Thursday 20 September 2012

The Absurdity of Space Travel


The Absurdity of Space Travel


 



We have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Not only does this thirst include desires for cures, environmental, societal, and individual exploration, we have this undeniable desire to explore and conquer Space. Space contains the planets, the myriad and infinite in number stars and galaxies. We -- meaning our Species as whole, has been going into go to space, collecting data, and pictures, of the Earth, of the Sun, the Planets, the Stars, and of course, the Galaxies.

It was first in 1957 that the Soviet Union won the race to the stars by first launching Sputnik-1 -- a truly remarkable achievement. The victory was eventually countered with President John F. Kennedy famously uttering a challenge to all of America, and to the world:



Quote:

There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its hazards are hostile to us all. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation many never come again. But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas?

We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.

The Soviet Union's
Yuri Gagarin was the first man to go into space; although it has come to light in the last three decades because of Declassification, that Vladimir Ilyushin might very well be that "First Man".

Humans have landed on the moon, and Humans are trying to find existence of life on other planets. Telecommunication, Weather Forecasting, Radio/Television; basically every aspect of our daily lives is made possible through the challenges and the victories this species has made over, in, and under 'Space'. All things in our modern world, are being made possible through our involvement in space.

There really is no limit to Human intelligence, and the thirst for knowledge that leads to the exploration of even the most impossible. Space exploration is the supreme example of this thirst for knowledge and desire for adventure. This is also one of our greatest achievements; it unites us globally, through any distance, age, or time.

Many years... decades actually, has passed in the proverbial blink of an eye, yet we trudge along in our quest for more answers, and inevitably, the many, many more questions that come with those answers. Many incredible -- almost incredulous discoveries have been made and will continue to be made. Nevertheless, one thing eludes Humans to this day... "Are we alone in the Universe?"

Although the retirement of NASA's Space Shuttle fleet took place March to July 2011. Discovery being the first, NASA's final shuttle mission was completed with the landing of Atlantis on July 21, 2011, bringing about the end of the 30-year Space Shuttle program; the adventurous streak in our species has not abated one bit. We send a constant stream of probes to everything in our Solar System -- all the Planets, Comets, Asteroids, and even the Sun, though personally, I think we're close enough and can see the Sun just fine; you see, the Sun's pretty hot and it can really hurt you in so many ways.

Technology advances in the space exploration arena appear to be accelerating at a rate difficult to have predicted only a short time ago. Our vision of missions might have to be relegated to the "What could have been section". This isn't to suggest... I'm not suggesting; that Space Exploration is a vision that is best left to Science Fiction authors, or Poets. What I am saying is that I have serious doubts as to whether or not we will ever have the ability to leave this Solar System, let alone reach even the nearest star.

Life on other Planets? That is one question that could really only be answered through the actual exploration of Space at a truly cosmological scale -- that of venturing forth to other Solar Systems, and exploring the planets contained therein physically.

This is an absurd proposition, and one I think will never happen.


The Absurdity of Space Travel