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Space Exploration is and has always been a perpetuation of the ongoing quest for the
American Identity. Humans as a Species have an instinctive impulse to explore. One can also
call it the inherent trait of natural curiosity or a cosmic curiosity if you will. We want to know.
And if we don’t know, we will find a way to know. There is a special kind of pleasure we get
from exploration. When we are confronted with a situation that is unfamiliar or lacks an
anticipated outcome it activates the holistic or right side of the brain, in other words we get
creative. You know the way home from school or work so well that you can navigate it easily
without any true creative intelligence. It almost becomes as involuntary as riding a bike. But
when we are faced with the unknown, or a situation with no pre-determined rule sets, creativity
and discovery take hold. The concept of Space Exploration was born out of this creative
intelligence and cosmic curiosity. What began as a basic science has evolved dramatically in the
20th Century. While hard to believe, we here on Earth are still in the infancy of Space
Exploration.
We’re are finally coming upon a new age where we can find answers to life’s burning
questions. Who are we? If everything comes from something, where did we come from? Did
life begin on Earth or did it come here after some form of cosmic Panspermia? Did Unicellular
organisms that once existed on Venus or Mars travel to Earth via an asteroid following a
cataclysmic Space event? We so desperately want to find our true identity, our origins and it
appears Space may hold the answer. The problem is, is Space is unfathomably massive and
Space Exploration itself is like a slow wade into a virtually endless ocean. If for example the
idea of String Theory is to be believed, we are one universe among many parallel universes, a
Multiverse so to speak. There could be an exact copy of you reading this essay in another
universe on another planet at this very moment. But that is another topic entirely. When
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thinking in terms of the unknown and the incomprehensible size of Space it’s quite disconcerting
to think the furthest we’ve been (physically) in our short history of Space travel is to the Moon.
We are now moving into a new era, an era in which humans will travel beyond the Moon,
beyond Low Earth Orbit and make the next giant leap for mankind. But to understand where we
are going, we must first understand the: how, why and who that shaped Space Exploration as we
know it today. We have to go back to a time when Space travel and Space Exploration were
nothing more than Science Fiction and Fantasy. These fantasies so inspired a few brilliant minds
that with the help of politics, money, war and science, these dreams became a reality. On that
note I would like to take a look at these four factors and how each have of them shaped the
evolution of Space Exploration and facilitated our quest for the Human Identity.
Days of Future Past
In 1929, famed German Director Film Fritz Lang released Frau im Mond or Woman in
the Moon in which a Man flies to the Moon to discover untapped wealth and romance. Woman
in the Moon is highly regarded as one of the most important and influential films in to Space
Exploration thanks in large part to its stunning set designs and realistic depiction of Spaceflight.
For the first time in history it gave people a visualization via motion picture of conceptualized
Space Travel. Fritz Lang consulted German Physicist and Literary Scholar of Rocket Propelled
Space Flight; Hermann Oberth to design a rocket that would be test flown as a publicity stunt
just prior to the film’s premiere, which, sadly never materialized.1 2 Professor Oberth was
famous for his doctoral dissertations on rocket powered space flight, but most of his superiors
1 Woman in the Moon, Film,Fritz Lang, 1929
2 Dennis Piszkiewicz,Nazi Rocketeers: The Dreams of Space and Crimes of War, p.4, 27.
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regarded his writing as “utopian” and outlandish. Oberth refused to write another dissertation
citing that the German Educational System; “…is like an automobile which has strong rear
lights, brightly illuminating the past. But looking forward, things are barely discernible.”
Hermann Oberth, despite being slightly disenchanted, did receive his Doctorate in 1923 when he
presented his thesis which Germany deemed “utopian” to the University of Cluj in Rumania.3
In 1925 another young up and coming German Aerospace Engineer who claims much of
his inspiration and success came from Professor Oberth, was Wernher von Braun. Coming from
a wealthy family in Germany, von Braun received a telescope as a gift for his 13th birthday.
From that point on right into his later teen’s a young von Braun would spend nights starring at
the Moon and the distant planets wondering what was up there. Von Braun became so obsessed
with space travel and being the first person to go the Moon, his academics suffered for it.4 He
focused all of his attention and energy on writing up mission plans and ideas on how to get there.
