics, teachers, children, farmers and gardeners, builders, writers, publishers, actors and all the many other occupations of a balanced community in a psychologically healthy environment.
From each Oasis, human-crewed and robotic ships reach out to explore the local region. Because of the constant danger of solar flares, meteorites, and high background radiation, many missions will be robotic, and humans will follow to places where human attributes and capabilities are needed.
Space provides a unique industrial environment with which we have little experience. It allows limitless energy from the sun, huge spaces, micro-gravity, and asteroids with massive amounts of metals, ices and minerals. We would do well to have orbital facilities where researchers can examine these attributes just to see what new things can be done. There will be surprises.
Rotating space stations can provide variable artificial gravity, from almost nil to many times Earth gravity. The space environment has the potential of tremendous wealth creation in intellectual property and industrial products.
Oases are as self-sufficient as possible. They obtain their material needs from in situ resources processed by hydrothermal and solar energy from orbital solar power satellites, or power beamed from the surface of the Moon or Mars, or from orbital nuclear stations in orbits that will not degrade and pose any hazard to the Earth. They recycle wastes, import as little as possible, and export as much as possible.
Medical facilities in space will allow researchers to work with very dangerous biotechnologies without any possibility of endangering the Earth. Microgravity stations will also allow burn victims to heal without touching their bedding.
The dangerous aspects of the space environment predicate that law enforcement personnel will control many aspects of behavior and possessions. Projectile weapons and explosives will not be allowed, as they endanger the integrity of a space station. Personal behaviors will be monitored to avoid dangers to the station.
Creative financing for very expensive aspects of space exploration will be developed, perhaps accommodating many transnational corporations and national governments in public-private enterprises. World-wide share-holding in single enterprises will become common. The principles of Oases can be studied on Earth in examples such as the Biosphere Project in Arizona, naval submarines and capital ships, and remote military bases and civil exploration and work camps. An excellent recent example is the chain of Pipeline Camps across Alaska supporting the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.
Another "enclosed city," already well-studied, is the Naval aircraft carrier, which may house 5000 personnel of both sexes. Modern aircraft carriers have nuclear power plants and are capable of operations at sea for several years. They not only have machine shops and fuel stores, weapons caches and aircraft, but also shopping stores, theaters, libraries, snack shops, post offices, glee clubs, choirs, barber shops, arts and crafts facilities, full-function gymnasiums, and all kinds of clubs for sports, games, private scientific interests, model building, bowling, and many more. They even carry selective absorbents to restrict and clean fuel spills, and processes seawater into fresh water for drinking and bathing requirements. Throughout a carrier cleanliness is a fetish.
An Oasis in orbital space would be much like an aircraft carrier, although it will have no seawater to process. Virtually all stores must be brought to it at great cost, so recycling and conservation will be of even greater importance.
On the Moon and Mars, however, more in situ resources are available. Minerals and ice can be mined and processed to provide water, hydrogen, oxygen, methane, helium, helium-three, carbon, carbon-dioxide, carbon monoxide, glass, iron, steel, fiberglass, carbon fullerenes, gems, building stone, sinter block and cinder block, concrete, and many other materials. Solar energy can be obtained either on the surface or beamed from orbital solar power satellites, and on the Moon helium-three will be available for fusion energy plants.
Most of the material requirements can thus be obtained locally on the Moon and Mars. However, whether on the Moon, Mars, or orbital space, more than just material requirements must be met to create a good psychological setting for the people living and working there. There must be room to move about, so that people don't feel buried and claustrophobic. There must be spaces that are open, wide and high, and flooded with natural sunlight perhaps brought in by light pipes from the surface. There must be growing green plants in abundance for freshening the air in a natural manner, providing natural variety in shape and color for visual stimulus, and providing the smells of Earth which we will surely miss if they are not present.
Even towns and cities that are not remote may organize themselves towards self-sufficiency along the Oasis concept lines, and may be awarded the title of Oasis if they meet certain criteria. We already see this trend in large cities, as local community centers coalesce around neighborhoods of a few thousand homes, with their own local supermarkets, theaters, shopping malls, bowling alleys, auto repair shops, warehouses, grade schools, community colleges and other local interest groups. The trend towards local community activity and identity is innate in humanity, and it happens naturally without central planning.
