Manufacturing in Space
How to Save the Planet
This article takes a radical new approach to climate change by discussing the idea of establishing a manufacturing base on either the Moon or Mars and the pros and cons of this approach. It discusses the following topics:
The State of Our Planet: Earth is dying and we are fighting a race against time. The problem of Climate Change and the biggest contributing factors: The biggest contributing factors to climate change are Heat & Electricity and Industry. The problem is these will increase as the world develops.
The Bigger picture: What if when approaching the issue of climate change we didn’t just focus on solutions based on implementation on earth. Poor Implementation of Solutions and their Limitations: We have known how to recycle stuff for a while but we only recycle about 30% of recyclable material due to the cost of the process.
A Radical New Idea of Robots on the Moon: What if we stopped fighting the powers of economics and the forces of innovation and continue to manufacture the way we do but do it on a separate celestial body through Robots.
Problems Associated with a Manufacturing Base in Space: This radical new approach has its problems namely emissions from rockets, cost of transportation, and the time it takes to travel between two points in space, but this can all either be justified or solved.
Amazon Launches Accelerator: Amazon has recognized the opportunity of space and has launched an accelerator to help Startups. The Potential size of the Industry: The Manufacturing Industry on earth is already a trillion-dollar industry, it’s fair to assume that one based in space will have the same market size.
An Earthly Future: We should not abandon the idea of saving the earth it is the only place where not only can humans survive but flourish and thrive, instead we should aim to protect this planet and stop causing harm to it for our sake and our children's sake.
The State of our Planet
It’s no secret the Earth is dying, with each passing day we make more progress in renewable energy and sustainable solutions but it also seems as if we are not progressing fast enough to save the earth.
The Problem of Climate Change and the Biggest Contributing Factors
Climate Change is a real issue, with many scientists and experts sounding the alarm on various doomsday deadlines that we may face soon if we do not take the drastic actions necessary today to save the planet. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the two sectors that produce the most greenhouse gas emissions are Electricity and Heat Production with 25%, and Industry( which primarily consists of manufactured goods) accounting for 21% of emissions. This is especially alarming, because as more of the world develops and people enjoy better standards of living, electricity and manufactured goods demand will increase making what is already a short time to save the planet even shorter.
The Bigger Picture
But what if it didn’t have to be this way, what if we could look to the stars for a solution, all of the climate change solutions currently are focused on execution here on Earth, but there is a fundamental problem that stops us from implementing worldwide solutions to stop Climate Change. And that is an issue of money.
Poor Implementation of Solutions and their Limitations
For the most part, we already have the technological innovations that we can implement to stop the Climate Change disaster from happening, for example, solar panels, electric cars, and so forth, but they are just more costly than the already existing environmentally bad technologies that they aim to replace. For example With Recycling, we have known how to recycle stuff for quite a while now. But only about 30% of the recyclable waste created in the US is recycled, that is because Recycling something is more expensive than just making the same thing from scratch.
A Radical New Idea of Robots on the Moon
Just like humanity left Earth, in search of new places to explore. Venturing to the Moon in 1969 in the name of the exploration of the unknown. We need to once again look to the stars, the moon, and mars for an answer. Imagine if we could take away all the bad elements of industry and still keep the benefits. What if instead of colonizing Mars as proposed by Elon Musk and Space X. instead we build a Robot colony on Mars, with very few or no humans on the planet. With a robot colony on a different planet or even the moon we could continue manufacturing things the way we do, but importantly avoid the greenhouse emissions here on Earth and have them occur on Mars or the Moon. That way the approximately 21% of greenhouse emissions created by Industry will be significantly reduced. But there are a few major problems with this idea.
Problems Associated with a Manufacturing Base in Space
The only way to transport things in Space is by using rockets and they are by far the most expensive way to transport any cargo. But there is hope, Elon Musk’s stated ambition in creating SpaceX was to make rockets reusable and cheaper, If he succeeds with this eventually the transportation of goods across space will be a lot cheaper than it is now. And the cost of rocket transportation can further be made cheaper if governments redirect some of the subsidy money they gave to companies working on climate change solutions on Earth to rocket companies. But another issue with this idea is that rockets aren’t exactly good for the environment, they emit a lot of greenhouse gases. But this can be justified if the amount of greenhouse gas being emitted by the rockets are far less than the emissions that the manufacturing industry would have had if its activities were continued on Earth. The last major concern is time. It takes about 3 days for a spacecraft to reach the moon and months to reach Mars causing a delay in supply, but most businesses already understand the mechanics of supply and demand and know how much stock they need to keep on hand to meet the next period of demand, so it isn’t that big of an issue. This idea is a long shot, and overall requires many technologies to be created and existing ones to advance more quickly. But to try and save the planet we need to consider all possible ideas and explore their possibilities.
Amazon Launches Accelerator
To explore this idea, Amazon in partnership with Seraphim recently announced an Accelerator aimed at Space Startups to help them grow and get the assistance they need. Amazon in an official statement said Qualifying missions can include but are not limited to, earth observation, electronics and robotics, spacecraft launch and delivery, spacecraft hardware and software, launch manufacturing, launch operations, and more.
The Potential size of the Industry
This is a potential trillion-dollar industry for the companies who can figure out how to build the infrastructure and technology necessary to manufacture products In space, the manufacturing industry is already a multi-trillion dollar industry today. Governments will likely push for corporations to engage in Manufacturing in this manner if it ever becomes viable because it reduces that country’s overall emissions.
An Earthly Future
it’s an interesting idea and one that could shape how the future will look like. We only have one earth and it is perfectly created for human life not only to exist but to flourish and thrive on it. I do not believe we should be seeking to leave Earth but rather stop the damage we are doing to it and keep it alive for our sake and our future generation’s sake.