I'm scared.

[c9]

US President Bush appears to be planning to announce a new space mission / goal, possibly a return to the Moon for NASA. I'm scared, because it's the first time he's ever done ANYTHING I agree with! If he actually does it. I believe very strongly that as a species we need to explore, and exploring space (hopefully not fighting over it, but I suspect that's inevitable) is one way to a) annihilation-proof our species, b) gain access to new resources, and c) bump into the other species that live on other planets somewhere. My way of thinking is that if life evolved on Earth in so many ways, there have got to be other planets out there with life too -- especially considering how many planets we keep discovering at a distance.

Anyway, Buzz Aldrin has written an Op-Ed about the idea, and ways to improve it -- interesting reading for any geeks out there.

Comments

[nihilicious.livejournal.com]

I'm sceptical. Or possibly, skeptical.

I have yet to hear a really good justification for the space program that doesn't ultimately feel like a rationalization. I suspect that we start with "being in space is cool." Then we scrape together an argument as to how it will benefit humanity.

That's a great approach for convincing your parents to let you backpack around Europe rather than go to university. As a hyper-expensive exercise in social/scientific policy, I think it leads a bit to be desired.

I realize that all science involves the risk of financial loss. I'm not against "exploration", or science for science's sake; but I'm not convinced that we've seen any significant benefits from the space program yet. There are a lot of pure science projects that are less glamourous but which might prove more fruitful.

I'm also really suspicious of anything that looks like a rationalization of the testostero-centric (:)) explore-and-conquer impulse. Also, of anything that seems cooler to people who watch Star Trek.

Just some thoughts.

[c9.livejournal.com]

To be sure, I believe that being in space is cool. But I do believe that there have been, and will be, immense benefits. One word: velcro. Actually, another single word: Tang.

Seriously though, I see it as an investment. Yes, education and healthcare and less guns are also good investments, and worthy, and I would certainly not take from those to send sea monkeys into space. But I do believe that exploration has huge potential rewards -- even if it is robots instead of humans, though the people provide the inspirational connection to the people making the monetary decisions.

I think that if we meet another species out there in the void, it will force people to think just a little harder about stupid decisions down here. This may reduce our bloodshed and help make us better. It's all a theory of course, but so is everyone else's plan.

[nihilicious.livejournal.com]

I am absolutely a skeptic about the existence of interesting life on other planets. That could explain the difference right there.

[c9.livejournal.com]

Ahh yes, that would create a much different scenario. Were humans the only life (or "intelligent" life) out there, we'd fuck up the rest of the galaxy just like we've fucked up Earth: "oh look, it's a planet with nothing but trees and oil! let's mow it down and suck it dry!"

After 13 years of determined Catholic schooling, I have been convinced that people's lives have value, and that capital punishment doesn't work, and a couple other "be nice" type things, but I have not been convinced that we are in any way a chosen, special species. I think we popped up through science, not divine intervention, and therefore I also believe that science will have created similar conditions elsewhere. There's a law on this, called... um... crap, I can't remember. But it was something like "The Law of Tedium" or equilibrium or something, basically it states that things are going to be pretty much the same everywhere -- in this case, laws of physics and chemistry and biology, leading to similar life on other planets.

But there's no way to find out without looking. I'm also a believer that the best evidence that there's intelligence life out there is that it hasn't tried to contact us yet. Not just a t-shirt slogan!

Do I think UFOs have visited, and that crazy farmers have seen little green men? Mostly no. I'm not 100% certain, but I do seem to tune those out, so I guess in my heart I won't believe it until they visit me or the White House. And certainly any smart aliens would avoid the White House. :)

Have you ever seen "Contact" ? That movie fairly accurately defines my "faith": that there are other worlds, and other life, and that we are meant to become a part of that larger community, and that we're all arguing over puny things rather than advancing our species. Not sure if this is really describing it well enough.

[bartok.livejournal.com]

unfortunately there's somewhat of a contradiction in what you are saying, since on one hand you say that we aren't a "special" species, yet on the other hand say that other races are out there waiting for us to join them. Unfortunately I really do think that space-exploration as it currently stands is a pipe-dream, and that the resources really need to and should be diverted elsewhere. Also in the movie Contact seems to make a conclusion that science is just another religion, which is dangerous territory to go into.

[c9.livejournal.com]

I didn't mean that there's a bunch of races breathlessly awaiting our inclusion, more that there's more to the universe than just us and a bunch of lifeless planets, that's all.

Good point about Contact -- precisely their approach to it. Carl Sagan's novel actually deals with it a little differently, as I recall (very different from movie).