What will space exploration look like in 2050?
在伦敦帝国理工学院和十大正规博彩网站排名的零压力播客的第一集, the first Briton in space, Helen Sharman, meets the first Swedish astronaut, Professor Christer Fuglesang, 讨论太空探索的未来以及它将如何影响我们世界的安全.
By the year 2050, 人类将在月球上建立永久存在，并在火星上建立研究基地, while space travel will become a regular occurrence for many people. 气候危机可以通过在太空中使用巨大的遮阳罩来部分解决，这有助于保护我们免受太阳最严重的变暖影响.
So says Christer Fuglesang, the first Swedish astronaut, in ‘Space in 2050’, the first episode of Zero Pressure, a new podcast series from Saab and Imperial College London, which looks at how science and technology can solve complex, interrelated global challenges.
In a relaxed, wide-ranging and thought-provoking discussion, Christer and Zero Pressure’s host Helen Sharman, the UK’s first astronaut, speak about their own experiences of space travel, 以及未来几十年空间探索带来的挑战和机遇.
“We’ll need a Planet B”
For Christer Fuglesang, 到2050年，我们需要解决的关键太空探索问题是如何在地球之外生活. But in spite of the urgent challenges posed by climate change, the Swedish astronaut does not mean we will need to leave our own planet behind. In fact, 克里斯特认为，可以在太空中放置巨大的遮阳罩，以保护我们免受太阳最严重的加热效应.
“I definitely don’t think we will lose the possibility of living on Earth, 但从长远来看，有一个“B星球”居住对我们的未来总是有好处的, say, a huge comet will hit us and we don’t have time to deflect it,” he says.
In particular, 克里斯特告诉海伦·沙曼，他相信到2050年火星上会有生命, and a greater human presence in space generally.
“我认为我们将在五六年的时间里再次登上月球，这将是探索火星的垫脚石. 到2050年，我们将在月球上建立一个常住人口的研究基地，我们将能够在月球上找到帮助人们留在那里的资源,” he says.
“I also think there will be people living on Mars, perhaps starting some colonies, and there will be mining of asteroids, mainly using robots. But humans will be travelling regularly between Moon, Mars and Earth.”
Opportunities and challenges of space exploration
分别借鉴各自在1991年和2006/8年的空间开拓经验, 海伦·沙曼和克里斯特·福格莱桑都认为，为太空探索建立商定的规则是很重要的, satellite decommissioning and the management of space debris will be vital.
但是，对于中国和俄罗斯等国可能会选择脱离美国宇航局和欧洲航天局青睐的国际合作模式的想法，克里斯特可能不像海伦那么担心, as part of a militarised space race.
“China and Russia have signed the international memorandum of understanding, 但如果他们与其他国家分开探索月球，我认为有竞争是件好事.”
“如果我们有大家都同意的公平规则，那么每个人都可以做他们想做的事. 这就像自由贸易，或者当我们参加奥运会比赛时，我认为如果我们有公平的规则，那么让几个团队在这些规则下尽可能地进行探索是可以的.”
Dealing with debris
But regardless of who is doing the exploring, 两位宇航员都认为，太空碎片和失效卫星的问题令人担忧. 沙曼说，大约有“50万片大到足以致命的碎片”。.
她还讲述了她自己在苏联和平号空间站的记忆，在她到达前几天，她卧室的窗户被一颗旧卫星脱落的油漆斑点损坏了, such is the energy and momentum created from it hurtling through space.
And Christer Fuglesang recounted how micro-meteoroids, 碎块从大块岩石和碎片上脱落下来的非常小的岩石或金属碎片, 损坏了用来支撑宇航员在国际空间站进行太空行走的扶手, risking damage to the astronauts’ spacesuit gloves.
“As well as regulations to control how we dispose of satellites, 我们需要他们有应答器，某种故障保护系统来跟踪他们，保证我们的安全, but that will cost a lot of money.”
Future Zero Pressure podcasts
‘Space in 2050’ is a fascinating beginning to the Zero Pressure podcast series, which is available on most podcast platforms including Spotify, Google and Apple. 在未来的节目中，海伦·沙曼和她的嘉宾将在科技前沿讨论自主系统和人工智能等话题.
Your questions, comments and suggestions for future discussions are welcome. 在你最喜欢的播客平台上关注这个系列，并通过Twitter保持最新状态!