Space, the final frontier. The stuff of wonder. A vast limitless expanse of orbiting possibilities.
Who hasn’t dreamed of being an astronaut and perhaps walking on the Moon, or Mars?
Since the space race first began, dreamers have been fantasizing about space exploration—and perhaps meeting a friendly exotic alien or two in emulation of Captain James T. Kirk.
But these days, for humans at least, the realities of space travel are not in the stars but firmly rooted here on Earth.
Without faster than light travel the distances involved are just far too great to support humanoid interplanetary space flight.
While Commander Chris Hadfield’s in-orbit guitar serenades give space flight a personal touch, robots are more likely to explore the universe than humans.
Not the evil human-killing robots of Skynet, but the well-programmed, artificially intelligent ambassadors of the human race. Think more Windows Clippy than Commander Data. Hopefully, the aliens out there won’t get too annoyed.
NASA’s diminished hope for human-led space flight can be seen in the messages sent out with its farthest flung probes.
Readers may remember that both Voyager spacecraft, launched in 1977, carry golden phonograph records with sound and images of life on earth.
In contrast, the New Horizons probe launched in 2006 doesn’t carry information about the wonders of life on planet Earth, but a sample of human death—the ashes of Clyde Tombaugh, the amateur astronomer who discovered Pluto in 1930. A nice touch, to be sure.
While NASA seems to have given up on sending live people to other planets, the Mars One project hopes to have farmers on the red planet by at least 2030. However, with Big Brother-style video audition tapes, Mars One may seem more reality-show than reality. Even the Canadian Space Agency is spending less and less money in support of space exploration each year.
In the 1950s humanity dreamed of cities on the moon and civilizations on Mars. Now, 65 years later, none of these things have materialized.
New Horizons is truly a victory for humanity, but beamed back pictures are not the same as getting boots on another planet.
Humans have spacesuits but are not travelling. So, come on Earthlings, get that Warp Drive online.
