# Each spacecraft is like its own little mobile settlement in the vastness of space Self-sufficiency is an inseparable part of our space tales for a reason. Consider Han Solo and the Millennium Falcon. Captain Malcolm Reynolds and Serenity. The Martian. Battlestar Galactica. Children of Time. (The list goes on.) Even though each Star Trek ship is technically part of a galaxy-spanning Federation, the reality is that *each spacecraft is like its own little mobile settlement in the vastness of space.* Captain Janeway and the Voyager survived for years on the other side of the galaxy from support. Every science fiction story I can think of where space is more than a peripheral setting hinges on the fact that spacefarers and their technology can persevere through both external hardship and technological malfunctions on their own. From the nuke-scarred [[Battlestar Galactica]] limping across the galaxy, the generation ships of [[Children of Time]], [[Foundation - Asimov]]’s remote colony of Terminus, or even Apollo 13’s jury-rigged air filters and manual reentry, opening the space frontier hinges on the ability to self-sufficiently deal with crisis. Because technology is the only thing keeping us alive in space, [[Robust technology is critical for the future]]. Spacecraft as frontier settlements cut off from civilization for months or years at a time isn’t just a veneer painted by science fiction creators to evoke an aesthetic: the best-case-scenario of any near-future technology is that it will take days to get to the Moon, weeks to get to Mars, and more time to go beyond. Even with yet-unimaginable propulsion and communication systems, it’s likely that we’ll be limited by the speed of light: it takes between 3 and 22 minutes for light (and thus information) to reach Mars. Even the moon is more than 1 second away. The near-seamless interconnectivity we’ve come to expect will be impossible. [Web URL for this note](http://notes.benjaminreinhardt.com/Each+spacecraft+is+like+its+own+little+mobile+settlement+in+the+vastness+of+space) [Comment on this note](http://via.hypothes.is/http://notes.benjaminreinhardt.com/Each+spacecraft+is+like+its+own+little+mobile+settlement+in+the+vastness+of+space)