Space travel in the modern age is an ambiguously diverse term. It encompasses exploration of the cosmos and the pursuit of its mysteries, delivering its importance into the average person’s peripherals in findings that continuously affect their lives. Superficially, scientific discoveries have been the primary motivator for space travel, providing humanity insights into otherwise unsubstantiated working theories of the universe. Expanding humanities’ horizons gives rise to a number of existential questions: What are the inner-workings of the universe? How can we come to terms with the vast emptiness suffocating the planet? Should we be afraid of space?
During Trump’s inauguration, he promised to “plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars”, a point Elon Musk was overjoyed about. Although Trump never stated what the goal of space travel is, Musk claims he wants to ensure the future of civilization. Could that be the only reason? For starters, space espionage via satellites is an obvious reason for government investment. This evidently has moral implications on the government’s influence in everyday life. Further, scientists have utilized space to combat climate change for the betterment of humanity, from predicting droughts to measuring CO2 levels in the atmosphere. Space travel has forced the brightest minds in the world to adapt and innovate to survive in the unknown. Inventions like the CT scan were contingent on NASA’s prior research and without it, radiology would have been set back decades.
Alongside innovation is the far more sci-fi imagining of military campaigns in space—a literal “Star Wars.” Trump, among other world leaders, shares this vision: “space is the world’s newest war-fighting domain.” Whilst Death Stars and Stormtroopers might seem like a galaxy far far away, world leaders are taking it as a very real possibility. Espionage is just the beginning. The tactical use of laser satellites, entire regiments dedicated to outer space combat and military arsenals posted in space stations seem scarily plausible. Would space, as a neutral, unoccupied battleground facilitate new proxy wars? Since the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, a declaration preventing any party claiming territories in space, new factors have come into play. Billionaires have become increasingly interested —under the noble guise of idealistic exploration — seeing space as an investment opportunity and cementing them as irreplaceable stakeholders in the space sector. Arguably space innovation would not have progressed as rapidly without them; as pioneers, they have managed to achieve an indispensable influence over the industry. With the ISS planned to crash land at Point Nemo, the treaty is the only obstacle preventing a private company’s complete control over the station and, as a result, the entirety of space. The privatization and commercialization of space seems inevitable. Although we are a long way from package holidays on the moon, the space tourism industry could offer orbital, suborbital, and lunar trips to the super-rich. Was this all we hoped to achieve after decades of research, funding in the trillions, and our predecessors’ starry-eyed visions for an interstellar future?
Image via SpaceX on Unsplash