While attending University in Weimar, Von Braun read Hermann Oberth’s Dissertation; Die
Rakete zu den Planetenräumen (By Rocket into Interplanetary Space) and was so impassioned,
he made Aerospace his focus. Von Braun eventually graduated from Technische Hochschule
Berlin in 1932, but before doing so he had joined the very same society in which Professor
Oberth was also a member, the VfR (Verein für Raumschiffahrt) or Space Flight Society.5 Post-
graduation, von Braun worked alongside German Historical Science Writer and rocket
propulsion aficionado, Willy Ley, who oddly enough, was also inspired by the very same
Hermann Oberth Dissertation as Wehrner von Braun. In another degree of separation Willy Ley
was also tapped by Fritz Lang to work as a consultant for Woman in the Moon, alongside
3 http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/rocketry/home/hermann-oberth.html#.VGv9gfldWpA
4 http://www.erratik-institut.de/7.5.6_O33.14_vonbraun/_O33.14_vonbraun.html
5 http://www.biography.com/people/wernher-von-braun-9224912#last-years-in-germany
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Professor Oberth. While none actually flew, (including Professor Oberth’s concept for the
premiere) the designs were so mind blowing, the blue prints, props and foreign copies of the film
were all confiscated by the Gestapo in 1937.6
One year before National Socialism even took hold in Germany, Wernher von Braun and
his team successfully launched two rockets which traveled 2.2 and 3.5 meters by late 1934. The
NSDAP was so enthralled with von Braun’s experiments and personal dissertations on rocket
combustion and liquid propellant, it was made a national a top military priority by the Third
Reich. Walter Dornberger who had been appointed weapons ballistic specialist for The Reich
took note of Von Braun’s rocket experiments when he attended a VfR event in December of
1932 in which Von Braun exploded a rocket engine with a flaming gasoline can at the end of a
pole. Dornberger saw lots of potential, especially 2 years later when he read Von Braun’s
Dissertation on rocket combustion and liquid fueled propellant. Walter Dornberger saw promise
in the liquid fuel theory, where his own theories and experiments with solid fuel propellant had
failed. Dornberger ensured Von Braun, he would receive all the grant money he needed if he
could make the liquid fuel project a success.
With the NSDAP growing in power and influence, the VfR or Space Flight Society fell
under scrutiny and was eventually disbanded and shutdown. Some of the group’s members were
weary about accepting funding from NSDAP and flat out rejected any military partnerships, to
boot. Civilian rocket experiments became outlawed in Hitler’s New Germany. The VfR
Members went their separate ways, some even left Germany all together and immigrated to the
United States. Wernher von Braun however, opted to stay and accepted a contract from Walter
Dornberger to be employed by The Reich.7 Two years later in 1937 a massive rocket research
6 http://history.msfc.nasa.gov/vonbraun/recollect-childhood.html
7 Michael J. Neufeld, The Rocket and the Reich: Peenemünde and the Coming of the Ballistic Missile Era, p. 19-35.
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and assembly facility was constructed at Peenemünde on the German/Baltic Coast, making it the
literal birthplace of modern space flight as we know it today.8
War is the Fatherof all things
In 1938 the threat of war was again encroaching on the European Continent. Germany
proceeded with its plan for Lebensraum with the Anschluss of Austria then days later with the
annexation of Czechoslovakia and Bohemia-Moravia. Fear, paranoia and rumors of war were
beginning to spread into the public lexicon. Fittingly enough, just months later on October 30,
1938 Orson Welles capitalized on this growing anxiety with arguably his biggest claim to fame,
a faux radio news broadcast of a Martian invasion titled, War of the World. It was an adaptation
of H.G. Wells’ Novel to Radio, just as the medium itself was finally entering into people’s
homes.9 Although for years, it was touted that the broadcast “stirs terror through US”10 those
claims were later discovered to be wildly exaggerated by the media. When in fact as little as 2%
of the American populace actually tuning in to the broadcast any reported incidents of hysteria
were extremely isolated. However, many listeners only heard part of the radio program and
some assumed it was a German invasion of the American East Coast in lieu of all the excitement
drummed up after The Munich Agreement just weeks prior. It also makes one wonder if the
whole publicity stunt for War of the Worlds was done to check American attitudes and readiness
for invasion, because just 11 months later War in Europe did indeed follow.
