Beyond Earth (ATWG) - Chapter 33 - The Genes of Space by H.B. Lyon, B. Cross and B. Pittman

From The Space Library

Chapter 33 The Genes of Space

By Hylan B. Lyon, Jr., Becky Cross & Bruce Pittman

Introduction

We all feel wonder and awe at the majesty of the universe, and our ancestors, as far back in antiquity as we can see, have shared this wonder at the movements of the stars and planets. With the extension of mankind's "large steps" onto the moon during the last century, human space activities provided even more captivating and compelling experiences for people worldwide. Add to this the exploration of our solar system and the profusion of scientific knowledge from the Hubble space telescope and other instruments in Earth orbit and we have profoundly changed our understanding of the Universe and our place in it.

The entertainment industry has tapped into this underlying resonance across the world's population. They have created productions that have dominated the media, with blockbuster movie series such as Star Wars and Star Trek, and the earlier science fiction stories of authors such as Arthur C. Clarke and Robert Heinlein that all echo the heroic "archetypes" of human drama and outward expansion. The vastly improved communications media of the last several decades have brought compelling images of space, both real and computer animated, from the deepest reaches of space to theaters, living rooms, and computer screens everywhere.

The title of this chapter, "The Genes of Space" reflects the fact that while each of us has a different set of genes that determine our individual potential, we are learning from the results of the Human Genome Experiment that it is the stimuli that express (or turn on) these genes that determine our capabilities. Thus, we base this chapter on the notion that our shared wonder about the majesty of the universe can be thought of as a "cultural gene," and that these words and images about human exploration of space will evoke in each reader a positive or negative response. To ensure that this cultural gene potential is activated we must provide the proper stimulus that will enable or even compel its expression. In this chapter we will discuss what can and must be done to create the required environmental stimuli.

At present these latent "cultural" ties to space have not manifested themselves into a political force that is potent enough or consistent enough to mobilize the needed increases in federal funds or private sector resources. This to a large extent is due to the fact that these space initiatives are presented to the public in a way that is not adequately engaging nor compelling. The people are interested in these projects but do not see how space projects can make any kind of significant contribution to their lives or their fortunes. It is often said that public support for space is a mile wide and an inch deep.

Thus, although the underlying instincts are universal and profound, they have not yet mobilized large-scale financial support from the free market. Reflecting this perspective at a recent NASA-sponsored conference on the Vision for Space Exploration, James Cameron, award winning director of Titanic, The Terminator, Aliens and The Abyss, offered NASA two important pieces of advice: "You need to tell your story better," and "You need a better story to tell."

Hence the hypothesis that is the focus of this chapter: "There are powerful forces latent within the broad reaches of human society that are sufficient to empower the emergence of a true spacefaring civilization on a scale that is appropriate and necessary for mankind. But they have not yet been activated." The challenges then, are to position compelling arguments within the fabric of public discourse to activate these latent forces, and to identify individuals who command the credibility to empower visions and ability to communicate the vision. Only thus will we simultaneously enable: changes in administration of our governments, the emergence of commercial interests and shifts in the mood of society.

Ambivalence, Resistance, and Confusion

The willingness of professional astronauts and private enterprises around the world to risk their lives and financial resources to open the space frontiers is both stunning and troublesome at the same time. The public appears to be proud that individuals of such talent and dedication are willing to put their lives at risk for us, but at the same time many wonder if the risks they take are really worth the benefits that result. They also doubt the value of mankind's progress in space and the vast expense it entails.

From a cynical perspective, NASA's post-Apollo efforts can be seen as bureaucratically self serving, and both the Shuttle and the International Space Station have been labeled as "mistakes" by current NASA Administrator Mike Griffin. Broken promises, cost overruns, and slipped schedules have depleted the confidence of the public, Congress, and the White House not just in NASA, but the entire space program.

And at the same time the public takes for granted space based systems that affect their life everyday; weather satellites, GPS, and satellite radio have become unquestioned parts of the fabric of modern society.

Furthermore, the public doesn't understand why it's so difficult and costs so much to go to space, and while they take pride in past space accomplishments, they question the cost and extensive bureaucracy that the space program has fostered. In almost all other technical fields, computers, telecommunications, televisions, etc., as the technology matures the capabilities increase and the costs come down. But not space. The reliability of rockets today remains about where they were 30 years ago and the cost of putting a pound of payload in space has remained stubbornly high despite massive amounts of money that have been spent on projects to reduce it.

The values of the scientific discoveries that have come from the space program are not universally accepted, and the relationship between science and public opinion has been and will continue to be a complex issue. Over the past 30 years the National Science Foundation (NSF) has published Science and Engineering Indicators on several interesting aspects of public opinion on science. Yet we hear that public opinion related to science is driven as much by ideological and religious beliefs as it is by thoughtful reasoning. A recent article by Bill Moyers (New York Review of Books, March 24, 2005) presented an agonizing appraisal of the impact of religious beliefs on government policy toward science.

