Space Travel Purpose?

[ShadowFire]

I come from an old religion that has trouble understanding why humans would want to go to our Moon, Mars, The Solar System or travel via interstellar Space? The reason this confuses me are the ethics and philosophical concerns of traveling and possibly colonizing these Heavenly Celestial objects for our own use?

There are some people who view the Earth, Our Moon, and the entire Cosmos as Sacred objects that deserve respect, to be in Awe of their presence, and hopefully to inspire us to open our eyes and be better people by finally understanding the need for connection to our entire Universe we reside in, but sadly whenever I hear of space travel I hear of the moon not as a Sacred object, but as a commodity, to be exploited for it's natural resources, that can be used as a launching pad to venture out to other celestial objects to exploit their natural resources as well.

When I think of human space travel I think of the destructive nature of the locust, and how they destroy a region by over consumption and once that area is destroyed, they travel to another region to deplete that resource as well. I hope that is not the purpose of our space travel to other areas as well. I am in Awe and humbled by the vastness of our Universe and how we are such a small and insignificant dot compared to the Cosmos, I sincerely hope that when we explore Her Sacredness, we find our Humanity and need for connection to the Universe and to each other as well.

 

[Jainarayan]

If humans and other species survive long enough, they may see the Earth become uninhabitable. Colonizing space is one way of ensuring our survival. Hopefully by the time we have the technology for space travel, we will have learned our lesson about not trashing other planets. We might even be able to heal the Earth. Even then, the urge to explore may be too strong to resist.

 

[Quetzal]

Put me in coach, I'm ready!

I come from an old religion that has trouble understanding why humans would want to go to our Moon, Mars, The Solar System or travel via interstellar Space? The reason this confuses me are the ethics and philosophical concerns of traveling and possibly colonizing these Heavenly Celestial objects for our own use?

Good questions! In fact, this is the topic of many panels regard colonizing other planetary bodies. Usually goes something like this: "Look, we goobered our own planet, what is to say we won't do it again?" That is a fair criticism, but here are a few things going in our favor. First, we have learned a lot about what is causing our planet harm that we may not have been aware of before. The whole "fool me twice" thing would be tougher to pull on us. Second, we are assuming the planet/atmospheric make up is similar to what it is here on Earth. We can also toy with the idea that an atmosphere that might be inhabitable will have different traits that make it more... resilient to our waste products. Third, our technology is rapidly expanding, in that I firmly believe that given enough time we can correct environmental issues and allow us to be more sustainable should we get a second go at another planet. There is more, but let's move on.

There are some people who view the Earth, Our Moon, and the entire Cosmos as Sacred objects that deserve respect, to be in Awe of their presence, and hopefully to inspire us to open our eyes and be better people by finally understanding the need for connection to our entire Universe we reside in, but sadly whenever I hear of space travel I hear of the moon not as a Sacred object, but as a commodity, to be exploited for it's natural resources, that can be used as a launching pad to venture out to other celestial objects to exploit their natural resources as well.

First, it is worth pointing out that as far as we know the moon has no natural resources that we can readily use. Sure, we can use it as a launching pad, but basic physics tells us that launching from the moon would not be efficient. At all. In fact, the greatest asset to our space travel is not an actual planet or moon, but gravity! We used gravity sling shots to get Voyager into position to get a selfie with Pluto! And it is STILL going! All from an Earth based launch, not too bad, eh? Second, there is a common belief that natural resources in space are as rare as they are here. We do not believe that is the case. When we begin to discuss things like hydrogen, ammonia, and oxygen; even minerals such as iron, gold and aluminum; we have reason to believe that asteroids and other planets will have very large amounts of these things. In short, we could be one asteroid away from having enough aluminum to last us for generations. In short, most elements are really common elsewhere, even if they are rare here. Something to think about.

When I think of human space travel I think of the destructive nature of the locust, and how they destroy a region by over consumption and once that area is destroyed, they travel to another region to deplete that resource as well.

Now, a key difference is that we, as humans, are self aware of our destructive nature. We have a conscious and a moral responsibility within us to do the right thing. That is not to say that we will do the right thing. But, I have a but more optimism that we will not turn into a galactic virus that destroys everything.

I hope that is not the purpose of our space travel to other areas as well.

