HOW TO AVOID THE EXTINCTION OF HUMANITY BY THREATS COMING FROM OUTER SPACE

Fernando Alcoforado*

This article aims to present the scientific advances that need to be made in cosmology to contribute to the adoption of scientific and technological solutions to prevent the extinction of humanity from the threats that exist in outer space and that may affect planet Earth. Cosmology is the branch of astronomy that studies the structure and evolution of the Universe as a whole, being concerned with both its origin and its evolution. The future of humanity depends on the success achieved in the advancement of knowledge about the Universe, especially on the 10 main cosmological questions that need to be elucidated so that humanity can, with scientific knowledge, adopt measures to protect itself from threats to its survival and seek places in or outside the solar system that are likely to be inhabited by humans.

The threats to the survival of humanity were analyzed in the book of our authorship “A humanidade ameaçada e as estratégias para sua sobrevivência” (A threatened humanity and the strategies for its survival) with the subtitle “How to save humanity from the threats to its extinction” published by Editora Dialética from São Paulo in 2021 [1]. There are countless threats to humanity’s survival coming from outer space today and in the short, medium and long term future. The threats that exist in outer space are related to: 1) collision on the planet Earth of asteroids, comets or pieces of comets; 2) collision on the planet Earth of planets of the solar system; 3) collision on planet Earth of orphan planets that roam in outer space; 4) cosmic ray emission; 5) catastrophic consequences for the Earth’s environment resulting from the Moon’s continuous distancing from Earth; 6) death of the Sun; 7) collision of the Andromeda and Milky Way galaxies where the Earth is located; and, 8) end of the Universe. All these catastrophic events, which may occur in the short, medium and long term, can contribute to humanity being driven to extinction as a species.

The collision on planet Earth of asteroids and comets or pieces of comets, which threaten to collide with Earth, requires the adoption of strategies to avoid their collisions with Earth. To deal with asteroids that could collide with planet Earth, the strategy is to divert them from their course if they are detected with enough time to launch interceptors. The same solution must be adopted for comets whose pieces can hit planet Earth. It is very important that there is a constant monitoring of space to identify not only asteroids, but also comets or pieces of comets, which can collide with Earth and powerful rockets capable of diverting them from their paths be developed. Another alternative is to destroy threatening asteroids and comets with the use of nuclear bombs if they are at great distances from planet Earth.

The collision on the planet Earth of planets in the solar system requires the adoption of strategies to promote a constant monitoring of space to identify the threat of destabilization of the solar system by the planet Mercury and other planets and that research be carried out to identify possible places habitable by humans outside the solar system to plan their escape, as is the case with the exoplanet “Proxima b” orbiting a star that is part of the Alpha Centauri system, the closest to the solar system, where space colonies would be deployed that would require great scientific and technological advances to make them viable. The collision on planet Earth of orphan planets that roam in outer space requires constant monitoring of space to identify orphan planets that may collide with Earth and determine the time of their collision in order to adopt measures that indicate the need to plan the escape from humans to other possible habitable places for humans located in the solar system such as Mars, Titan (Saturn’s moon) and Callisto (Jupiter’s moon) with the implantation of space colonies that would require great scientific and technological advances to make them viable.

The emission of cosmic rays, especially the gamma rays emitted by supernova stars, which have the power to annihilate life on Earth, requires the adoption of strategies that allow: 1) to monitor the explosion of supernovae permanently to assess the possibility of the Earth being hit by gamma rays so that, before and during the occurrence of its explosion, the necessary measures are adopted aiming at the escape of human beings to possible habitable places in the solar system such as Mars, Titan (Saturn’s moon) and Callisto (Jupiter’s moon) ; 2) use the Soho satellite that acts in the intermediate position between the Earth and the Sun to detect explosions on the solar surface and send messages about the arrival of the cosmic storm to Earth to avoid damage to the networks of electricity distributors and satellite operators could protect themselves by correcting satellite courses or turning off their equipment; and, 3) protect human beings from cosmic radiation in long-term space travel in outer space, promoting scientific and technological advances in addition to increasing the biological capacity of human beings to perform space travel and live off Earth.

The catastrophic consequences for the Earth’s environment resulting from the Moon’s continued departure from the Earth need to be systematically evaluated because the Earth and Moon are bound together by a strong gravitational bond and affect each other. The Moon’s continued distancing from Earth needs to be better elucidated to assess its impact on humans and the climate on planet Earth, which could be catastrophic, requiring the adoption of human escape strategies for possible habitable locations in the solar system, when necessary (Mars, Titan – moon of Saturn and Callisto – moon of Jupiter). The evolution of the Sun until its death needs to be better elucidated in order to evaluate its effects on Earth to propose escape strategies for humans to possible habitable places in other star systems before the death of the Sun, such as the exoplanet “Proxima b” orbiting the closest star to the Sun, part of the Alpha Centauri system, which is 4.2 light-years from Earth, which corresponds to 39.9 trillion kilometers.