Meanwhile, Wernher von Braun and Walter Dornberger continued their work on liquid
fuel rocket engines for fighter planes at Peenemünde. They also presented plans for developing a
8 Annie Jacobsen, Operation Paperclip, p. 3-64.
9 http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-15470903
10 http://www.history.com/news/the-war-of-the-worlds-broadcast-75-years-ago
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new ballistic missile called the A-4, this missile would soon be renamed V-2. Adolph Hitler
signed a Fuhrer Directive on the 22nd of December 1942 for mass production of these
Vergeltungswaffen or Retribution Weapons. In early July of 1943, Von Braun presented Hitler
with a color film of several A-4 and V-2 test flights. Hitler was so enthralled with what he had
seen in the film he made Von Braun a Professor which was a tremendous achievement for a 31
year old engineer.11 Though the V-2 Project was outrageous in cost and resources that were
already running through The Reich’s fingers like sand, Hitler saw promise to which von Braun
and Dornberger delivered. The first V-2 Rocket exploded in Paris on September 8th 1944. The
world had never seen anything like it, the technology, though primitive by today’s standards, was
startling sophisticated in 1943-1945. The Rockets relied on a liquid fuel mixture comprised of
water, ethanol and liquid oxygen and were guided by a simple on board analog computer.
London, Belgium and even Sweden would all suffer attacks from V-2 Rockets as Germany tried
desperately to hang onto not just Western Europe but Eastern Europe as well. Although eight
launch sites were planned throughout Germany, Poland, France and Belgium, only 4 were
completed and with the help of the mobile rocket transport, the Meillerwagen, V-2’s could be
launched from virtually anywhere. Over 3,000 V-2’s were fired on Germany, Belgium, The
Netherlands, France and England by May of 1945. Although a giant leap for mankind in terms
of technology, the Vergeltungswaffen could not save Germany. In scope, the V-2 Program cost
Germany an estimated $3 billion dollars as opposed to the Manhattan Project in the US which
cost an estimated $1.9 billion.12 In terms of fuel, not to mention the potatoes needed for the
liquid fuel distilling process, each V-2 Rocket equated to almost that of a German Messerschmitt
Fighter Jet. In other words, the V-2 Program was as helpful to Germany’s war effort as a
11 Albert Speer, Erinnerungen, p. 337.
12 Frederick Ordway,Mitchel R. Sharpe, The Rocket Team, p.32.
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unilateral disarmament agreement. Nevertheless, by the end of World War II, the V-2 Rocket
Program intrigued the United States so much so, they were willing to cut a deal with these
former enemy scientists and engineers of The Third Reich and allow them to continue their
effort’s in America.
Knowing that the War was all but lost, and the Red Army less than a hundred miles
away, Wernher Von Braun and a few hundred members of his staff made their way South from
Peenemünde to the Village of Oberammergau in the Bavarian Alps. They knew this would be
their best chance to surrender to the Americans. As a contingency plan, Von Braun had two of
his confidant’s hide his blue prints and notes in an abandon mine shaft in the Harz Mountains, in
case he needed something to negotiate with. Von Braun was well aware that the American’s
were seeking him. On the 2nd of May 1945 Wernher’s Brother Magnus ventured out of the resort
that the group of scientists were hiding and surrendered to an American Solider on a bicycle. He
informed the soldier that he was the brother of Wernher von Braun the man who created the V-2
Rocket. Almost immediately after his surrender, Von Braun’s repatriation to America was
approved by the US Secretary of State in June of 1945. By September, as part of Operation
Overcast, Von Braun and six other V-2 Specialists were on a small island in the Massachusetts
Harbor. Then on the 6th of October they boarded a train to Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. From
here, the men traveled back and forth between Fort Bliss and the White Sands Proving Site in
New Mexico. White Sands would serve as the testing grounds for all German V-2 Rockets, both
shipped in from Germany and those constructed within the United States. The White Sands Base
is also home to the Trinity Site, where the world’s first Atomic Bomb was tested.13
13 Jacobsen, Operation Paperclip, p. 65-187.
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We Want to Believe?
