« Javed Abidi – Giving Visibility and Hope to India’s Disabled | Main | Mobilizing Aid for Haiti on the Web »
Our Commitment to Space Exploration – a Complex Calculation
By Neil Peterson | January 30, 2010
‘Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.’
- Neil Armstrong, July 20, 1969
There are other words, more well-known, that capture the momentous occasion of man’s first step on a planet not our own. However, it is these first words that most represent the culmination of nearly two decades of effort taken by NASA engineers – the remarkable ability to transmit a live radio feed through the vast vacuum of space, the technological advancements that resulted in the successful lunar landing – and the thousands of small, indispensable developments in between. Four decades later, it is still impossible to comprehend the enormous complexity inherent in the task of safely delivering a man to the moon. But while we may not understand it, it is imperative that we continue to support it. There is much more at stake than you think.
Our national interest in space exploration has waned in recent years. In the face of significant social, political and economic crises, many Americans are having a hard time justifying NASA’s requested annual budget of $18 billion. In these times of hardship, questioning the efficacy of our space program is understandable – but the answers to why we’re up there are far more diverse and essential than would appear at first glance. The quest to explore further crosses borders, languages and cultures – it is, at its core, a search for answers to the most fundamental of human questions. Who are we? Why are we here? And esoteric reasoning aside, there are other incentives to continuing our exploration of the greater universe – incentives that include nothing short than the future survival of our species.
Within NASA’s 2010 operating budget is funding for the development of a global climate change research program. Although recent missions – like NASA’s 2003 Mars Exploration Rover Mission – have relied on unmanned space craft and robotic rovers to explore previously unreachable regions of our universe, there is no replacement for the human mind’s ability to correctly interpret information. Particularly so when the subject is as complex as our global weather systems. The creation of a cutting-edge scientific laboratory at the International Space Station will provide the opportunity for visiting earth scientists to accurately gauge and monitor the extensive effects of pollution, ozone depletion, and changing weather patterns. This in turn, could provide the valuable information necessary to help earth’s populations avoid the potentially cataclysmic effects of global warming.
In addition to scientific opportunities, ongoing exploration may eventually lead to the colonization of other planets. In a recent article defending the U.S. space program, several leading scientists cited this reason as one of the most fundamental aims of the agency. This serves two purposes – the first being the mining of essential minerals that are rapidly approaching their depletion here on Earth. The other is a far more terrifying and sober notion – by creating habitable colonies on other planets within our solar system, we greatly improve our ability to survive as a species, should Earth ever become uninhabitable.
It has been 40 years since Neil Armstrong took those first bold steps into our wider universe – and into history. As an audience of 450 million listeners tuned in, it was a moment not just for America, but for the world – not a national accomplishment, but one shared by all of mankind. And it would be to our great detriment – for us, and the generations to follow – if we resign our dream of exploring the far reaches of space to the history books. It is as relevant today as it ever was.
First Moon Landing 1969
Share this Post
Topics: General, Inspiration | No Comments »