Over at Sploid, Jesus Diaz posted a model for a space settlement, created by Bryan Versteeg of Spacehabs, based on actual scientific principles. To learn more about the space settlement and the thinking behind it, check out the Sploid post.
Behold the settlement in action:
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2 responses to “What a real-life space settlement might look like”
The success of any space community will largely depend upon the occupants sharing a common, compatible, and constructive outlook on life. Otherwise, many unnecessary conflicts will occur among people with conflicting beliefs, values, and behaviors. That’s why the selection of personnel is critical. The type of philosophy and outlook on life that is necessary is described in detail in a new book entitled BOLD NEW WORLD and THE POTENTIALIST MOVEMENT (available at Amazon). Were the occupants of any space settlement (or any progressive community) to have a philosophy and outlook on life of the type that is described, the chances for success in that community would be greatly increased. As with any successful organization, the quality of the personnel is essential. It is one thing to have a physical design for a community, but it is quite another to carefully plan its social makeup and the outlook on life that serves as its foundation. The bottom line is that “Philosophy” is a critical component to go along with “Science” and “Technology.” I would hope that science fiction writers take this realization into consideration.
If you haven’t read Kim Stanley Robinson I would recommend digging out ‘2312’, or the ‘Mars Trilogy’. He writes a lot about the selection element in ‘spacer’ culture and the selection of the first 100 people in the initial stages of Mars settlement. And he also writes about the progressive / different ideas for organising society that they generate.