Location: The moon
Distance from
Earth: 384,400km
(average)Pros: Could
evacuate back to
Earth in an
emergency. A great
testing ground for
new technology. No
communications
delay to speak of.Cons: Nights that
last two weeks. No
atmosphere or
magnetic field for
protection. Wildly
fluctuating
temperatures.Location: Mars
Distance from
Earth: 225 million
kilometres (average)Pros: The only
planet in our solar
system that’s not
either too hot or
made of gas. Plenty
of water ice.
Relatively close.Cons: No magnetic
field to protect
against radiation.
Vicious dust storms
the size of
continents.
Communications
with Earth delayed
by 20 minutes.Location: Europa
(moon of Jupiter)
Distance from
Earth: 628 million
kilometres (average)Pros: More liquid
water than all of
Earth’s oceans,
lakes, rivers and
seas combined.Cons: In the firing
line of intense
radiation belts
created by Jupiter’s
magnetic field.
Vulnerable to
meteorites pulled in
by the solar
system’s biggest
planet.Location:
Kepler-438b
Distance from
Earth: 470 light-
years (4.4 quadrillion
kilometres)Pros: One of the
most Earth-like
exoplanets found so
far. Sits on the inner
edge of its star’s
habitable zone.Cons: Would take
more than a human
lifetime to reach.
Orbits a red dwarf,
which are thought to
have potentially
life-destroying solar
flares.WHERE WE’LL GO FIVE POTENTIAL DESTINATIONS
Location:
Interplanetary space
Distance from
Earth: > one million
kilometresPros: Movable.
Unlimited space to
build a habitat
orbiting Earth or
another planet – you
aren’t restricted by
topography. Gravity
could be recreated
to match Earth’s.Cons: You’d need to
build and assemble
everything from
scratch, with no
help from the
landscape.LEFT: AI SpaceFactory’s entry came
second in NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat
Challenge in 2018.RIGHT: Team Zopherus’s winning entry
in the same competition was a roving
3D printer.