Is space exploration worth its enormous cost?
Not everything can be justified in the name of ‘science’.
Humans, as explorers of earth, have explored and mapped almost every square inch of land on the planet. Every piece of land is either inhabited or controlled , or left unused because of unfavorable climatic conditions. The element of mystery about “What lies beyond the horizon?” is no longer present. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons humans turned to space — to be explorers once again.
The chief grounds for justification of space exploration are:
- Space is a possible ‘backup’ for humanity.
- Space Mining — the space has a wealth of resources. The ability to effectively tap these would be revolutionary.
- Space Exploration helps in research and development of new technologies. It has made accurate weather predictions and technologies like GPS possible.
No matter how significant these arguments are, we should not forget how costly space exploration is, in terms of money as well as the environment. Billions of dollars are spent every year to make equipment that leave behind a huge biological footprint on their way to space.
The Environmental Impact Of Space Exploration
In the last 70 years of ‘space exploration’, humans have left behind a lot of space debris in the earth’s orbit, and elsewhere too. While there are 2000 functioning satellites in the earth’s orbit at the moment, there are also 3000 dead ones, along with millions of broken-off fragments from rockets/satellites which could circle the orbit for thousands of years. In addition, mankind has left behind much more than their footprints on the moon. According to estimates, 190,000 kilograms of matter has been left behind on the lunar surface by humans.
In recent years, the scope of space exploration has increased drastically, with private companies, along with NASA, in the game. Along with space debris, the hefty carbon footprint of rockets poses a threat to the ever-depleting ozone. While space exploration is not viewed as an option by modern humans, but as a necessity, it should be in harmony with nature, respecting both, our home — the earth, and earth’s home — the space. Although space pollution is not a major concern at the moment, it could be soon. At that point, neither earth nor space will remain a ‘fit’ habitat for humanity.
Utopia and Space Exploration
Modern day philosophers link space exploration with utopianism. Humans have been seeking the ‘ideal’ habitat since the dawn of civilization. They never really stopped, even though earth is ideal in the sense that it miraculously fulfils all criteria required for human existence. But now that we are in an environmental crisis, the need for an alternative habitat has never been greater. Humanity is facing a growing existential threat due to climate change, population boom, scarcity of resources and excessive pollution. Scientists, and people in general, have a vision of finding a new habitat in space.
Such an utopian environment has been depicted in movies like Elysium and Tomorrowland. These movies reflect discursive utopianism, in which humans, dissatisfied with their current habitat, strive towards attaining a different and better one. In stark contrast, teleological utopianism focuses on achieving a stable and ideal end-state for humanity. It is in direct opposition to an existence in space, somewhere humans are not evolved to live in. But then there’s horizontal utopianism, which requires humans to constantly push toward new horizons, so that they are never ‘limited’ by anything. It is in direct favor of space exploration. Each of these utopian views is convincing in its own way, but at no cost should earth be considered as disposable and replaceable. The earth is all we truly know and to tarnish it in expectations of finding another abode like it is not only foolish but also deadly.
“What’s the use of a fine house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on.” — Henry David Thoreau
