Pros and Cons - Debbie Newman, Ben Woolgar 2014

Space exploration
Section H. Health, science and technology

In 1957, Sputnik 1 was put into space by the USSR, and in 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. The Cold War was a focal point for the early years of space travel, with the USA landing on the moon in 1969. In the following years, focus has shifted towards the possibility of using space for technological and scientific advancement, with 1998 seeing the launch of the International Space Station, a joint NASA—Russian project to further develop space travel. In 1986, a stark reminder of the risks of space travel was delivered with the disaster aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, in which seven astronauts perished, resulting in the USA grounding its shuttle fleet for two-and-a-half years.

Pros

[1] Scientific understanding of the origins, nature and destiny of the universe we live in is both one of the crowning achievements of human civilisation and a goal to be pursued for its own sake. The pictures of nebulae, distant galaxies, white dwarfs and other extraordinary phenomena, produced by the Hubble Space Telescope, may not be of immediate material use in terms of day-to-day economics, but they are wonderful and fascinating achievements. It is also of great existential importance that we know where we came from and what our place is in the universe. The Big Bang theory and speculations about the future of the universe fulfil that existential need that used to be fulfilled by religion.

[2] Astronomy has always been used to understand and predict our own planet better. Ancient Egyptians used the stars to predict when the Nile would flood, and astronomy has always been used for navigation and meteorology as well. Studying the behaviour of light and chemical elements in conditions characterised by extremes of time, space, distance, heat and gravity tells us about the fundamental laws of nature and characteristics of matter — the same laws and matter that we seek to manipulate and predict here on earth. Space exploration may lead to the longed- for ’Theory of Everything’ sought by scientists such as Stephen Hawking, who are trying to unify general relativity and quantum mechanics.

[3] Through space exploration and the need to construct probes and satellites, satellite technology has been developed that has provided us with massively increased and improved broadcasting, telecommunications and weather-predicting capabilities. This alone would justify the expenditure that has been put into space research.

[4] Space research, especially experimentation done in zero-gravity conditions in space stations, has resulted in many scientific and technological spin-offs, from super-conductors and miniaturised microchips to non-stick frying pans. We should continue to fund space research to allow more such breakthroughs to be made.

Cons

[1] We cannot afford to spend billions on space telescopes, space shuttles, space probes, space stations and the like when poverty and starvation exist on earth. Quality of life for all must take priority over knowledge for its own sake. As for the existential dimension — scientific space research and cosmology have created a bleak and depressing worldview of an impersonal and purposeless universe, condemned either to thermodynamic heat death or a ’big crunch’ in which we are meaningless specks of cosmic dust.

[2] The earth itself provides ample testimony to the laws of nature and the nature of matter — testimony found in the discoveries of geologists, biologists, chemists and particle physicists. We will never encounter a black hole or a super-nova or an object travelling at the speed of light and so do not need to understand them. Only scientists who are not content with everyday reality and earthly interactions seek comfort and escape in the speculative fantasies of cosmology and space research.

[3] Satellites are not really examples of space exploration technology. They would have been discovered without exploring space per se. They are essentially examples of terrestrial technology developed for purely terrestrial purposes.

[4] It is misleading to suggest that space exploration was a necessary prerequisite for all these discoveries. In the case of computer technology, as with so many technologies, the driving force was large- scale military investment in research and development. We should also look at the negative spin-offs — the Reagan administration’s Strategic Defense Initiative or ’Star Wars’ project which developed technology for space-based nuclear missile interceptors, and the escalation of the Cold War arms race.

Possible motions

This House would increase funding for space exploration.

This House would boldly go where no House has gone before.

This House believes the truth is out there.