Should Mankind Return to the Moon and Go to Mars
Justification for Manned Space Exploration Lies in the Human Spirit
Jul 20, 2009
The Moon, Earth's nearest neighbor, and Mars, the blood red god of war, have long fascinated mankind and play central roles in the mythology of many cultures. Long before the reality of spaceflight, people fantasized about exploring the Moon, Mars, and other worlds beyond Earth.
Apollo 11 Moon Landing
On July 20, 1969, the Eagle landed. Apollo 11 containing Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the lunar surface. A few more Apollo missions followed, then NASA abandoned the lunar exploration program in favor of the space shuttle's low Earth orbital missions.
After 40 years it is worth asking, should mankind return to the Moon and then continue to Mars, as advocated by the Apollo 11 astronauts? Is it worth the cost and risk?
Tangible Reasons for Space Exploration
The USA is facing record budget deficits and a poor economy. There is certainly no shortage of problems on Earth that need fixing before astronauts start traipsing about the solar system. Many space scientists claim they can learn as much from far cheaper and safer robotic missions as from manned space flight.
On the other hand, with fiscal discipline, deficits can be tamed; economies eventually recover. As to problems on Earth taking priority, people made the same argument in the early days of the space program. Problems still exist, but investments made in the space program have paid off on Earth.
The original impetus for today's current miniaturized technological marvels came from NASA's need to minimize launch weight. Computer image processing techniques, originally developed to bring out detail in grainy images from the Moon and other planets, have enhanced medical diagnostics such as CAT scans. Satellites provide more accurate, often life saving, weather predictions, instant worldwide communications, and the global positioning system.
Continued investments in space exploration will bring future benefits as unimaginable today as these benefits were in 1960. For example, minerals in a modest size metallic asteroid are worth trillions of dollars, and Saturn's moon, Titan, has an atmosphere with lots of hydrocarbons. That's what oil is!
Intangible Reasons for Space Exploration
These arguments however miss the real point: It is human nature to explore, to seek challenges. When President Kennedy set an American national goal of sending a man to the moon by 1970, he said, "We choose to go to the moon ... and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard." As individuals and as a society, mankind needs challenges and goals. Everyone knows the sense of euphoria that comes from finally achieving a difficult personal goal. Going to the Moon or Mars provides such a challenge for mankind.
Forty years ago, the world watched Neil Armstrong take his small step for man. The resulting giant leap for mankind briefly united the world in a sense of wonder at the magnitude of mankind's accomplishment and at the vicarious experience. Young people were inspired to work hard so they, too, could explore the Moon, Mars, and the rest of the cosmos.
Pictures of the Grand Canyon are impressive, but no picture can capture its immensity like standing on the edge or sitting at the bottom with sore feet soaking in the Colorado River and realizing the need to climb back before dark. The first person to stand on the edge of the Valles Marineris, a canyon on Mars that would extend from Cape Hatteras to Los Angeles, or Olympus Mons, a volcano on Mars three times the height of Earth's tallest mountain, will experience an immensity that dwarfs even the Grand Canyon. Mankind needs to feel the resulting sense of wonder and accomplishment that will accompany this next giant leap for mankind.
When explorer George Mallory was asked, "Why scale Mount Everest?" his simple answer simultaneously said everything and nothing. To the person asking that question, the answer "because it's there" says nothing. Those asking the question wouldn't understand any answer. But to those with the urge to explore, to see what's beyond the next bend in the trail, the next mountain, or even the next planet, Mallory's answer says everything. Already knowing the answer, they need not even ask the question.
Men and women will eventually return to the Moon, conquer the god of war by going to Mars, and explore the rest of the solar system simply because it's there and because it's hard.
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