Why Space? Humanity's Cosmic Conquest

Welcome to the Space, But Messier! Podcast. Today we've got Tesla's in space and the White House's war on science. Let's dive in!

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News:

SpaceX Falcon Heavy Launch

On February 6th, SpaceX launched their Falcon Heavy Rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida on a course for Mars. The Falcon Heavy Rocket, complete with 27 rocket engines, lifted a Tesla Roadster into space, which is now on a journey to orbit the Sun forever. However, reports recently surfaced of another secret payload aboard the Tesla, not the Hot Wheels model of the Tesla roadster (for which it’s price is skyrocketing on ebay) but, a library.

Not your ordinary Library, but one that can withstand millions of years in an environment like space. It’s called the Arch. It’s like a CD, but it’s a small disc of quartz crystal, not much larger than a coin, built for long-term data archiving and has the ability to hold troves of information, like up to 7,000 Blu-ray discs. This specific Arch was loaded with Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy

... But why?

If you’ve read Foundation, the first novel, you’ll know that this was exactly the goal of mathematicians in the Galactic Empire, to compile all knowledge that Humans have accumulated until then, and store it in libraries across the galaxy before a predicted threat could destroy it all in the next 500 years. The Arch’s co-founder says to "Think of it as a ring of knowledge around the Sun. This is only the first step of an epic human project to curate, encode, and distribute our data across the Solar System, and beyond."

The Trump Administration’s 2019 Budget Request

The Trump Administration has done it again… literally. The White House released its budget request for Fiscal Year 2019 and it looks a lot like last year's. Disclaimer: Before you hear what was published, know that the budget still needs to be approved by Congress, so these are not final decisions.

Areas that stayed funded were:

Mars 2020 Lander
Europa Clipper
SLS Rocket
Orion Capsule (both sum to 3.7 billion)

Areas to lose some funding:

The Environmental Protection Agency
Centers for Disease Control
National Science Foundation

Areas to be completely defunded:

• 5 Earth science missions, all meant to measure the planet’s climate
• WFIRST - Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope, the mission that was voted into development by American astronomers
• NASA’s Office of Education - This office centralizes NASA education effort, including the distribution of grants to schools, Universities, and museums. Includes programs such as the NASA’s Community College Aerospace Program that I participated in 2 years ago.

We will do our best to keep you updated in this area, so stay tuned.

Today's Topic: Why Space? Why do we as humans have this desire to explore and discover?

NASA

“Humanity's interest in the heavens has been universal and enduring. Humans are driven to explore the unknown, discover new worlds, push the boundaries of our scientific and technical limits, and then push further. The intangible desire to explore and challenge the boundaries of what we know and where we have been has provided benefits to our society for centuries.”

Carl Sagan - Cosmos

“Exploration is in our nature. We began as wanderers, and we are wanderers still. We have lingered long enough on the shores of the cosmic ocean. We are ready at last to set sail for the stars.”

Elon Musk

“Life has to be more about solving problems, if life is all about solving problems, why get up in the morning? There have to be things that inspire you, that make you proud of being a member of humanity. We need more of those things. Space Exploration is the greatest adventure that you could ever embark upon.”

Stephen Hawking (paraphrased)

One of our greatest gifts, and that of Albert Einstein, is imagination. With today’s technology, humanity’s knowledge, and our imagination, we can explore space and time in our own minds, wherever we are. But the universe is a violent place, stars engulf planets, asteroids hurdle at hundreds of miles per seconds, but we should venture out because the laws of physics guarantee that it will eventually happen to us. However, we already know of a advanced civilization for a tendency to destroy species, ecosystems, atmospheres, perhaps entire planets and it happens to live on earth. Spreading out may be the only thing that saves us from ourselves. We are also explorers by nature. Whenever we make great leaps like landing on the moon, we elevate humanity, bring people and nations together, usher in new discoveries and new technologies. Voyager launched in 1977 at 11 miles/second, it would take 70,000 years to reach nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, 25 trillion miles. Projects like Starshot could reach Alpha Centauri in 20 years.

Me -

We explore because we learn more about who we are. Remaining where we are is comfortable, but growth and greatness is only obtained through trial and adversity. Putting yourself through something greater than anything you have endured before. Exploration promises that. Exploration progresses our species and marks it with greatness.

I cannot explain this, but humans simply have a deep-seeded desire to be great and to achieve what no man has before. That, mixed with the the imagination of Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, Carl Sagan, Gene Roddenberry, creator of Star Trek, George Lucas, creator of Star Wars; everything we have seen or read that makes the promise of space real and attainable feeds our curiosity and transforms it into action.

Jenna, that is why we go to space.

Why is it good?

• Inspires youth
• Informs humanity
  • Studying planets like Venus give us a glimpse of what our planet would turn into if we lost control of our Climate. Venus is currently in what we call a Runaway greenhouse effect, a terribly inhabitable world, but one that mirrors what Earth will arrive at if we continue at our current rate. 

• It brings us new technologies that help humanity.
  • We call these Spinoffs and we’ve improved ambulances, depression, diagnosing cancer, flight safety, increasing farming yields, you name it. Keep an eye out for an entire episode dedicated to this.
• International Cooperation
• Long Term Survival

Space is humbling.

Looking beyond and realizing how small we are is good for humanity as a whole. Carl Sagan was instrumental in helping us realize this.

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Thanks again!

Tony DiBernardo

Founder, Space, But Messier!