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L5 Colonization

An artist's depiction of one of O'Neill's designs for a free-floating colony at L5. The image was drawn by Rick Guidice and commissioned by NASA as part of ongoing research on the feasibility of colonies in space.

 

The following article describes the historical origin and influences of L5 Colonization. For more scientifically-oriented information, please see Lagrange Point Colonization.  

L5 colonization is a form of space colonization that refers to a scientific and social movement centered around the development of human habitation at the fifth Lagrange Point, an area of gravitational equilibrium between the Earth and the Moon. It was first popularized by the American physicist and space activist Gerard O’Neill, and inspired the formation on the L5 Society, a group dedicated to promoting L5 colonization. The movement reached peak popularity in the mid-to-late 1970’s, though research on the feasibility of the topic continues to the present day.

History

Origins

While teaching physics at Princeton University, Gerard O’Neill began to consider the possibility of habitation beyond Earth. In 1969, he and a group of students calculated that it would be far more cost-effective to build free-floating settlements in outer space than to construct colonies on planets like Mars for a number of reasons. Primarily, these included the ease at which materials could be transported in zero gravity, as well as the capacity for a structure in outer space to generate extremely plentiful amounts of energy through the placement of solar panels. As word of his ideas spread, O’Neill began to gain supporters from a variety of academic disciplines, as well as from the general public. After an article ran in the New York Times on space colonization in 1974 and a paper of O’Neill’s was published in Physics Today, NASA became interested in O’Neill’s work and began funding research related to L5 colonization at the Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. O’Neill later spoke before the United States House about this research.

 In 1975, a group known as the L5 Society emerged, framing O’Neill’s ideas as part of a larger social movement directed at moving humanity beyond Earth. The Society was highly active in debating the potential legal consequences of sovereign nations expanding into outer space, as well as lobbying both congress and NASA for greater investment in space colonization. The L5 Society had over 9,000 members before merging with the National Space Institute in 1986.

 O’Neill’s initial goal to establish a 10,000-person colony at L5 was estimated to cost in the billions. He proposed that the half a million tons of materials for its construction be mined on the Moon and sent over via “an automated, solar-powered materials launcher”, also known as a mass driver. In 1977, O’Neill published his work in a book entitled “The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space” and founded a nonprofit known as the Space Studies Institute, which focuses on space colonization research.

Decline and Resurgence

After 1977, public interest in L5 colonization began to wane. A more cautious NASA program in combination with a shifting political climate failed to garner the support and funding necessary for continued research on the creation of an L5 habitat. Critics also opposed the construction of colonies on socioeconomic grounds, equating it to past White Flight from urban centers to suburban neighborhoods. After O’Neill’s death in 1992, research on space colonies continued through private organizations like the Space Studies Institute. More recently, interest in L5 colonization has returned with the rise of space entrepreneur-ism via private companies like SpaceX. Additionally, some space entrepreneurs see themselves as following in O’Neill’s footsteps. While NASA plans to resume manned space exploration in the coming decades with a manned mission to Mars, it has no immediate plans to construct colonies at L5 at this time.

Historical and Cultural Significance

NASA’s manned missions to the Moon through the Apollo Program in 1969 inspired a wave of public interest in space exploration and colonization. L5 colonization rose in popularity during a time period in which overpopulation and resource shortages were a major concern. Supporters of the L5 movement believed that free-floating space colonies could address these issues by freeing up living space on Earth and generating enough solar power to help meet energy needs beyond fossil fuels. On a grander scale, L5 colonization relates to many musings by futurists regarding humanity’s existence among the stars and the preservation of the human race. A settlement on L5, being an intermediary between the Earth and the Moon, is thought by some to potentially serve as a useful launching platform for future missions in the rest of the Solar System.

External links

• Institute of Radiation Breeding (IRB), NIAS, MAFF, Hitachiohmiya, Japan
• IRB gamma field on Google maps