In the first few days of July, 1947, almost two years after Germans begun their work and
research under the Americans, an object or (objects) crashed in the New Mexico Desert not far
from the Los Alamos/White Sands Base. A local newspaper known as The Roswell Record
issued a front page story titled “RAAF Captures Flying Saucer on Ranch in Roswell Region” and
a new stereotypical buzz word was born; Flying Saucer. The Roswell Incident came at a time
when Americans were trying to forget about war. World War II had just ended two years prior,
even memories of the Great Depression still lingered. People were trying to remember what
peacetime even felt like. However, this peace would not last, for a new conflict was looming on
the horizon. A Cold War was beginning to intensify between Western Capitalism and Eastern
Communism and with it, a new American phobia came to life, The Red Scare. The irony in this
new Cold War was that Russia and the US had worked together to defeat Germany. Then after
victory had been declared, allowed conflicting ideologies, cultural differences and religion (or
lack thereof) to drive them apart. Paranoia and anti-Communist Propaganda was so bad that it
had some Americans convinced it was a top-secret Soviet weapon which had been shot down
over New Mexico. Despite the initial newspaper headline declaring the military had captured a
flying saucer outside of Roswell, the Air Force closed the books on the Roswell Incident in 1994.
The USAF claimed that the true identity of the object was a high-altitude surveillance balloon
and some test dummies, code-named “Project Mogul.”14 But after numerous eyewitness reports,
including many military and medical personnel, stories began circulating of an alleged cover-up
by the RAAF. That it was in fact a space ship that crashed outside of Roswell on that July night
in 1947. Other witnesses reported the recovery of three Alien bodies and one survivor. There is
14 http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/homeland_defense/UFOs/roswell.pdf
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also subsequent stories of a second crash site. As well as witnesses being threatened and
harassed by military personnel. The Roswell Incident as a whole has provided a window into the
American psyche in the Post-War Era. The thought of the American Government lying to its’
people was virtually inconceivable in 1947. After all, America, the heroes of WWII were the
good guys. While nothing Extra Terrestrial has ever been proven about the Roswell Incident, the
story itself has become an intriguing piece of Americana as are the various witness accounts and
testimonies that have surfaced even in the last few years. All happening at a time when thoughts
of an Atomic arms race and mutually assured destruction were beginning to grip the planet in
terror. Furthermore, almost 45 years later one of the most successful TV Shows in Television
History, Chris Carter’s, The X-Files would center its main plot heavily around the rumors and
stories which purportedly leaked out of Los Alamos/White Sands following the incident. Which
suggested it was Humanity’s first contact with an Extra Terrestrial Presence and that uncovering
the Truth about Extra Terrestrial’s would ultimately uncover the Truth about Mankind and its
Origins. This also popularized The X-Files main tagline; The Truth is Out There, but begs the
question: What would we do if we found it?15 Like a bad penny, now almost 70 years after the
fact, the Roswell UFO Incident simply will not go away.16
After the incident in Roswell, sightings of UFO’s and strange aerial craft around the
country skyrocketed, no pun intended. Many believed that Earth was now being visited by life
forms from other worlds and the flying saucer craze was born. Americans began speculating that
they were being visited by an Extraterrestrial Intelligence that looked onto them like some kind
of chosen people. Maybe America really was the greatest country on Earth? Hollywood
immediately took advantage of this new trend and began turning out films about Alien invasions
15 The X-Files, Television,Chris Carter,1993
16 Thomas J. Carey and Donald R. Schmitt, Witness to Roswell, p. 29-136
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specifically targeting America. Hollywood and Writers fanned the flames with new films and
books on the very subject of invaders from other worlds. Interestingly enough, the films and
books presented an angle of xenophobia that paralleled the tensions with Russia in East Germany
and North Korea. Examples include Ray Bradbury’s 1950 Novel; The Martian Chronicles and
Robert Wise’s 1951 Film; The Day the Earth Stood Still. The premise of The Day the Earth
Stood Still is that of an Alien visitor Named Klaatu who arrives in Washington DC and informs
mankind, they must cease their endless violence on Earth or face extermination as they are
deemed a threat by other Planets and civilizations.17 Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles presented
the reader with the angle of why do we want to meet intelligent beings? What makes us so sure
they even give a damn about us or what we are? To an Extra Terrestrial Species our intelligence
would be that of mere livestock and it’s very likely that they could not even take human beings
seriously.18 Martian Chronicles also used Mars as a metaphorical example of what mysteries lay
behind the Iron Curtain between East and West Europe. By 1952 sightings of Flying Saucers or
Flying Discs had become so widespread, with even reports of triangular and cylindrical shaped
craft that the phenomena was renamed UFO’s or Unidentified Flying Objects. Though no
rational explanation has ever been presented for what these aerial vehicles are. The Flying
