The New Space Race: Exciting or Irresponsible?
Mars is the latest frontier in mankind’s explorative quest to understand the universe. The question is, does exploration come at the cost of a high-quality life on Earth?
Last July, three different countries launched rovers to Mars, celebrating successful takeoffs. The United States’ rover Perseverance, China’s Tianwen-1, and the United Arab Emirates’ Hope spacecraft were sent for different purposes, but all were focused on learning more about the Red Planet and its potential for life.
The first of the three rockets to enter Mars’ orbit was Hope, which was confirmed to have completed its mission on February 9th. The spacecraft will continue to circle Mars’ atmosphere in increasingly close proximity for 2 more years, gathering data about the planet’s weather patterns and dust storms. Hope’s journey is the first space venture by the UAE, and the country’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, posted his congratulations and excitement on Twitter when the mission was declared a success.
Tianwen-1 entered Mars’ orbit one day after Hope on February 10th. It is still orbiting the planet, but Chinese scientists believe the rover could land in May at the earliest. Its final destination is Utopia Planitia, a basin being observed for its quantities of ice. Scientists hope that future human colonists on Mars may be able to use the ice to their advantage. Centring on a similar goal, NASA’s Perseverance landed on a dried-up lake called Jezero Crater, hoping to collect and return fossilized evidence of previous microbial life on Mars through rocks and earth. The rover, which landed on February 18th, has already sent audio recordings and photos back to NASA.
The three spacecrafts launched in July are not the only ones populating the Red Planet. NASA has sent a total of three crafts into orbit around Mars since 2001, while Europe has added two and India one. However, these missions were more spread out. The latest Mars rovers land in a wider trend of space exploration, one that is shared with big tech CEOs like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.
SpaceX, the space exploration program founded by Elon Musk, was first introduced in 2002. Since then, Mr. Musk has made various attempts to send rockets into space. On March 3rd, the third rocket in the Starship series made the first successful landing before exploding due to a fuel leak. Almost two weeks later, SpaceX sent the Falcon 9 rocket into space carrying various satellites that are expected to provide high-speed internet for the entire planet, particularly those who lack a reliable connection.
According to Musk, SpaceX’s primary goal is to send civilians into space and ultimately create colonies on other planets. As with the 3 countries mentioned earlier, Mars is the main candidate for this new living location. Musk is already on his way to this goal, offering private patrons the chance to view the Earth from orbit and visit the moon. While Mr. Musk’s aspirations are definitely ambitious, he has other competitors to bring civilians to space.
Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon, founded his own rocket company, Blue Origin, in 2000. While the organization’s plans have been kept quiet since its foundation, Mr. Bezos recently announced that he was considering stepping down as CEO of Amazon and taking on a more involved role at Blue Origin. Bezos’ transition would entail big changes for the company and could render him a tougher competitor to Musk.
Furthermore, Orbital Assembly Corporation recently unveiled plans to open its first space hotel by 2027. The hotel, called the Voyager Station, is planned to accommodate up to 280 guests and be the first commercial space station with artificial gravity. However, this would be Orbital Assembly’s first project, and 2027 is not far away. As a result, some doubt remains as to whether they will accomplish their goal.
At first glance, the goal of sending humans into space is a noble one. The Space Race between the Soviet Union and the United States was a defining factor in the Cold War, but also brought hope and optimism to the entire planet at the idea of expanding our knowledge of the cosmos. It seems partially fitting that now, with the new technologies and capabilities we possess, we turn back to space with renewed enthusiasm.
In some ways, it is opportune for this space revival to come now. In the midst of a global pandemic, it seems logical for nations and individuals alike to turn their attention elsewhere, imagining a new existence for humanity that does not entail the same problems. The urge to escape is strong, and the idea of colonizing new planets simply uses the technology at our disposal to take this one step further.
At the same time, it is hard not to find the renewed focus on space exploration irresponsible. The immense amounts of money, technology, and time spent on shuttling people to Mars could be better spent finding solutions for people who still struggle to survive on Earth. The issue of space exploration could even become uglier, as taking only the highest bidders to new planets may leave the rest of humankind to confront a growing climate crisis on their own. It may be a great leap for mankind, but when the individuals with the most privilege are chosen to lead the charge, space travel becomes just another institution through which social issues are perpetuated rather than addressed.
There is no clear answer on how to reconcile our curiosity with our humanity. Humankind has questioned our universe and surroundings since the very beginning, and our desire to explore has created staggering breakthroughs. However, it has simultaneously wreaked havoc on communities the world over, inducing inequality and oppression that cannot be healed. One thing is abundantly clear: exploration is privilege. As the quest for answers takes humans farther and farther from home, we can only hope the value of life will rise to the forefront, uniting humanity in spirit despite being separated in space.
Image courtesy of SpaceX via Wikimedia, ©2009, some rights reserved.
