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Apr. 25, 2005 We need to support serious spending on “space” - science missions/robotic probes, new propulsion methods, “space planes”/reusable vehicles, space-elevator tech and space stations, and human missions to near Earth asteroids, the Moon and Mars. You, the reader, should agree. Why? This quote pretty much sums it up: The dinosaurs became extinct because they didn't have a space program. -- Larry Niven Here is the basic breakdown, but they are really pretty much related as you will see:
There are lots of “cool” reasons that appeal to sci-fi nerds like me - the zest for exploration, going where no man has gone before, etc., but I'm going to stick to the practical reasons that affect you – even those of you that don't otherwise care about space (and in my experience, this is most people). First, good stuff comes from understanding (besides knowledge for the sake of knowledge). It's a good thing to know why a grasshopper jumps, for example, though it's usually near impossible to predict how basic research will help us in the future. Take electromagnetic waves (radio) – early researchers saw their potential. Microwave ovens and radar came a generation later, but they knew these things were possible and speculated about them. Could they have predicted Wifi (wireless computer networking) or cell phones, both of which use the same underlying technology? In their day, folks must have thought they were silly to waste time and money studying invisible waves which had no obvious immediate practical value. Second, it's important because space is there, it's rich, and if we don't exploit it, someone will. Every element on Earth, no matter how rare, is out there. Asteroids are just waiting to be mined. Water seems to be all over the place – we just have to extract it. There is room out there, lots and lots and lots of room! China is already planning a Moon base and recently shot a man into space - they are now officially the third space-faring nation – my, my, how fast they are catching up, and India also has plans for the Moon. It would be nice if America still had something unique to contribute to the new global economy... The Moon-shot in the 60's spawned all kinds of technology, and some of it we are still coasting on today; it's partly what started the computer revolution. We can't even imagine the amazing technologies that will come as a direct result of developing self-sustaining human settlements off-world, to name just one possible angle. A well funded and very public program might also help the “brain-drain” issue that we're facing at the moment by encouraging more young folk to enter science and math related fields. Third, Venus is in the “Goldilocks zone”, just like Mars and Earth. Why is Earth mild? Venus is hell, literally – it's much hotter than Mercury, which is much closer to the Sun. Venus seems to have a runaway greenhouse effect, while Mars shows what can happen when a planet loses its protective atmosphere and/or geologically dies. How unique is our type of solar system? How unique is our planet, and how do the other bodies in space compare? We need a bigger sample than one – we need to compare what we have to what's out there, in order to understand ourselves better. How fragile is our planet, what generally happens to planets, how long do planets remain “stable” and why – these are issues as important to us today, as tracking the seasons was to ancient farmers. Fourth, Earth is doomed one way or another, and I don't mean in a Biblical end-times manner, although with some imagination, these threats could certainly fit that mold. Forgetting what we might do to ourselves, the Sun will eventually change and Earth will become uninhabitable. Long before then however, a large impact will extinguish most of the life on Earth – it's happened many times before – the one that killed the dinosaurs was not the only one. Every million years or so, a big rock slams into the planet and makes a “mess”. Though statistically we probably have some breathing room, it could happen an hour from now. Keeping all of our eggs in one basket is ridiculous. This isn't sci-fi, these things really happen; look up the recent news story about a near Earth asteroid which we're now tracking; it will come very close in 2029, and this encounter could change its path such that it might hit us a few years later. It's not big enough to cause mass extinctions, but it will do some serious damage if it hits (we also saw a comet slamming into Jupiter a few years back, don't forget). Recently, we've detected extremely bright gamma ray busts, and they also cause severe damage – if Earth ever finds itself in the path of one of these, our ozone layer will be stripped and we will soon thereafter, die, not to put too fine of a point on it. While we may get lucky and spot an incoming asteroid with enough time to write our own obituaries for future aliens to find, these bursts would give no advance warning. These are two known ways for everything to end by a space-disaster – how many others exist that we know nothing about? Uniquely in history, we now have the science to understand some of these issues – the race is on, literally, to survive before we wink out. The Romans were clever, no doubt, but if a space-based disaster would have happened in those days nothing at all could have been done. Now that we are beginning to acquire the technology, it's our responsibility to take the next step. Folks always want to do a cost/benefit analysis, so, lets do one! On one hand, we can invest in technologies that will spawn innovation and generate revenues to keep America on the cutting edge (and enable the funding of education, heath-care and other programs we like) and potentially save the lives of billions. On the other hand, we can do what we have been doing: scream that NASA gets too much money, allow China and India to take away one of our few remaining world-leadership positions, and wait for disaster. Who knows – maybe we'll get lucky and nothing will happen in our lifetimes; it's the gamble of gambles, the Russian Roulette to end all roulettes, except instead of bullets to gamble with, we gamble with generations. Is our generation the one in the chamber; are we the last? Or, I suppose, we could just hitch a ride with the Chinese if it came to that... We can't use ignorance as a defense, we now know some of the dangers and we have the start of some of the possible technological solutions. The pyramids have been around thousands of years, but what good are they if no one is around to wonder about them? I hate to sound over-dramatic about this, but it's profound to consider, isn't it? In the old days in the time before the New World was new, it cost a nation more (adjusted for inflation and other currency differences) to send a ship across the ocean than it does for us to send a probe to another planet. It was also more dangerous than our current manned missions. Space is expensive, yes, but only relatively – compared to much of what taxes are spent on, space is downright cheap. NASA gets such a tiny slice of the federal budget that I sometimes wish something big enough to do some damage, but small enough to stave off mass extinction, would fall from the sky someplace just to get the politicians in gear. Sad but true, people usually have to die before something is done. Take the recent tsunami - now they are building an early warning system in that region. A poor area, by and large, and the cost of this detection system no doubt could have been spent on feeding the poor, no? I'm sure that was part of the reason politicians gave before the disaster... We can choose to spend 100 billion on an optional war (right, wrong or otherwise), but NASA probes are so expensive, that people “starve” or “die” from lack of cancer research when we send them. It seems that every time NASA cuts yet another program, someone survives leukemia as a result, a bit like clapping to keep fairies alive, or so we seem to be told when these issues are on the table. ------------ About the author Frederick Smith: I enjoy writing about the positive virtues of humanism - humanists are the good guys. Email: dahlek65@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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