Our primary purpose for space travel right now is self preservation. Eventually, we will not be able to stay here. For better or worse, due to whatever circumstance, we will eventually have to leave or we will perish as a species. So, any data or technological test that can get us one step closer to that, we want. We want it as soon as possible.

I am in Awe and humbled by the vastness of our Universe and how we are such a small and insignificant dot compared to the Cosmos, I sincerely hope that when we explore Her Sacredness, we find our Humanity and need for connection to the Universe and to each other as well.

I will take this time to say we have no moral obligation to the universe if we become extinct. Right? If we are all dead, we owe nothing to anyone because, well, we are dead. So, from my perspective, I welcome any and all technologies related to space and our ability to become multi-planetary because our survival comes first. Problems faced after we have established ourselves will happen and we will have to overcome those. But let's not put that cart before the horse.

Hope this helps.

 

[YmirGF]

Put me in coach, I'm ready!


Good questions! In fact, this is the topic of many panels regard colonizing other planetary bodies. Usually goes something like this: "Look, we goobered out own planet, what is to say we won't do it again?" That is a fair criticism, but here are a few things going in our favor. First, we have learned a lot about what is causing our planet harm that we may not have been aware of before. The whole "fool me twice" thing would be tougher to pull on us. Second, we are assuming the planet/atmospheric make up is similar to what it is here on Earth. We can also toy with the idea that an atmosphere that might be inhabitable will have different traits that make it more... resilient to our waste products. Third, our technology is rapidly expanding, in that I firmly believe that given enough time we can correct environmental issues and allow us to be more sustainable should we get a second go at another planet. There is more, but let's move on.


First, it is worth pointing out that as far as we know the moon has no natural resources that we can readily use. Sure, we can use it as a launching pad, but basic physics tells us that launching from the moon would not be efficient. At all. In fact, the greatest asset to our space travel is not an actual planet or moon, but gravity! We used gravity sling shots to get Voyager into position to get a selfie with Pluto! And it is STILL going! All from an Earth based launch, not too bad, eh? Second, there is a common belief that natural resources in space are as rare as they are here. We do not believe that is the case. When we begin to discussion things like hydrogen, ammonia, and oxygen; even minerals such as iron, gold and aluminum; we have reason to believe that asteroids and other planets will have very large amounts of these things. In short, we could be one asteroid away from having enough aluminum to last us for generations. In short, most elements are really common elsewhere, even if they are rare here. Something to think about.


Now, a key difference is that we, as humans, are self aware of our destructive nature. We have a conscious and a moral responsibility within us to do the right thing. That is not to say that we will do the right thing. But, I have a but more optimism that we will not turn into a galactic virus that destroys everything.


Our primary purpose for space travel right now is self preservation. Eventually, we will not be able to stay here. For better or worse, due to whatever circumstance, we will eventually have to leave or we will perish as a species. So, any data or technological test that can get us one step closer to that, we want. We want it as soon as possible.


I will take this time to say we have no moral obligation to the universe if we become extinct. Right? If we are all dead, we owe nothing to anyone because, well, we are dead. So, from my perspective, I welcome any and all technologies related to space and our ability to become multi-planetary because our survival comes first. Problems faced after we have established ourselves will happen and we will have to overcome those. But let's not put that cart before the horse.

Hope this helps.

Spoken like a true Space case, um... er.... cadet

The little boy, in his PJ's, I once was, who eagerly watched every Mercury, Gemini and Apollo launch heartily concurs....

 

[Quetzal]

The little boy, in his PJ's, I once was, who eagerly watched every Mercury, Gemini and Apollo launch heartily concurs....

I wish I could have seen them live. What a time that had to be!

 

[YmirGF]

I wish I could have seen them live. What a time that had to be!

There was always something about seeing the Saturn 5 boosters go off that invoked awe...
I was also an avid fan of the first several Space shuttle launches and sadly, was watching it live when the Challenger blew up....

... and watched with tears flowing down my cheeks...

 

[Rick O'Shez]

I come from an old religion that has trouble understanding why humans would want to go to our Moon, Mars, The Solar System or travel via interstellar Space? The reason this confuses me are the ethics and philosophical concerns of traveling and possibly colonizing these Heavenly Celestial objects for our own use?

