Future space pioneers could be ‘flesh, bone and electronics’

Astronomer Royal Martin Rees has suggested that cybernetics could help humanity’s future among the stars.

The human body is certainly not designed for space exploration. Whenever we venture beyond the protective atmosphere of our own world, it is necessary to enclose ourselves in a carefully constructed spaceship or orbital platform, and even that does not entirely protect us.

Therefore, if we really want to thrive in space and on other worlds, we may have to come to terms with our bodies not being up to the task and that some kind of “upgrading” is needed.

According to Astronomer Royal Martin Rees , cybernetic augmentation could be the key to truly flourishing away from our planet and allowing us to live safely on other worlds.

Speaking at this year’s Hay Festival, he described how future Mars explorers could be a mixture of “flesh, blood and electronics”.

“These intrepid Mars explorers will be out of the grip of regulators and they will have every interest in modifying themselves because they are very poorly suited to Mars,” he said.

“They will use all these techniques to adapt. In one or two generations, they could become an entirely different species. »

“We don’t know what their mixture of flesh and blood and electronics will be, but if they become electronic, of course they could be almost immortal. »

“If so, they would be able to make a very long interstellar journey, hibernating for millennia. »