Thus, the future vision for space must be compelling not just to NASA and the big aerospace companies, but also to the general public, and particularly to young students who must decide if there really is a payoff in taking challenging science and math classes. This future vision needs to provide a new paradigm, not just of armchair exploration in which we watch astronauts on TV do things that the rest of us can never hope to participate in, but one that is genuinely participative. This future should be laid out so every 6th grader knows that if they really want to go to space, or participate in space projects, they have at least an even chance to do so if they are willing to invest their own efforts in developing the required knowledge and skills.

Key to our case is that these differentiations within our public, in a sense reside within us all, we all have: the sense of wonder, the challenge of preparation, the sense of separation, and the questions about the costs/and benefits of space. In many ways our receptivity to space challenges at any one time is determined by what we have recently been exposed to, and how that is reinforced by other ideas embedded in public discourse.

The Key Questions

Against this backdrop, we propose that we can indeed overcome the lack of active support for manned space activities through the proper use of the words and ideas that are contained in this book, and in doing so we must recognize that what we do with these words and ideas will determine in part the following outcomes:

Will space activities be seen as simply another discretionary expenditure within an increasingly complex set of demands on our discretionary resources?
Or will space activities compel and propel the imagination and desires of mankind?
Will the rare probability of space catastrophes (i.e., impact of a giant meteor) and the perception that we are incapable of reacting in timely fashion discourage the public?
Or will the awareness that we could respond to some catastrophic events shift the expenditure from discretionary to mandatory?
Will space activities constantly be imbedded in bureaucratic programs that are constrained by hidden agendas and micromanaged to less than compelling ends?
Or will space activities compel and explore domains of thought and human presence many of which do not exist in even today's most creative of minds?
Will space be a venue limited to government-sponsored astronauts performing science and research tasks?
Or will space be a place of commerce and community where people can work, live, build businesses and raise families; can it truly be the "next frontier" We are conflicted as a society as to how to proceed, and the exploration of this dilemma is the underlying debate that needs to happen, but isn't. What we do in the space advocacy community to help guide and communicate the vision will impact whether NASA programs inspire and motivate the latent demand or evoke a "been there, done that" attitude.

Engaging the Children

The Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills statement is used to guide one of the largest public school curricula in the US, and as a participant in drafting the Science and Mathematics portion the lead author found consistently strong interest in science and space topics.

Like adults, children have a deep-seated awe of the cosmos, and they feel excitement about anything having to so with space. Through K-12 enrichment activities sponsored by The IGNITE Foundation, an education enrichment non-profit organization, it has been noted that children of all ages have an interest in space and space exploration, but most do not feel that it is something that they could ever be a part of. [See Chapter 19, Sowing Inspiration for Generations of "Space Adventurers" by Becky Cross.] Even young children seem removed from the topic despite their fascination with it, and it's clear that K-12 children have little or no exposure to the potential career opportunities that future space initiatives hold, while older students do not see the possibility of a space-related career path.

Academic standards on both the national and state levels essentially remove space science from the curriculum, and the drive to participate is nearly non-existent unless a child happens to have a parent, mentor, or teacher who is knowledgeable on the subject.

Stimulating children with information on current space activities is thus essential to generating a future workforce for space initiatives. As their interest is already there, it simply needs to be cultivated and encouraged. As an added bonus, educating children also educates the adults around them.

If this challenge is to be met, we must understand how to influence public opinion about the importance of space activities, shifting the focus from the high expense to the value and importance of the investment in:

The future of global society
Potential new commerce opportunities
Human's quality of life in an increasingly constrained global village
The survival of human activity in the context of the solar system and its challenges, and
The increasingly important role space will play commercially as more nations and companies develop space capabilities. In undertaking these educational efforts we must understand how to utilize the appealing synergy between the manned and unmanned systems. The question is not one of "man or machine" but instead one of "man and machine," and how can they work best together. As the cost of getting people into space falls and the market for supplying such access increases, then a more realistic balance can be identified between man and machine. Just as on earth, robots have removed much of the drudgery from manufacturing, robots in space can enhance human productivity and safety.

The Role of the Private Sector and Commerce.

