Implications of Outside-the-Box Technologies on Future Space Exploration and Colonization

Abstract

In general, planning for future manned space exploration either to the moon, Mars, or an asteroid has depended on a somewhat linear extrapolation of our present technologies. Two major prohibitive cost issues regarding such planning are payload lift and in‐flight energy generation. The costs of these in both engineering and actual flight costs, coupled with the planning necessary to carry out such exploration have prevented us from actively moving forward. Although, it will be worthwhile to continue to plan for such exploration using “present” technologies, I recommend that planning be concerned mainly with mission strategies and goals utilizing both present technology and totally new energy breakthroughs. There are presently in research and development an entire suite of relevant outside‐the‐box technologies which will include both zero point energy generation and antigravity technologies that will replace our present solar/nuclear/fuel cell energy technologies and liquid/solid fuel rockets. This paper describes some of these technologies, the physics behind them and their potential use for manned space exploration. The companies and countries that first incorporate these technologies into their space programs will lead the way in exploring and colonizing space.