Think Again: Manned space flight
When we printed the FP list, Five Physics Lessons for Obama, we anticipated that Berkeley Professor Richard Muller’s counterintuitive arguments about global warming and alternative energy would provoke some discussion out on the Internets. But interestingly, his thoughts on manned space flight seem to have generated the most controversy. Muller argues that “putting humans in ...
When we printed the FP list, Five Physics Lessons for Obama, we anticipated that Berkeley Professor Richard Muller's counterintuitive arguments about global warming and alternative energy would provoke some discussion out on the Internets. But interestingly, his thoughts on manned space flight seem to have generated the most controversy. Muller argues that "putting humans in space is not only very dangerous; it usually slows the advance of science." A good number of Reddit users seem to disagree.
When we printed the FP list, Five Physics Lessons for Obama, we anticipated that Berkeley Professor Richard Muller’s counterintuitive arguments about global warming and alternative energy would provoke some discussion out on the Internets. But interestingly, his thoughts on manned space flight seem to have generated the most controversy. Muller argues that “putting humans in space is not only very dangerous; it usually slows the advance of science.” A good number of Reddit users seem to disagree.
Dr. Evan M. Zuesse of Melbourne, Australia also wrote in with a very spirited and lengthy rebuttal. Zuesse feels that following Muller’s advice could lead to the demise of humanity itself. Here’s an excerpt:
In the long term (by which I mean over the next thousand, ten thousand or hundred thousand years) what policies we put in place for climate change, financial stabilization, the defense against jihadi Islam and secular extremisms such as Communism or the new fascism of Russia and China, the nuclear weapons race, etc., etc., all pale into utter insignificance when compared to the existential importance for humanity of the space program. There quite simply is, aside from medical research and nanotechnology, no other initiative as essential to the survival and well-being of humanity as this.
At present we are going through a world-wide technology explosion that relies upon the availability of precious metals and rare elements. We are feverishly mining the earth for all kinds of minerals that we use for a year or two, and then trash. But these are not renewable resources. They are finite, and perhaps within the next century or two some of the less common of them will be used up. That means that hundreds of thousands of years into the future the human race will not have them available on earth. We could get to the point where even if we have the science for travel between the stars, we will not have the raw materials to do it with. We will be locked here on earth. But if other tendencies prevail, e.g., ruination of the environment, both by pollution and by erroneous “climate change” policies, a nuclear holocaust brought on by jihadi Islamic states, the spread of failed states, or other future unknown nightmares, we may well have ruined large portions of the earth or otherwise created hell-holes. Earth then will be our prison, condemning untold numbers of future generations to declining expectations and poor lives, from which there can be no escape, no second chance. Our present century might then be seen in future ages as the peak of human attainment and prosperity instead of a stage toward even better societies. And we now would be damned in future generations for having ruined the possibilities for all later generations.
It is therefore essential for the long-term future of humanity that we develop space facilities to mine Mars and the asteroid belts, and that we have a basis for further space exploration if earth itself becomes a mined-out and polluted planet.
Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating
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