Entry #10, Why Space?

Image Source: NASA

I am often baffled by peoples' reluctance towards science and space exploration. Scrolling through instagram comments on space related posts, the question frequently comes up, "Why are we wasting so much money on space? We should be spending that money to solve problems here on Earth." This is complex question, but one that should not be up for debate. I think everyone can agree that there are many humanitarian issues that we should be focusing on, but why take that funding away from science? How about scraping a bit from the 1.6 trillion dollar military budget?  The reality is, through scientific research, particularly in the field of space exploration, humans have found answers to problems that affect our every day life.

There are many things we take for granted that might not have been invented without setting our sights at the unknown: GPS, selfie cameras, memory foam, even cordless vacuums. Not to mention the inevitable threat of a meteor, which would render selfie cameras and memory foam useless. But for me, the most important contribution space exploration has given us is a sense of humility. As we venture out further into the endlessness of space and take a look at our planet from afar, we catch a glimpse of how small our problems truly are, in the grand stage of the universe. So, "Why space?" Let's break that question down to get a better understanding of why it is so important to explore the cosmos.

Image Source: Linkedin

Take a look at your phone. Nearly every feature of that device was made possible through discoveries via space research. At this very moment, a satellite orbiting the earth is sending information to your phone allowing you to send and receive messages, check the weather forecast, and find directions to the nearest restaurant. Even the tiny camera on the front of your phone, allowing you to take a selfie, was invented by NASA scientists who are on a never-ending search for more powerful and compact imaging hardware to send out across the solar system. Because of years of research and scientific progress, the utility of our handheld devices has connected the world, making life easier and communication as efficient as we could ever have imagined.

Image Source: Popular Science

What happens when an asteroid the size of a football field is on a collision course with Earth? Who do we call? Thankfully scientists are on the look-out, 24 hours a day, gathering data on the thousands of near Earth objects that could potentially threaten life as we know it. You may be surprised to know that we are constantly getting pummeled by rocks and dust, as Earth flies through space at 67,000 mph. Although most of this debris burns up in our atmosphere, occasionally they are so big that they make it all the way to the surface. Objects of this size are more common than we'd like to assume. According to NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination, a meteoroid the size of a football field collides with the surface of the Earth approximately every 2,000 years, causing significant damage to the area. We are well overdue for our next cataclysmic event. I, for one, am more than happy to give a portion of my taxes to fund the defense of our home.

The argument that government funding is wasted on space research is bewildering to me. Trillions of dollars are spent every year on weapons, ammunition, fuel, and war machines; human beings are at a constant battle with each other. Rather than working together to progress human civilization, we are fixated on dominating our little corners of this small speck of a world, that is insignificant in the grand scale of the universe. We fight over money, resources, race, and religion. We poison the air we breath, and hunt species to extinction, all for the short term gratification of power, that doesn't even amount to a blink compared to the time of Earth's existence. 

Image Source: NPR

In 1990, NASA's Voyager 1 mission, a probe which had been exploring the solar system for over a decade, was nearing the edge of our planetary neighborhood. At a distance of 3.7 billion miles away, Voyager turned around for one last snapshot of Earth, before it continued on its eternal journey through interstellar space. The idea to take this "self-portrait" came from Carl Sagan, one of the most influential science communicators to ever had existed. Sagan knew the picture would render Earth as just a dot of light, but as stated on the NASA website, the Voyager team “wanted humanity to see Earth’s vulnerability and that our home world is just a tiny, fragile speck in the cosmic ocean.” So I conclude my final blog entry with the following video -- a monologue by Dr. Carl Sagan entitled "Pale Blue Dot."

"Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it, everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives." - Carl Sagan

Citations:

“Asteroid Fast Facts.” NASA, NASA Content Administrator, 25 July 2023, www.nasa.gov/solar-system/asteroids/asteroid-fast-facts/.

Chow, Denise. “Everyday Tech from Space: Cell Phone Cameras Have Space Origins.” Space.com, Space, 17 Jan. 2011.

Friedlander, Blaine. “Iconic ‘pale Blue Dot’ Photo – Carl Sagan’s Idea – Turns 30.” Cornell Chronicle, 13 Feb. 2020.

Iberdrola. “Meteorites on Earth: How Many Fall per Year and Why Don’t We See Them?” Iberdrola.com, 2022.

Vaughan, Don. "Everyday Stuff Developed by NASA". Encyclopedia Britannica, 25 Nov. 2020