I wonder about it too. It might be better to put all the energy and resources involved in space travel into looking after the planet we have now, rather than viewing it as "temporary accommodation".

 

[Quetzal]

There was always something about seeing the Saturn 5 boosters go off that invoked awe... I was also an avid fan of the first several Space shuttle launches and sadly, was watching it live when the Challenger blew up.... ... and watched with tears flowing down my cheeks...

So you know the story about the engineer that tried to delay that launch? I can't remember his name. But I remember an interview where he said he still felt overwhelming guilt. I should know his name, I made a post about him. I will have to look it up.

 

[Quetzal]

I wonder about it too. It might be better to put all the energy and resources involved in space travel into looking after the planet we have now, rather than viewing it as "temporary accommodation".

That is the point, though. Simply put, on a long enough timeline, it is a temporary accommodation.

 

[YmirGF]

So you know the story about the engineer that tried to delay that launch? I can't remember his name. But I remember an interview where he said he still felt overwhelming guilt. I should know his name, I made a post about him. I will have to look it up.

I remember that.... have seen several documentaries about the event.

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

I wonder about it too. It might be better to put all the energy and resources involved in space travel into looking after the planet we have now, rather than viewing it as "temporary accommodation".

This is an interesting point, and something that has been presented repeatedly ever since the early days of the space programs (although it wasn't visible at the time, there was heavy debate in the Soviet Union about the purpose and value of their space program during the 1960s, 70s and 80s).

NASA's 2016 budget is a little over $19 billion dollars, or about one-half of one percent of the total budget (the fraction of the budget has been slowly declining from about 0.75 percent in the 1980s, while the dollar amount has only changed slightly). It supports many high-tech and high-paying jobs, and I'm not sure what other uses might make more of a positive impact, but there might be some.

It works out to about $54 per person per year to fund NASA...to me, that's a good investment (although it could probably be an even better investment...) and I'd gladly spend several times that amount on space exploration and such, rather than some of our military and other spending.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

That is the point, though. Simply put, on a long enough timeline, it is a temporary accommodation.

Perhaps, but that attitude can be part of the problem. It's rather like the difference between owing a house and renting one, people tend to look after a property better when they own it.

 

[Jumi]

I think with all the people who are making loads of children without responsibility to our planet, we have to look to solar system for ways to expand where humans live. I would hope a surprise breakthrough would send us to the moon, mars, europa etc.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

I think with all the people who are making loads of children without responsibility to our planet, we have to look to solar system for ways to expand where humans live. I would hope a surprise breakthrough would send us to the moon, mars, europa etc.

The other option would be to introduce incentives for people to have less children, and to make sure that birth control is available to all.

 

[Jumi]

The other option would be to introduce incentives for people to have less children, and to make sure that birth control is available to all.

Many are opposed to that on religious grounds.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

Many are opposed to that on religious grounds.

Yeah, I know. Shame really.

 

[Ouroboros]

When I think of human space travel I think of the destructive nature of the locust, and how they destroy a region by over consumption and once that area is destroyed, they travel to another region to deplete that resource as well.

We are a pest. It's always hard to accept one's own dark side, but I read an article years ago that showed that humans spread and populate Earth in the very same way virus, bacteria, fungus, etc spread. The same equations could be used to show where and how fast we're expected to spread. And, if we stop spreading, we probably will eventually die out. Eating up the limited resources we have and just erase our own existence. So perhaps the only "ethical" reason to spread to other planets is to save the existence of mankind.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

We are a pest. It's always hard to accept one's own dark side, but I read an article years ago that showed that humans spread and populate Earth in the very same way virus, bacteria, fungus, etc spread. The same equations could be used to show where and how fast we're expected to spread. And, if we stop spreading, we probably will eventually die out. Eating up the limited resources we have and just erase our own existence. So perhaps the only "ethical" reason to spread to other planets is to save the existence of mankind.

Reminds me of this film:

 

[Ouroboros]

The other option would be to introduce incentives for people to have less children, and to make sure that birth control is available to all.

Or have a lottery. You have to play and win to get the right to have a child.

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

Reminds me of this film:

Or the Smith with Morpheus in the Matrix...Interesting....Neo turned HIM into a virus...