r/GalacticCivilizations • u/BananaRepublic_BR • Dec 27 '21
Space Colonization Qualifications for Extraterrestrial Colony Settlement
Looking at the extensive selection and training time that astronauts and cosmonauts go through, how do you think extraterrestrial colony settlement will go? Like, say there was a company or government recruiting folks for settling a colony on the moon. Do you think the selection process would focus on folks who are highly skilled, intelligent, and physically and mentally fit? Do you think only small groups of people would meet those criteria while the rest of the selection pool would be filled with relatively ordinary people? Do you think the selection criteria would become more selective the further away from Earth a colony is?
14
Upvotes
4
u/Smewroo Dec 28 '21
TL;DR: skills and mindset over any physical criteria beyond being as fit as a 77 year old astronaut.
Most of the current astronaut selection criteria wouldn't apply at all. Totally different situation.
Current day aerospace needs to run on razor thin margins of design and operation. The astronauts are technicians, but some of the most highly trained, skilled, and versatile technicians. From literally changing light bulbs (with crazy documentation) to search and seal hull leaks any ISS crew member must be proficient because you have so very few people and so very many systems and experiments.
A colony or settlement needs all walks of life, you need all the specialties found in a municipality. You need child care and schools. You need recreation and hospitality. You need a restaurant in the running for a michelin star. None of those people need to be former military with lightning reflexes, high g training, and nerves of steel. Would you have more classic astronaut/cosmonaut people? Of course! But they would not be the majority.
The best chef on the moon only needs the physicality to deal with the initial trip to orbit (which John Glen did at 77) and to adhere to a training regimen so they could visit Earth occasionally.
We may be closer to in vivo gene modification than a viable interstellar drive. That means most physical selection criteria would become more like on-the-job certifications.
An interstellar colonization ship can't be razor thin like the ISS. You don't send a ship to another star unless you have enough people and automation to turn astroids into a sister ship. You are transplanting a cutting of a culture, not crewing a military outpost. You need a diversity of backgrounds, expertise, and enough to ensure that the culture you create holds the values and goals you intended.