Is space exploration worthwhile?
The explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger on January 26, 1986 and the subsequent disasters spread gloom across the world. There was the need to look into the future and consider if astronauts be sent up in future and what should be the goals. Is space exploration worthwhile? There are compelling reasons why we should continue to go into space and explore it. The possible spin-off is real.
Temporary setbacks should not deter the space program. There cannot be unimpeded advance in any field of human endeavour. The fact that man has achieved outstanding success in space exploration is sufficient reason why the program should be continued, and the nature of the success achieved so far justifies space exploration. In 1957 the Russians launched Sputnik into space, followed a month later by the launching of the first animal, the dog Laika, into space. In January 1959 the Russians successfully flew Luna I past the moon. Two months after, the American Pioneer 4 flew by the moon. Though the Ranger missions missed their target and the first Apollo spacecraft, sitting on the ground, caught fire, the space program had taken off. On July 20, 1969 Americans, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon while Michael Collins orbited around it. The space program achieved spectacular success in July 1975 when the Apollo astronauts linked up in orbit with two Russian cosmonauts. Explorations by nature are hazardous; people have always died. Setbacks are the price we pay for advances.
One of the main considerations for going into space is to take advantage of its resources. There are staggering quantities of minerals for the taking – minerals on the Moon, in the asteroid belt and on other planets. There are the resources of vacuum, solar power and zero gravity. We have now communications satellites and they have linked up the world, and our planet has become talkative. There are asteroids to tap for minerals. Of the more than 2,000 of these flying mountains that revolve round the sun many are made up of pure nickel-iron alloy. There are those asteroids containing carbon compounds. Apart from availing ourselves of these metals, other spin-offs are possible. Asteroids may contain clues to the mystery of the formation of planets. These carbonaceous asteroids are to provide resources for making oil, synthetics and even food.
Space exploration is worthwhile for another reason: to satisfy our instinctive urge to explore. Throughout time man has expanded by exploring unknown regions. Exploration led to the discovery of the New World and the arrival of Europeans in the Indies, and these explorations have had dramatic consequences. Explorations thrill scientists and space buffs; the benefits are shared by the whole world, and the urge to explore is satisfied, only to be aroused again. Contacts yet to be established will be beneficial. Wealth and enlightenment are to follow. Let us hope that the success of future exploration will not lead to exploitation of any kind.
Space exploration will add to man’s scientific knowledge and help the advance of science. There is scope to solve the mysteries of the universe, and man must go up. In the Space Stations to be built it will be possible, because of the zero-gravity, to manufacture materials and medicines that are difficult or impossible to manufacture on earth. It will be possible to monitor the earth, its weather and agriculture. Zero-gravity should help us to convert ordinary metals into something rarer than gold. Zero-gravity alloys may give us whole new substances; perhaps our future buildings will be made of zero-gravity substances. There is also the possibility of developing a superconductor with which we can conduct electricity without wastage. The dust on the moon or the moondust will be a source of minerals. Will not the airless, low-gravity conditions on the moon make it a prime site for industrial development?
There is scope to settle in worlds beyond our planet of birth. Our planet is already overpopulated and in the next few decades millions will be added. New technologies are to help us to occupy other planets and transform them into livable places. And the first place to be converted or ‘terraformed’ will be the moon. Mars and Venus offer opportunities for terraforming. There is water on Mars, Venus, a virtual desert, can be colonized by transporting ice, perhaps from comets. There is much that can be gained from space exploration, and space will be the answer to the many ills of our world. Achievements so far and the possibilities that science and technology are to unravel make space exploration worthwhile.
