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'œRide, Boldly Ride': Why human space exploration is important!
William Atkins
Saturday, 26 July 2008 21:11
Page 4 of 4
These are some of the specific benefits I see accruing to the nation which leads in the exploration of space. But I also believe that, in the long term, it will be important for the survival of homo sapiens to inhabit planets other than Earth. It will be in our interest to develop the technical capabilities to avoid the many cosmic collisions which we have now documented in the geological record. The comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 consisted of at least twenty-one discernable fragments with diameters up to two kilometers wide. Even one such collision with the Earth would be devastating, and it doesn't have to be a dinosaur-killer. An impact like the Tunguska event of 1908 could destroy the cultural and economic fabric of a nation, should it land in a populated area instead of the Siberian wilderness.
My view is that our efforts in human spaceflight are, in actuality, far more meaningful than the "flags and footprints" rationale with which critics of human spaceflight like to denigrate Apollo, or future voyages to the Moon and Mars. Survival, leadership in great enterprises, and economic benefit are real and acceptable reasons why humans should continue to explore space, beyond what robotic spacecraft can achieve.
Throughout mankind's time on this world, we have gazed up at the night sky and attempted to make sense of the stars, planets, comets, and asteroids, speculating about what they might mean. While we are lucky enough to be the first generation to see the universe with the clarity Hubble offers, I firmly believe that we also need to journey beyond "the surly bonds of Earth", in order to see the universe with our own eyes. In the words of poet T.S. Eliot, "Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." I believe that expanding the range and scope of human action is a goal fully as noble as that of scientific discovery.
I also think that, in our hearts, we know these things. We know that space is the frontier of tomorrow, and that the frontier can only be ours with "boots on the ground." We know from even the most casual reading of history that nations that shrink from the frontiers of their time, shrink also in their influence on the world stage. We know these things, and yet we also see that Americans today do not feel the urgency for preeminence on the space frontier that we felt in the 1950s and '60s. Sometimes I wonder if we are a bit tired or distracted from other, urgent crises to recognize what that preeminence means for America.
And so I am reminded of Edgar Allan Poe's "gallant knight" in search of Eldorado and who, in his fatigue, asks a "pilgrim shadow" where it might be. "Over the Mountains of the Moon, down the Valley of the Shadow, ride, boldly ride", the shade replied - "If you seek for Eldorado!"
Sometimes, there is no rest for the weary.
Thank you.
--Dr. Griffin concludes his speech.
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