As in Earth-bound towns and cities, there must be the possibility to alter the environment from time to time.
Art must be readily available and commonplace throughout an Oasis. Statues, paintings and sculptures should be ubiquitous. There must be associations of artists, and plays and operas performed by local people. The more people can be brought into artistic endeavors, even if only as painters and prop-makers, the healthier the community will be.
There must be modern libraries with books and videos, and classrooms with teachers in many subjects. Many of these teachers will be workers during their workdays, teaching on their own time in whatever interests that may attract students. On-line learning must be available in practically every subject known.
There should be game arcades, swimming pools, parks with trees, bowling alleys, saloons, craft shops and craft shows, flea markets, and most all of the recreations normally found on Earth. There should be so much available for occupying one's spare time that no one would ever get to take advantage of it all.
In orbital space, on the Moon and on Mars the opportunity should be made as often as is practical and reasonably safe, depending upon meteorite and radiation hazards, to go out on the surface for a complete change of scenery and the opportunity to do some genuine exploring. No matter how large an underground facility can be made, they are still underground, and being outside under the sky and the stars will be psychologically necessary. Open panoramas of the outdoors should also be available from indoors, as underground facilities shielded by overhead cover should have large windows for viewing the Lunar and Martian landscapes. If this is not practical, then panoramas underground can simulate the surface with IMAX-style projections from video cameras on the surface.
We have also proposed to build a restaurant overlooking the Sea of Dreams on the Lunar surface. Individuals could purchase clear or colored lights, solar-powered, beaming up into the sky. Some could even be sent from the Earth and automatically landed and actuated before humans return to the Moon. Others could be purchased at the Lunar Sea of Dreams restaurant, or on Earth, and Lunar workers would emplace them. Each light would be dedicated to a dream, an inspiration, or a person such as a wife, husband, or child, or an inspirational person from history, or even to celebrate a concept such as love or passion. The Sea of Dreams would eventually be covered with thousands or even millions of white and colored lights, creating a vibrant display symbolizing our dreams, and realizing them at the same time.
Research Questions
- What are the best technologies to use in raising food and feeding balanced meals to all the personnel of a space Oasis colony instead of importing it?
- Will it be necessary to grow entire plants, or can just the edible parts of plants be grown in culture facilities? How much space will that require per person?
- Are there any substances that are biologically necessary for human health that can only be obtained from meat, fish or poultry, rather than from plants or synthesized at the Oasis?
- What volumes of gases are required per person per day for breathing, and what recycling technologies are available and at what efficiencies?
- What are the most efficient air cleaners available? What are their drawbacks? What molecules cannot be adequately removed from air with current technologies?
- What is the best governance system for different-sized Oases?
- How is law enforcement to operate?
- What is the optimum design for protection against solar flares, cosmic radiation, and meteorites at a deep-space Oasis?
- What thicknesses of rock, water, plastic or other materials will be required?
- For an Oasis on the Moon, how can materials for the construction and operation of mineral and gas mining machines be made from in-situ resources, involving creation of mining equipment, refining equipment, machine tools, and assembly tools? What is the bare minimum that absolutely must be brought from the Earth?
- How would you design an early, robotic Lunar gas-mining machine that can cook gases from the Lunar surface without processing large amounts of materials? This may be a robot that simply cooks the surface with solar or nuclear power and collects the gases, or perhaps drills rods into the surface a few meters to heat a deeper fraction. The robot should separate helium-three from the collected gases and store it in a tank that can be delivered to a robotic Earth-return spacecraft.
- What are the five Earth-orbit crossing asteroids larger than 100 meters diameter easiest to approach and robotically mine and/or deflect to another orbit as proof-of-principle missions?
- Do we have any indications of lava tubes on the Moon?
- How might lava tubes or mined galleries be sealed to keep atmosphere in?
- How to Design a robotic Lunar Light lander for the Sea of Dreams?
Reference
(1) http://www.iep.utm.edu/a/anaximan.htm The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
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