Sooner or later we will have to leave Earth if we wish mankind to survive - why? In another 4.5 billion years our Sun will reach the end of its life and expand into a red giant reaching almost to the orbit of Mars. Earth will 'fry' for want of a better word and cease to exist. Much has been written about interstellar travel but little or nothing about how the first settlers on an exoplanet would survive. I come at this not so much by considering a crash landing but from a necessary decision to partake in such an expedition.
The habitable zone around a star is the region life similar to ours might exist on an Earth-like planet. Before we could set out for any such planet we would need to characterise it in much more detail to determine if would be suitable. For example 'The Knowledge' describes in detail the raw materials we would need. Throw in a comprehensive knowledge of such matters as the planets climate and orbital stability and the size of the task begins to come clear. Some of what we need to know can be determined from Earth but I suspect other aspects might need an actual presence on or in orbit around the target planet.
As 'The knowledge' lays out we would have to start with simple methods of farming and processing raw materials before we move into more complex areas. Knowing what we have to do dictates what we would need in the way of;
- skills
- tools
- materials
- food
- transport
- knowledge
- form of government
Taking skills, a likely list includes; botanists, biologists, chemists, physicists, electrical engineers, farmers, gardeners, geologists, material scientists, mechanical engineers, medical practitioners, metallurgists, meteorologists.
Hope this kicks off an interesting discussion.
Regards