The Need For Space

In the words of Captain James T. Kirk "Space: the final frontier... explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before." From the moment we've looked up to the sky and seen the stars shinning down upon us we've been curious as to what is up there. The human species are curious, thanks to a shortcut in evolution called neoteny. Just think, how much of your life where you wondering things? Trying to answer questions? We, as students can spend years of our lives in a place dedicated to gives us the answers, teaching us to be problem solvers and learning to ask questions. We are told to follow our dreams, treat others how you want to be treated, aim high and be kind to your environment.

Whether we like it or not, the Earth is a incredibly small planet compared to what we know in the vacuum of space. For now it is where we call home. Our planet is home to 8.7 million species. Give or take 1.3 million. Everyday there are 360,000 births and 151,600 deaths. The world is ever changing. With all these people there is bound to be diseases, social and wealth classes. Just like how the earth is bound to have natural disasters and volcanoes erupt. It's an ever changing planet. One day the earth might face a time where we use all its resources, or we face a disaster we were unprepared for, a viral outbreak, or world war. The human race might have to leave the world we've created from nothing and do it again. But if we don't travel to those outer limits, how will we survive? Where will we go? Our great, great, great, great, great grandchildren? What will become of them? What will their lives be like? They might be forced to stay inside and hide from the harsh conditions we've created. They might not even exist due to the destruction our generation has done to our home. We need to change our ways and save our planet. We must move away from having money be a priority and move towards a free and non-profit, low budget lifestyle.

In 2015 the United States had a defense budget of about 597 billion dollars. Meanwhile the same year NASA had a increase to their budget, still only leaving them with 18.01 billion dollars. This year (2017) NASA's budget is 19.05 billion dollars. Is this fair? People still believe that fighting our own kind is more important than saving ourselves. The United States gives 8 billion dollars every year to the United Nations. This is just one of 193 nations. We are consumed by money. Sadly, it is more important that talent and experience. As professionals in their fields push and compete for more and more money some times the purpose can get lost. Think about a time, in 100 years. We will need to feed 10 billon people. The earth is dying, along with the people, their culture, the flora & fauna. The Earth and the creatures that live on it are capable of complete destruction. "We're human beings with the blood of a million savage years on our hands! But we can stop it. We can admit that we're killers... but we're not going to kill today. That's all it takes! Knowing that we're not going to kill — today!" - Captain James T Kirk.

Space exploration is just as important as funding the military, medical research and education. If a child says they want to be the first person in Kepler-11, the newly discovered planetary system, let them. The universe as we know it is about 13.8 billion years old. The light we see has to have been travelling for 13.8 billion years or less. This area is what we call this the 'observable universe'. However, the distance to the edge of the observable universe is about 46 billion light years. Who on earth knows what is out there? Just beyond our satellites, and our galaxy there could a amazing system that has all the answers to our problems. The species could have figured out the solution to protecting their resources. Or more realistically, the life on those planets could just be small bacteria, they might just even hold all the secrets to cure cancer. No doubt about it, space is dangerous. There are asteroids, black holes and worse, the unknown. So the next time you wish upon a star, remember, that star is has lived it's life, from creation, to being the source of light and heat for planets light years away for our own, its faced destruction, however it continues to fuel our dreams, leaving a legacy of itself. When we come to a end how will you leave your legacy?

"There is beauty in space, and it is orderly. There is no weather, and there is regularity. It is predictable. Just look at our little Explorer; you can set your clock by it — literally; it is more accurate than your clock. Everything in space obeys the laws of physics. If you know these laws, and obey them, space will treat you kindly. " — Wernher von Braun, quoted in 'Space: Reach for the Stars', Time magazine, 17 February 1958.