Is "space Exploration" A Pipe-Dream?

[Khandro]

The NASA and Florida State University study revealed its findings on Thursday. They state that so far three Apollo astronauts, including Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the moon, have died from cardiovascular disease, apparently as a result of the extreme cosmic radiation they were exposed to during their missions.
It appears that not only is leaving the Earth's magnetic shield highly dangerous, there is also the massive problem of finding sufficient energy to launch rockets without the Earth's dwindling fossil fuel.

[Old_Geezer]

Quite right, are they men or are they mice ?

[Cloverjo]

Naomi, for the reasons I posted in the article by Steve Jones. It's incredibly difficult to create intelligent life.

[mikey4444]

Cloverjo....according to some people, we already have Little Green Men in our midst....if it pleases them, let them believe it !

[naomi24]

Who believes that, Mikey?

[Old_Geezer]

Well there's Kermit to start with.

[mibn2cweus]

Watching the evening news, it's sometimes hard to imagine that intelligent life exists anywhere in the universe.

[naomi24]

There's always Mikey's mate Kermit, mibs. ;o)

[jim360]

Would that be some sort of a "space hopper"?

[Arksided]

"Two possibilities exist... Either we are alone in the universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying." - Arthur C. Clarke

[naomi24]

Jim, very good. If I could give you 'best answer' I would. :o)

[Hypognosis]

@Zacs

//The size of the universe means that the possibility of the 'miracle' conditions for life being repeated are multiplied, surely?//

Hmmm… tricky.

Multiplying up also works for killer asteroids, gamma-ray burst stars being too close and all the other disaster scenarios which threaten whatever life did evolve in the remoteness of space. ALL probabilities play out, not just the goldilocks ones.

The Drake equation does factor in a probability of life not lasting long enough for the emergence of intelligence but I think his work may have pre-dated the discovery of gamma-ray bursters and other exotic items.

Anyway, emergence of life is one set of probabilities, emergence of intelligent life a separate thing. Drake even added a factor after that, accounting for the window of opportunity for detection. We've mostly stopped sending UHF transmissions into outer space and are now firing digital, encrypted, signals at the ground. Our detectability window might be as short as 70 years and, even then, inverse square law weakens our leaked signals to the point of indetectability, beyond a certain range.

[Hypognosis]

Speaking of Space hoppers… it's time to feed the alien again

[Hypognosis]

Good job I checked that. It was the wrong link. Should be this one.

https://youtu.be/dSgmYWaQbR8

[naomi24]

Arrgh! It's Jim's space hopper! :o)))