Absent extraterrestrials accelerating our learning curve by letting us ride their alien coattails as Space-faring vagabonds, humanity’s future rests with colonizing the final frontier. The hazards of this gamble will be severe. We may even splinter into multiple subspecies as we adapt to conditions on other worlds. So be it. I don’t like rolling the dice with existence, but incredibly, that’s civilization’s daily lottery purchase while governments squabble, squander, and potentially degenerate into Orwell’s 1984 or the movie Idiocracy. Neither of these fictional options bodes well. Let me remind everyone that although the odds of winning the Powerball Lottery jackpot are a daunting 1 in 175 million… it happens frequently. Now think about those statistical results in relation to the occurrence of an Extinction Level Event. It’s not as farfetched as you thought.
To those who say we aren’t ready… my riposte is that we damn sure won’t be without setting into motion dedicated resource allocation and systemic planning. Sadly, I cannot repudiate the fact that humanity is an immature and imperfect life form. However, long before we gain enough wisdom to govern our base nature, we will need to ascend to the stars if we wish to survive. Show me the corner of our shrinking planet that remains untouched by our sphere of influence – it’s impossible. While our population is ceaselessly smashing against our terrestrial boundaries, what of incurable pandemics, deadly environmental degradation, gamma-ray bursts, rogue asteroid collisions – pick your cause, but the only effect question is “when,” not “if.”
I have opined on this topic before and will continue to do so. Today, my outcry is sparked by a news article on China launching astronauts to their Tiangong 1 experimental Space Module. The article seems to mock China’s description of the task as “glorious and sacred,” denigrates their national support as “Communist Party propaganda,” includes ridicule of their children “dressed as happy ethnic minorities waving,” cites a Twitter comment that charges China of wasting money for this mission, and finishes with the coup de grace – accusations of an interstellar arms race. Really, that’s objective, agenda-free reporting? Of all the critical discussions that this worthy event could have engendered, why is the public instead served a cold dish of short-sighted, fear mongering drivel?
At a time when NASA’s current role in Space exploration is that of an armchair cheerleader, are we truly going to hurl stones at any culture that pursues advanced strategies for our race’s sustainability? Why is it that in the last decade the most memorable moment of Space ambassadorship is a song performed in orbit by a Canadian astronaut? Bravo, Commander Chris Hadfield! Someone must awaken the people, and your rendition of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” aboard the International Space Station was magical… my hope is that it calls to those among us, young and old, who still harbor enough imagination and pioneering spirit to propel our species to a wondrous adventure among the heavens.
I am an American, and I love my country. The US Constitution stands as a singular social triumph over an otherwise turbulent human history. Though the freedoms enshrined therein may be under siege these days, I derive no comfort from petty attacks on foreign nations. I am not defending China’s human rights record or similar politics. I am speaking of their effort to embrace a common destiny, one that should unite humanity. Indeed, one of my greatest concerns is that my country has cut the legs out from under what could be our existential salvation – NASA. While I agree that permitting and incentivizing private companies to enter the foray into Space makes good sense, I am steadfast in my belief that such a galactic endeavor really does require global cooperation. For that reality, we need our governments and elected leaders to be stakeholders in this higher vision.
What happened to the grandiose dreams of the generations following Neil Armstrong’s “one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind?” Does nobody look in amazement to the sky, to the Universe? If only every one of us could reflect upon our blue jewel from Space… Earth… humbling, magnificent, and yet, merely a dew drop in the vast Cosmic ocean.
