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neil olney

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Can we ever colonize another planet without decimating the environment with just the microbes on our skin?

I was just thinking about what would it take to live on another planet with earth like features and then came to mind even the simplest microbe from the soil on earth could devastate the ecosystem of another world or at least cause a severe impact on the environment.

Could we ever safely colonize, and is there any research or discussions going on about this?

Topics: science
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    Lawren Jones 10+

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    Nov 16 2012: Your question is why many of us believe that human expansion beyond Earth will not occur on other planets, but on space habitats such as Bernal spheres and O'Neill cylinders. All the resources we need to live already exist in space - planets are neither necessary or the best option. I encourage you to read 'Mining the Sky" by John S. Lewis and 'The High Frontier' by Gerard K. O'Neill.

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