The original intent of the NASA charter provided a role for NASA in stimulating space commerce, but this role has been narrowly defined due to the politics of bureaucratic survival in a hostile environment. Without a repositioning of roles and missions, NASA's future will be a predictable disappointment. A government agency is prohibited from "selling itself or its programs," which in NASA's case inhibits progress, but promoting space is a role that the private sector will soon be ready, willing, and able to help perform. Until recently, the investment costs and risks of space commerce have been too high, and the potential payoffs too low for anyone other than the government to participate, but this is starting to change. Entrepreneurs such as Bob Bigelow, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Paul Allen and Richard Branson are investing hundreds of millions of their own dollars to open up the space frontier. Other than Bigelow, who wants to provide inflatable space hotels in orbit, they are all focused on supplying launch and flight services, but as yet the demand for cheap, reliable access to space to produce goods and services is not as well developed as it needs to be.

The most plausible market opportunities apparent today are on the moon or in Earth orbit, and they include:

Mining the lunar surface for Helium 3 to fuel fusion energy stations on Earth
Biotech research in microgravity (see Chapter 14: Biotech: A Near Future Revolution from Space)
Flying tourists into space for out-of-this-world vacations
Placing large solar cell arrays in space and beaming power back to earth While many of these concepts seem far out and unrealistic it is good to remember that it was less than 66 years between the Wright Brothers first flight and the first flight of the Boeing 747. Little would the Wright Brothers have guessed that one of the main markets for their invention was carrying cut flowers and perishable produce between continents.

Can anyone bring closure to these business cases with or without government assistance? Not yet. But further progress in any of these potential markets could stimulate a broader consensus on Earth. It is important that the link be made between government space programs and their ability to assist in jump starting these commercial ventures. NASA is making all of the right noises about this but there is a potential problem with the planned NASA Crew Exploration Vehicle and its potential competition with private companies that want to provide many of the same capabilities.

In support of a commercial space vision, NASA's roles should be defined as:

Leading in building the infrastructure
Leading in space exploration/science
Following wherever private capital worldwide is willing to accept the risk, and
Getting out of the way when commerce can take over.

In addition to supporting commercial activities, and its exploration role, NASA may also find an appropriate role to play in the development of energy sources, other than nuclear fission, to replace liquid petroleum; lunar helium 3 is one possibility.

NASA should also play a role in developing a global surveillance system that promotes global, international, national, and domestic security, a function that can only be adequately performed from the surface of the moon.

New Concepts of International Participation and Global Collaboration

International participation in these projects should be much more comprehensive than joint scientific collaboration projects or cost sharing and collaboration on mega-engineering projects.

It can and must be a catalyst to stimulate the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of the societies of the world in many dimensions. It can provide a framework for true international cooperation and community that gives us new insights in how to work and live together in peace and prosperity both on earth and in space.

Conclusion

Every successive US government administration, every presentation before a corporate boards of directors in the aerospace and biomedical industries, every educational non-profit organization, and every planning session for congressional committee staffs and members of Congress will be confronted with the dilemmas described here.

If the force toward space that lies latent within society is powerful enough to inspire us, then why do we have to work so hard to make it compelling? What generates the latency? In our view, latency is due to the gap between the lure of space, and the widespread perception that most individuals cannot participate, nor be affected in any real positive way, by the outcomes of today's space programs.

Those who bridge this gap, such as young "astronauts to be" who in their early years become obsessed with doing whatever it takes to fly in space, do not need a push from us, but for the rest of society a compelling argument must be made.

Our challenge is thus to define and empower the space ethic in enough people to carry the day. We seek to activate a significant number of individuals who as yet may not perceive that their lives will be affected in any meaningful way by initiatives in space, but when they hear the right story told well, they will. Many avenues must be pursued, some will work and some will not. We must listen, learn, refine and move onward.

You, the reader, may be an author of a white paper, a proposal, a planning document, or a budget analysis, and you have a critical role to play in persuading an indifferent society which nevertheless has the potential imbedded in their genes to become enthusiastic supporters.

The piece that you write is a bridge, an invitation to reconsider, to reassess, to reawaken the almost primordial instincts and to take a step toward space. By your prose and choice of words you too can activate the genes of space that reside in all of us.

We leave it to the authors of the other chapters of this book to provide you with the necessary fodder for your argument, and we know from experience that you, as author of your own political document, will have to recast these concepts in fresh terms suited to your audience. But if you accept the idea that your prose contributes to unlocking support for something that is appropriate for all humanity, then this chapter did its job. The originality that is critical to compelling prose supporting these goals is based upon the sincerity and authenticity of the emotions of the author.

Why is this important? It's important because you, and only you, are in position to chip away at the "competing arguments." Your commitment to the overarching necessity of venturing into space in order to properly conduct our shared stewardship of humanity and the Earth is the key. Your prose becomes part of the fabric of public discourse that activates latent demand, and your "voice" contained within that prose will command the credibility to empower the vision.

About the Authors

Hylan B. Lyon

Becky Cross

Bruce Pittman