A Space Proposal

It is no longer fashionable (if it ever really was) to openly espouse let alone attempt to implement grandiose visions that do not at least promise immediate gratification to the general public. Today, in what seems to be a period of national decline, anything that smacks of overreaching in any field will be greeted with a fair amount of eye-rolling and cynical snickering. 

Well. No one in this climate of ratcheted down expectations will want to hear a word about space exploration and its necessity as a continuous national endeavor for any country that wishes to maintain its status as a world (and not just regional) power. No one that is except for the Chinese, Indians, and the European Union.  

These regional powers understand the value of space (read manned) exploration. Each of them is increasing the collective sums that they contribute to their space programs. Indeed the space program is a source of great pride for the Chinese who, reasonably, propose a manned moon landing in 2020. Such a goal is not merely technically passé and jingoistic as some commentators would have it, but is a necessary step to further development and exploration of the cosmos.

Let me be clear. Once the Portuguese and the Spanish waded into the Great Unknown Ocean of their time and made their initial discoveries it was not thereby guaranteed that they would continue the adventure. Quite the contrary.  It was to another, at that time a rather marginal ‘European’ power, which was to continue to carry their initial spirit of exploration eventually bringing their culture and their beliefs all around the world (admittedly not without strife and dissent). Of course one of these direct results was the founding of the United States. 

Elizabethan England, the ‘marginal’ power referred to above, understood that once an avenue of exploration is opened to the human mind it will not close easily, if at all. It remains only a question of who will attempt to push forward. The Ocean of the Twentieth Century began as a competition between two world powers, one of which is now already defunct, while the other seriously doubts either its staying power and/or national mission. They are/will not be the first to do so. The Ocean will remain, but the players will assuredly be different.

In the end, I care not a whit about who will dominate space in the future. I would however prefer that whoever ultimately does so, will do so in a spirit of inquiry, respect, and awe for any and every astounding step forward. It also would be nice if democratic values could be enhanced during the process rather than curtailed. For if the latter, the whole experiment would have been for naught. It would just have expanded the “iron-cage of capitalism” rather than opened it up for new forms of thought, expression, and lived experience.

'Grandiose' Proposals to focus a disheartened world’s mind:

Let us work together (the best scenario) to achieve the following by the end of the Twenty-First Century:

Step One: A functional, year-round Moon-Base

Step Two: A functional, year-round Mars Base

Step Three: Ascertain if there are any life forms on Mars and if not: begin terraforming

Step Four: Attempt to utilize the energy sources on Titan to create the necessary platforms for intensive extra-solar exploration

I have every confidence that humanity properly led as a whole and individually informed about the enormous potential benefits (spin-offs) of such a program will be able to achieve all these goals and more in a spirit of cooperation and mutual benefit. All this may seem ‘grandiose’ today, because we have done very little so far. However, one day they will seem as ordinary as a flight to Paris from New York. Let us begin today!