August 30, 2011
-
Abandoning the Space Station
I saw the news that there is a possibility that the International Space Station will be left unmanned, as the rockets that the Russians use to make their launches currently have a problem that needs fixing. I shared the news with my husband, who said, “I saw that yesterday.” Okay.
We talked about it for a while, because I know he used to follow the building of the ISS back before we were married. He is of the opinion, and I am too, that humans really don’t have a need to go into space yet. “If they find a way to mine [the moon], then they will find a way to go back there,” he says. It’s true. The only reason Spain and England sent so many men to the New World, paying them well to go, is to find better trade routes. And then when they didn’t find the trade routes, they found new resources. So, they benefited from the expeditions.
The same goes for space travel. If someone finds a way to make more money from going, than they spend on going, then space travel will grow.
Until then, weary pilgrims, who want a different way of life, will wait until the Columbuses and Polos come back from their excursions to tell them that they way is safe enough. And I can totally see hoards of people leaving.
Humans don’t like to be penned in. I think most of us have an innate desire to go somewhere, see things, and learn new things. That curiosity is eventually what will lead us to go beyond our planet.
by Charles Lucey, a British painter
(picture from http://www.hawaiilibertychronicles.com/?p=1506)References:
1. More about Charles Lucey the painter here: http://nationalheritagemuseum.typepad.com/library_and_archives/charles-lucy/
