A lot of people talk about interstellar colonization as a path to human survival of mass extinction events.<p>It seems like if we're serious about that, we'd start by learning how to colonize hostile environments here on Earth, like the ocean floor.<p>Any long space voyage, even to the outer solar system, will depend on knowing how to put large numbers of people in a self-sustaining sealed environment.<p>We have the chance to put our engineering skills to the test right now, while conducting overlooked scientific research.<p>NOAA and NASA are both facing steep budget cuts. Part of me would like to see them integrated, since NOAA uses satellites to study the ocean and astronauts have used the ocean to train for space. It might eliminate some redundancy, help compare priorities, and maybe together they could levy a stronger, joint fight for funding scientific progress.
> <i>Conshelf proved that human beings can live under the sea for long periods of time but that, even though they have the physical and psychological capabilities, humans are not made to exist in a world without sun.</i><p>I wish they'd go into more detail about this. Vitamin D deficiency? The lack of external cues for circadian rhythms?