Saucer became synonymous with 50’s B Sci-Fi films, novels and comics.19
Birth of an American Space Program
It was also in the early 1950’s that Dr. von Braun found himself and his team relocated
from White Sands, NM to Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. After his arrival at Redstone, von
17 The Day the Earth Stood Still,Film,Robert Wise,1951
18 Ray Bradbury,The Martian Chronicles, p.1-241
19 LeslieKean, UFO’s: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record, p. 1-352
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Braun hoped he would finally be able to focus more on space travel rockets and less on military
applications, sadly this would prove not the case. Von Braun even made a headline in the May
1950 Huntsville Times; “Dr. von Braun Says Rocket Flights Possible to Moon.” In the 1952, von
Braun published several articles in Colliers Magazine as well as his concept for a manned space
station orbiting Earth. This was not a mere fever dream, von Braun worked with fellow German
Colleague Willy Ley on the concepts which Ley provided a startlingly realistic approach to how
the space station would need to be constructed, many of Lay’s technical aspects would later
become a reality. Von Braun and Ley declared the space station would serve not as a research
outpost, but as a relay for manned lunar expeditions and possibly beyond. In 1952 von Braun
also published a series of articles on how Earth’s Moon would serve as a stepping stone for a
manned mission to Mars. His proposal was that a base be established on the Moon with the aid
of three rockets and a crew of fifty passengers. This was then followed up with The Mars
Project a non-fiction Book written by Von Braun himself. In The Mars Project, von Braun
envisaged a fleet of ten spacecraft (not rockets) and seventy passengers that would embark on a
colonizing mission to Mars. As astronomical at the whole idea sounded at the time, it was
thoroughly calculated and later revised version of the mission called for orbital cargo ships and
one large craft to carry its crew of seventy astronauts. To garner hype for these massive
astrological proposals, von Braun collaborated with Walt Disney to push the prospects and
excitement of a manned mission to Mars. The two men created a documentary for Disney’s
Wonderful World of Color Television Series called Man in Space which debuted in March of
1955. Despite the Television still being a luxury item and quite rare, an estimated 42 Million
Americans tuned in for the documentary. Man in Space was so such a hit because it was done at
time when space travel was not regarded as a joyride it was an imperative. The program was
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successful because it explained hard science in such a manner that the general public could
understand, through a combination of scientific facts and humor so as not to take itself too
seriously. Von Braun developed and published his space station concept during the very
“coldest” time of the Cold War, when the U.S. government put the containment of the Soviet
Union above everything else. Von Braun once mused, had he presented a plan to add weapons
to his space station concept design to halt Soviet ICBM’s, he would have received all the funding
he desired.20 21
Anything they can do we can do Better
Of course it was not all television stardom and space pipe dreams in Alabama. It was
here at Redstone that the Redstone Missile was created. The Redstone was also the first rocket
capable of delivering a nuclear weapon as its payload. This was one of several major leaps in
Cold War escalation. With the successful tests of the Redstone Rocket, it was now possible to
fire a nuclear warhead from anywhere in the world and start a nuclear war with the push of a
button. It also brought the prospects of mutually assured destruction into Space with both the
Soviets and the Americans conducting atmospheric testing. In October of 1957 Russia answered
the United States calls for a Space Race by launching a Satellite called Sputnik into Earth’s
Orbit. The launch of Sputnik shocked the American people and was a sobering reality check that
America was not the only technologically advanced super power nor was Russia a nation of
backwards farmers that propaganda was making it out to be. Russia followed up Sputnik I with a
second launch of Sputnik II in November of 1957, Sputnik II was even more stunning as it was
20 http://history.msfc.nasa.gov/vonbraun/documents/art_of_the_image.pdf
21 Bob Ward, Dr. Space: The Life of Werner von Braun, p. 1-328
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piloted by a dog named Laika, also the first living organism to leave Earth and enter into orbit.
Unfortunately Laika died after a few short hours from unforeseen overheating of Sputnik II’s
passenger cabin. However, it proved to scientists that a living organism could not only survive
the rocket take-off, but also the weightlessness environment. The CIA and then standing
President; Dwight D. Eisenhower were well aware of the Soviet Satellite Program and followed
suit 3 months later on January 31st of 1958 by launching Explorer I via a Jupiter-C Rocket,
making it the first American Satellite to enter Space. Explorer I managed to stay in orbit until
May of 1958 when its batteries expired. The 1950’s came to a rather exciting, yet peaceful close.
Things were only just getting started for the Space Age as it entered into the dramatic decade of
the 1960’s.22
In 1958, President Eisenhower renamed the National Advisory Committee for
Aeronautics to its new title; National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA with goal
of keeping and maintaining a civilian space program separate from a military space program.
