Why Explore Space: A Venture of Human Curiosity
Zafirah Quraishi
Mastermind English Medium School in Dhaka, Bangladesh
8/25/20257 min read
"Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning." — William Arthur Ward
For entire centuries, quite even millennia, human curiosity has been a driving force in the advancement of civilization. The entirety of what stimulates this curiosity in human brains remains to this day a complex topic shrouded in mystery. Yet, this burning desire to know things untouched by our grip, the desperate need to swallow mouthfuls of untrodden secrets, has been the ultimate fuel for exploration, innovation, and the pursuit of knowledge. The insatiable greed of understanding the world has led to groundbreaking discoveries in science, technology and various other fields with every passing generation—one of the key instances being space exploration.
The Journey of Space Exploration
Humans have always gazed up at the night sky and dreamed to touch the stars.
On October 4, 1957, with the launch of Sputnik, the first artificial satellite to orbit Earth, by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.), people’s ambition grew as the “space race” found its spot in newspaper headlines. Driven by Cold War tensions, the United States and Soviet Union engaged in a series of remarkable achievements, with the former securing one of the most significant steps for mankind—quite literally—through the first-ever moon landing by the Apollo 11 in July 1969. All the while they had recently formulated other noteworthy projects like the Mercury, running from 1958 to 1963, and Gemini, between 1961 and 1966, targeted at putting a man into orbit and mastering space maneuvers, both made possible through the birth of NASA on July 29th, 1958, one of the greatest game changers in future space exploration. In the meantime, the Soviet Union did not fail to level the playing field, having launched the Sputnik 2 briefly after its predecessor the same year in November; the Luna 1 in January, 1959, the first spacecraft to achieve a lunar flyby and the first human-made object to enter a heliocentric orbit, becoming a sun-orbiting satellite; and the Vostok 1 in April, 1961, granting Yuri Gagarin his opportunity to become the first person in space and the first person to orbit the Earth.
And now, years later, these initiatives have taken us as far as unveiling the most intricate maps of the universe ever created, deciphering its origin and evolution through vastly supported theories like the Big Bang, and even mapping exoplanets with resemblances to our own Blue Planet. But most of all, we are still driven, still aspiring to untangle even the most knitted of topics like dark matter.
And yet the unanswered question remains – “Why?”
Billions of dollars are being spent on space exploration with each blink of an eye, with the total investment in 2024 amounting to 135 billion USD and the average spent each year over the last decade being 100 billion USD. So, what makes this all worth it? What has kept us humans tending to our everlasting curiosity, whilst all the more aware of the extensive finances being poured into this “passion project”?
The truth is, "Investing in knowledge pays the best interest." — Benjamin Franklin.
It has not been only our human curiosity prompting us, but rather a surfeit of worldly benefits implying clear signs of a repayment for the daily infusion of resources.
Benefits of Space Exploration
Ranging from long-term to more practical and day-to-day factors, space exploration has showered down its advantages almost everywhere we look.
Expansion of Resources:
With every passing year, the world population continues to thrive, but world resources do not. Heeding the limitation of resources on Earth, we cannot keep subdividing what we only currently have and expect it to last an eternity. Rather, only with the promise of external resources from space can we truly substantiate the promise of sustaining life on our planet.
One of the most reliable sources of renewable energy is the sun, which provides solar energy able to be converted to solar power that is used to fuel satellites and space probes, leaving our earthly sources of non-renewable energy, like oil, gas, and coal, free. Besides, the abundance of resources embedded within asteroids, like significant metal deposits and rare-earth elements, often in high concentrations, has brought about asteroid mining, and the occasional availability of water, in the form of ice, is useful for drinking and rocket propellant when broken down to hydrogen and oxygen. Asteroid materials also foster in-space manufacturing and construction, further reducing the strain of material extraction on Earth. Rare metals, ice, and minerals are also plentiful on the moon, along with deposits of Helium-3, a potential fuel for nuclear fusion power generation. Moreover, planets like Mars have similar resources while also harboring atmospheric carbon dioxide, just like Venus.
Besides, even as we speak, signs of similar planets like Kepler-22b or Kepler-69c with potential habitability are being discovered, thus proclaiming possibilities of a future where our residence will not be confined to merely Earth.
Environmental Awareness:
To live on the Earth, we must be mindful of it. The cruciality of environmental awareness, intertwined with the future of our planet, is essential for protecting ecosystems and our access to cardinal resources like clean air and water. Space exploration has long played a vital role in environmental science, and that is seen in how satellites are used to give scientists and policymakers a global, real-time view of Earth's systems, enabling them to track changes, forecast impacts, and instill effective mitigation plans.
