Two Views On Space Exploration

Beyond the blue sky is the infinite expanse of space with infinite objects. 'Infinite' may seem like a big word, but it is the feeling I get when contemplating the night sky.

Sometimes, I also see starlink satellites from SpaceX darting through the space.

With the advent of telescopes, we have the ability to zoom into this infinite expanse and discover its intricacies.

What we realised is that there are all sorts of planets in existence. And the universe is in perpetual motion. I share the view of perpetual motion as everything that has a starting point is bound to move towards its end point.

But before that point is reached, there's plenty of discovery to be made about this seemingly infinite expanse above our heads.

In a world of polarity, we generally have two views towards a particular topic or subject. This is the case on the space frontier.

It's an exciting adventure but there are differing views when it comes to its exploration. Should we strive to colonize other space objects(e.g planets) or just be a tourist?

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Elon Musk And SpaceX

Despite his nerdy behaviour, Elon Musk isn't here to play. His on a mission to make human beings a multi-planetary species with SpaceX.

Building a full blown rocketship that pierces through the stratosphere is not a common or everyday endeavor. Because it is simply very hard.

I first heard about reverse engineering from him. Reverse engineering is taking a working principle and apply it to one's individual circumstance. This makes the building process a lot more simple. But simple doesn't necessarily mean easy.

‘I think there is a strong humanitarian argument for making life multi-planetary,’ he told me, ‘in order to safeguard the existence of humanity in the event that something catastrophic were to happen, in which case being poor or having a disease would be irrelevant, because humanity would be extinct.' Source

I believe this will be an important theme of discussion in the coming decades in regards to the future of humanity. Can we really become extinct? Yes, we can. The likelihood? It's currently a little. Will the likelihood increase or decrease in the future? It depends on many variables.

It's better to be safe than sorry with Elon Musk. Humanity needs to be multi-planetary in order to continue its evolution in the event of a disaster beyond expectations and SpaceX is the brainchild of that. Building a transportation system to travel to the Moon, Mars and beyond.

There's also the vision of building a better future through understanding the cosmos, the macrocosm of our microcosm(Earth). Besides, venturing into space also seems the next logical step on the evolution of humanity.

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Naturally, not everyone agrees with the view of making humanity multi-planetary. To some, it's a fool's errand, human beings are fragile creatures, they're not build to live on other planets.

To others, Earth is our home. Focusing on making it a better place to inhabit should be a priority. Rather than the quest for inhabiting other planets. In my view, both are valid points.

Neil deGrasse Tyson And Hayden Planetarium

If you've ever ventured into astrophysics, then you probably came across this name above. Neil deGrasse Tyson has created great content(written, audio, multimedia) about astronomical objects and phenomena.

A favourite of mine on his works is Cosmos: A Space Odyssey science documentary. The documentary is an enlightening journey into the space world and the Earth's position within it.

This astrophysicist is the director of Hayden Planetarium. This is a public planetarium that organise events to educate and entertain the general public about astronomy and related topics. He has served more than two decades at Hayden Planetarium, advocating for increasing support for NASA's projects.

He echoes similar viewpoints with Elon on space exploration, especially on the aspect of how expanding our knowledge of the universe can greatly benefit humanity. But he's not keen on humanity living outside of the Earth.

'To ship a billion people to another planet to help them survive a catastrophe on Earth seems unrealistic. If you want to call Mars home, you need to terraform Mars, turn it into Earth. It is so much easier to make Earth return to Earth again rather than terraforming Mars.' Source

When he heard about Elon Musk's vision of building a colony on Mars, Neil deGrasse Tyson gave a response with the quoted statement above.

Realistically, he made a great point. For other planets to be habitable, they need to be terraformed to some degree. Terraform is the process of transforming the atmosphere of another planet to resemble that of the Earth.

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According to known history, Mars was 'like' Earth at some point. There are evidence from satellite images of dried up water channels indicating that there was some form of water on the planet. Maybe a million years ago.

Mars is also considered the sister planet of Earth due to the many similarities they share. Venus and Mercury are abnormally hot while Jupiter is a bit far away.

To me, building a colony on Mars doesn't look unrealistic. Mars has a similar base structure with the Earth. It doesn't need to be turned into Earth.

To Neil deGrasse Tyson, space exploration is an inspiration that we read and ponder about but never experience tangibly.

In Closing

Space exploration is not a big topic yet as we're in the very early stages.

Companies like SpaceX are making great strides in that direction. We've known a lot about the space frontier now compared to a decade or two ago. There are plans of taking humans back to the moon in the coming years.

I believe experiential knowledge is the best form of exploration. Having a first hand experience brings a different level of understanding.

Apart from exploration, it is much desirable to be a multi-planetary species even without the threat of a possible catastrophe. We can't be on an island and call it our only home. Why be a tourist when you can be a traveller?


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