The collision of the Andromeda and Milky Way galaxies needs to be elucidated to evaluate its effects on the solar system and Earth to propose escape strategies for humans to possible habitable places in other galaxies before the collision of the Andromeda and Milky Way galaxies, such as the Dwarf Galaxy of the Canis Major located 25,000 light-years from Earth, which corresponds to 237,500 trillion kilometers away from Earth, which is a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way located in the constellation Canis Major, or the Large Magellanic Cloud that is located 163,000 light-years from Earth, which corresponds to 1,548,500 trillion kilometers away from Earth. The end of the Universe requires the adoption of escape strategies for parallel universes as it is assumed to exist. It is necessary to elucidate the fate of the Universe and to prove the existence of parallel universes to promote the escape of human beings to one of them, as well as to promote the development of the final theory or theory of everything, that is, of the theory of the unified field to present possible strategies for humanity to seek its survival in the face of all threats.

In order to elucidate all the issues described above and implement the proposed strategies, it is necessary to make advances in knowledge about the following 10 main cosmological questions: 1) The “Oort Cloud” and the “Kuiper Belt” located at the limits of the solar system where locate, respectively, comets and asteroids; 2) Proof of the existence of Nemesis, a brown dwarf star, which with the Sun would constitute a binary star that could throw, by its gravitational action, asteroids located in the “Kuiper Belt” and comets located in the “Oort cloud” towards Earth; 3) Detection of gravitational waves aiming at the development of observational astronomy to probe the first moments of the Universe; 4) Nature of dark matter and dark energy to understand the Universe; 5) Threats on planet Earth from the collision of celestial bodies and the emission of cosmic rays; 6) Possible alternative habitable sites for humans in the solar system and beyond; 7) Size of the Universe to determine whether it is finite or infinite and its shape to determine whether it is flat or spherical; 8 ) The destiny of our Universe if there will be contraction initiating a new Universe, expansion with its thermal death, the end of the Universe as a cold, dark and empty place or unlimited expansion until its disintegration; 9) The existence or not of parallel universes; and, 10) The development of the final theory or theory of everything, that is, of the unified field theory to explain and connect in a single theoretical framework, all physical phenomena bringing together quantum physics and the theory of general relativity in a single treatment theoretical and mathematician.

The top 10 cosmological questions presented in this article need to be elucidated without delay. The success in elucidating these cosmological questions will provide the conditions to know the Universe and, consequently, promote the technological advance essential to the adoption of strategies aimed at the survival of humanity as a species.

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* Fernando Alcoforado, awarded the medal of Engineering Merit of the CONFEA / CREA System, member of the Bahia Academy of Education, of the SBPC- Brazilian Society for the Progress of Science and of IPB- Polytechnic Institute of Bahia, engineer and doctor in Territorial Planning and Regional Development from the University of Barcelona, university professor and consultant in the areas of strategic planning, business planning, regional planning, urban planning and energy systems, was Advisor to the Vice President of Engineering and Technology at LIGHT S.A. Electric power distribution company from Rio de Janeiro, Strategic Planning Coordinator of CEPED- Bahia Research and Development Center, Undersecretary of Energy of the State of Bahia, Secretary of Planning of Salvador, is author of the books Globalização (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 1997), De Collor a FHC- O Brasil e a Nova (Des)ordem Mundial (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 1998), Um Projeto para o Brasil (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 2000), Os condicionantes do desenvolvimento do Estado da Bahia (Tese de doutorado. Universidade de Barcelona,http://www.tesisenred.net/handle/10803/1944, 2003), Globalização e Desenvolvimento (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 2006), Bahia- Desenvolvimento do Século XVI ao Século XX e Objetivos Estratégicos na Era Contemporânea (EGBA, Salvador, 2008), The Necessary Conditions of the Economic and Social Development- The Case of the State of Bahia (VDM Verlag Dr. Müller Aktiengesellschaft & Co. KG, Saarbrücken, Germany, 2010), Aquecimento Global e Catástrofe Planetária (Viena- Editora e Gráfica, Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, São Paulo, 2010), Amazônia Sustentável- Para o progresso do Brasil e combate ao aquecimento global (Viena- Editora e Gráfica, Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, São Paulo, 2011), Os Fatores Condicionantes do Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2012), Energia no Mundo e no Brasil- Energia e Mudança Climática Catastrófica no Século XXI (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2015), As Grandes Revoluções Científicas, Econômicas e Sociais que Mudaram o Mundo (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2016), A Invenção de um novo Brasil (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2017), Esquerda x Direita e a sua convergência (Associação Baiana de Imprensa, Salvador, 2018), Como inventar o futuro para mudar o mundo (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2019) and A humanidade ameaçada e as estratégias para sua sobrevivência (Editora Dialética, São Paulo, 2021) .