Satellite monitoring of climate change works through the observation of glaciers, ice sheets, melting polar ice caps, and rising sea levels, as well as greenhouse gas concentrations and atmospheric temperatures. This goes on further to ocean health, marking ocean surface temperatures, currents, and algal blooms to find potential pollution. Air quality trends are assessed through particulate matter and greenhouse gas emissions, making it feasible to track sources of pollution while also monitoring deforestation rates, land degradation, soil health and crop conditions. Moreover, real-time satellite data is pivotal in the mitigation of natural disasters like hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, and tsunamis, and their precautions, thus contributing to the efficiency of disaster management and response, agricultural management, climate change research, and policymaking.
Defense Against Comets and Meteors:
Aside from earthly awareness, it is just as crucial that we own some form of planetary defense.
Drifting back to the disastrous upheavals that wiped out non-avian dinosaurs and many other species, we have been living in fear ever since of similar threats, with incidents like the catastrophic collision of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 Comet with our planetary neighbor Jupiter or the unforeseen explosion of the Chelyabinsk meteor over Russia in February 2013.
A successful space program intended just for this will at least offer us a fighting chance to ward off such an event should it arise. Space missions like ESA’s Hera or NASA’s upcoming NEO Surveyor mission have been designed for such intentions, to support advancements in space debris removal as well as telescopes and satellites that can track potentially hazardous near-Earth objects (NEOs). Even as of now, we are progressing in our space debris monitoring and management with the aid of current satellite data.
Economic Growth:
Through the birth of newly founded industries like aerospace, telecommunications, satellite manufacturing, launch services, space tourism and asteroid mining, space programs have been actively contributing to the economy. By creating countless high-skilled jobs and encouraging investments in space technology, countries involved in such programs have reduced their reliance on foreign technologies and are now able to establish self-sufficient ecosystems.
For instance, ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) has generated India numerous jobs in research, engineering, and manufacturing. Saudi Arabia is also investing heavily in space to construct a tech-focused industry while broadening its economy beyond dependence on natural resources. Nigeria’s communications satellite (NigComSat) has granted country-wide availability of internet, improving access to markets and education in remote areas.
Inspiration:
Only humans in space can foster a reaffirmation of our future in the universe and allow people to believe that they, too, can make a difference. In this way, space exploration even branches out to young generations by inspiring students, regardless of their age, to pursue paths into this wide-reaching field. Missions like the lunar landings or the exploration of Mars spark interest in aspiring learners and direct their way into STEM fields, encouraging further education and professions.
International Bonds:
Space exploration is a catalyst for the forging of mutual trust and understanding between nations. With common exploration goals to align interests, collaborations like the International Space Station (ISS) act as promoters of diplomacy, prompting countries all over the world to unite in addressing long-term global challenges like climate change or food security. As a result, the likelihood for peaceful, internationally coordinated activities is escalated not only in space but also on Earth.
Innovation
"Necessity is the mother of invention." — Plato
Aside from the direct benefits, space exploration has been the fuel for innovation by pushing our palpable boundaries and urging advances in science and technology. As a result of having to push through extreme environments, like those in space, humans have been bound to adapt, leading to the birth of newly founded approaches.
Medical advances: The microgravity environment in space allows understanding of molecular structure and biological processes and has led to insights into vaccine development, drug testing, and diseases like Alzheimer's. Originally developed for missions, health monitoring devices, and high-resolution imaging through MRI and CT have been innovated for medical use. Infrared technology used for measuring the temperature of celestial bodies has developed non-contact thermometers.
Purification: Air purifiers for plant growth and water filtration systems utilizing iodine and cartridge filters in sealed spacecraft are now standard technology.
Sustenance: Freeze-dried food is a preservation technique developed for space missions that acts as a long-term, lightweight storage food not requiring refrigeration. 3D food printing and the nutritious, algae-based vegetable oil in baby formula were invented out of the need for long missions.
Insulation: The lightweight, porous material aerogel, initially used in spacecrafts and spacesuits, has found its application in common construction insulation.
Workout machines: Workout machines were created for the physical fitness of astronauts during prolonged exposure to zero gravity, which can lead to bone loss and muscle atrophy.
Camera phones: Cell phone and computer camera technology originated from a light, miniature imaging system, requiring minimal energy, that took high-quality photographs from space.
Solar cells: Photovoltaic cells used in solar panels have been invented and improved out of the need to power space missions.
Conclusion
Inarguably, it was never only about the satisfaction of human curiosity but rather a vast and broad-ranging spectrum of opportunities made possible by space exploration. Although initially inspired by never-ending questions of the unknown, our motivation today is far greater than ever, with humanity’s survival resting upon our shoulders.
Thus, be it scientific breakthroughs or the assurance of mankind’s future, our incentive is a flame that burns to venture out into what’s beyond, a longing that aches to settle for the stars.
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