A Letter to Future Space Settlers, From the 21st Century

This is for any future space settler, whether you are now living on the Moon, Mars, a space habitat, or anywhere else in the Solar System.  As of this writing, you will not be born for another century or two.  When you read this, I will be dead for that amount of time.  It doesn’t matter.  I would like to share with you my experiences and give you some advice that I think you will need.

I have been a visionary all my life.  I have seen the space movement from the very beginning.  The very first live launch I have seen on television was that of Gemini 5, carrying two astronauts, named Gordon Cooper and Charles Conrad.  I have personally met Gordon Cooper, along with many other astronauts, including the very first ones that walked on the Moon.

From then on, I have been in love with the universe and have wanted all humankind to venture into space and settle there, where you are now, hopefully.  I have talked of my vision, of humanity venturing to other planets and eventually, to other stars.  I’ve read science fiction, imagining how our future in space will be, and how it will relate to the rest of us here on Earth.  I have also written a lot of space development on the steps we should take.  As of this reading, some of these steps I’ve written have come to fruition, others have not, but that is to be expected of any writer.

I hope to see space benefit Earth in a big way;  bringing in money, not for a few but for the many, helping to alleviate poverty by creating new jobs, jobs that as of right now we cannot even begin to imagine, bringing in new resources, and products made from these resources.  Most of all, I hope that, by moving more and more polluting industries into Earth orbit, the asteroids, the Moon and beyond, it will not only reverse the effects of pollution and the damage it did to our environment, but to restore the Earth to its clean natural state;  i.e.  forests, jungles, the deacidification of the ocean, the decrease of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere leading to a reversal in climate change.

There is one more factor I hope to see;  peace in space.  If you can’t end war on Earth, and I expect it won’t be ended anytime soon, even as you read this letter, at least do not carry it with you as you venture into the final frontier.  I can think of at least one way to avoid this horror.

As people from many different countries venture into space and settle on the Moon, Mars, the asteroids, and beyond, they will bring their industries, their culture, language, and ways of life with them, and these will be settled on these planets, some right next to other colonies from different countries and cultures.

As time progresses, and you mingle with more people from other cultures on your worlds, regardless of their origin, you will learn in live on these worlds and function independently of Earth.  Of course, you will continue to do business with Earth and other space settlements, but between yourselves, you will be interdependent upon one another.  In other words, you will be closer to each other more than your respective countries on Earth.

With that, it is inevitable that you will no longer need Earth’s resources, and politically, you will decide to become independent of your respective countries on Earth, and will want to govern yourselves completely, with no outside interference.  It’s going to happen, and you will declare your independence.  This is the human side on settling far away places.  This is the way it’s always been, and always will be.

You will have my full support.

Just one thing. 

As I have stated, depending on your national origin, your settlements will be different from one another.  American space settlements will be different from European space settlements, who will be different from Russian settlements, different from the Chinese, the Japanese, the Brazilians, and so on, depending on who is up there.

When you do declare your independence, do not separate yourselves in different countries on the Moon, Mars, or any other heavenly body.  Become independent together, meaning pool all your resources, knowledge, culture, language, and become ONE country, one country to a planet or asteroid (in the form of an O’Neill space habitat).  Don’t have separate countries on the Moon or Mars, have one Republic of the Moon, a Republic of Mars.  Give yourselves any name you want, but get together and form a single country on your respective worlds.

Here’s why.  Borders are the great dividing factor.  They’re walls, separating one people from another, and on planets where life support systems are vital, and you cannot afford to be separate from one another.  You will need each other’s resources, life support systems, manufacturing facilities, and you cannot afford the inconvenience of going through customs at international borders.  

One last reason.  Should any of these “countries” conflict, it could result in war, and in the position that all of you are in, depending on each other for survival, you cannot have that.  One war in space, one space nation against another, can result in the destruction of ALL living settlements in space.  I need not go any further on this subject.

Therefore, wherever you are, unite with one another.  You will not only survive, but you will flourish.   Learn from the mistakes of Earth, and go forward, learning and benefitting from each other.  

Take the best of each culture that settles in space.  Leave the worst out of it.