Colonization of Mars is a real possibility by 2050. The conditions on mars are quite close to earth in terms of temperature and sunlight than other nearby heavenly bodies. But it will not support life due to radiation, 0.1 percent oxygen and low air pressure. So life won’t survive as we live on earth but would require artificially created habitation zones and life support infrastructures. Elon Musk is the main player and he is funding the development of cargo space craft’s which can happen as early as 2022, manned missions are planned by 2024. The first phase will send methane and oxygen propellant plant and build a small base. The aim is to send humans to Mars by 2030. Musk estimates that it would take 50 to 100 years to have a population of 1 million shifted to Mars.
Nuclear fusion. It is a process where two or more atomic nuclei are combined to form different atomic nuclei. The biggest problem in this is to sustain the right amount of heat to produce meaningful amount of power from plasma. Why is this so important? it’s because this will open up to door to create unlimited clear energy which can eliminate the energy crisis as well as global warming.
Interstellar travel. Interstellar travel has been a dream of scientists as well as a major stumbling block in the further exploration of outer space. Russians are currently funding the development of spacecrafts that will be able to make the journey to Alfa Centauri, the closest star at a distance of 4.37 light years from us. The aim is to reach Proxima centauri B, an earth like exoplanet in the goldilocks zone of the host star. They expect to achieve a speed of 15 to 20 percent of light and the journey will take about 20 to 30 years to complete the journey. The return message will take about 4 years to reach us. Now this would not be a manned mission but a fleet of about 1000 small space chips of few centimeters size, each weighing about a few grams. He expects to launch them by 2036.
Ice free Arctic. Thanks to humans ice free Arctic may happen by 2050. Since 1979 when scientists started measuring arctic ice, now we are at the lowest level of ice in the arctic region. Scientists predict that the rate of melting of ice is increasing at an alarming rate and an ice free Arctic may happen sooner than expected. Sea ice is very sensitive to temperature and as global temperature rises it is going to get thinner and in summer melt may slowly completely remove the ice cover. Ice free Arctic has been defined as less than 1 million square kms of sea ice.
99942 Apophis asteroid. While you are reading this an asteroid the size of a small mountain is rushing towards earth and may just make contact on 13 April 2029. It is about 370 meters in diameter and if it makes an impact then it can create the most powerful earthquake ever recorded. It will make entry with about 750 megaton of kinetic energy. As a comparison the Krakatau volcanic eruption was 200 megaton and the biggest hydrogen bomb ever exploded was a mere 57 megaton.
Chocolate extinction. Your favorite chocolate is in threat of extinction. The cocoa plants from which chocolates are made are increasingly threatened by fungal diseases and climate change in their original habitat. Scientists are of opinion that this can spread to other cocoa producing regions of the world. Cocoa plants are very sensitive and need specific conditions to grow and bear fruit.
Antibiotic resistance. A 2016 study in UK suggests that unless its use is controlled then it will lead to antibiotic resistance and will make many major medical conditions untreatable. This will lead to medical procedures like caesarean operations, joint replacement and chemotherapy may become very dangerous to perform. It is estimated that antibiotic resistance can kill up to 10 million people by 2050. Another unassuming intake of antibiotic is through pork consumption. In UK, 45 percent of antibiotic is given to livestock and it is ingested by us when we eat them.
Technological singularity. With increase in the technological advancement in the field of artificial intelligence a time will come when the AI may overtake human intelligence. Stephen Hawking expressed that AI can cause extinction of human race. It is expected as early as 2045 that AI will become the smartest life form on earth. Also the creation of AI enhanced human capability will ultimately be a reality and this might be an apocalypse for humans.
We are lucky to live in a time when the world is seeing a major shift in technology. The twenty first century will spearhead the changes which will permanently reshape the world in the future times. These times of major shift are the most testing time for mankind as this will dictate the future of mankind. A change too fast will surely have unexpected and unwanted results which may be regretted in a later stage.
Thank you Telesfor sir.