NASA (by law) was created to promote peaceful, scientific applications in Space and not to turn
Space into a weapon. Von Braun and his team began working with NASA on the condition that
they could continue to perfect and test his latest creation; The Saturn Rocket. Immediately, von
Braun got to work on the Mercury Project which was Americas attempt at putting a living
creature into low Earth orbit. This creature was a Chimpanzee named Ham who on July 31st
1961 was launched into orbit for 16 minutes.23 Ham survived the entire trip and lived until 1998.
With the success of Mercury 1, Von Braun now appointed Director at NASA was pressured
hastily into getting Mercury 2 going, this time with a human test pilot. Von Braun was
concerned that the Saturn V was not ready for human testing and needed more time, however,
22 Matthew Brzezinski,Red Moon Rising: Sputnik and the Hidden Rivalries that Ignited the Space Age, p. 17-161
23 http://history.nasa.gov/animals.html
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power politics prevailed after Russia successfully launched the first human into space; Russian
Cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin. On April 12th 1961, Gagarin was launched into orbit for almost 2
hours in a Soviet Vostock Rocket then made a safe trip back to Earth. Gagarin became an
international celebrity and the World was stunned when Russia outdid the Americans
technologically once again. This came at a time when relations with the Soviet Union were flat
lining. Just five days after the Vostock Launch, the CIA launched the poorly planned, poorly
orchestrated, failed Bay of Pigs Invasion in an attempt to overthrow Cuban Dictator, Fidel
Castro. In Vienna in June, President John F. Kennedy had an awkward, rather bi-polar meeting
with Russian President; Nikita Khrushchev followed in August with the beginning construction
of The Berlin Wall. America needed a win and many regarded the Vostok Launch as a major
win for Communist Propaganda and wondered what new dangers it spelled in terms of Space
based nuclear weaponry.
Proponent for Peace andSpace
In all respects, 1961 and 1962 was a very exciting years to be alive. On May 25th
President Kennedy being the progressive thinker that he was, called on Congress for their
support in the Space Program and the goal to send a man to the Moon by the close of the decade.
Of course many historians agree that the contextual lens for this speech was indeed the Cold
War.
...I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade
is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space
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project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important in the long-range
exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish. –President John F.
Kennedy, 25th May, 1961.24
Behind the scenes President Kennedy was advocating for peace. Few can forget those
final two weeks of October 1962 when the world came as close as it ever would to a real nuclear
war. In the finale of the Cuban Missile Crisis, President Kennedy agreed to remove US ballistic
missile installations in Turkey and Italy if the Soviet Union removed its’ ballistic missiles from
Cuba. Kennedy also agreed that the US would respect Cuba’s sovereignty, thus would not
invade the small island nation.25 On September 20th 1963 he even famously called on the Soviet
Union to join the United States in a joint Space program.26 President Kennedy also met with Dr.
von Braun on numerous occasions to discuss the NASA’s Mercury Program and successor
Program the Gemini. While on a visit to the Cape Canaveral Launch Site the two men met
together one last time on November 16th 1963.27 Had it not been for President Kennedy’s
assassination six days later, there was a very real possibility of a joint United States and Soviet
Union Space Program.28 This dream would never be realized and the Gemini Program
continued. The Cape Canaveral Launch Site was renamed the Kennedy Space Center in
Kennedy’s honor. Had it not been for the tragic death of President Kennedy, it is very possible
the mission for the Moon would never have happened.
A RealSpace Odyssey
24 http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-Legacy/NASA-Moon-Landing.aspx
25 https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/cuban-missile-crisis
26 http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKPOF-046-041.aspx
27 http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKPOF-048-009.aspx
28 http://www.hq.nasa.gov/pao/History/SP-4209/ch2-4.htm
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The most widely known of all the Rocket Programs; Apollo, had been underway since
1961. The Apollo Program would send the majority of the manned missions to the lunar surface.
The Late Film Director Stanley Kubrick was so intrigued by Kennedy and NASA’s proposal to
go to the Moon that in 1962 he began planning his 1968 Science Fiction Epic 2001: A Space
Odyssey based on the book by British Author Arthur C. Clarke. Kubrick, who was enamored
with the possibilities of Extra Terrestrial Life in the Universe wanted to make a thought
provoking, realistic, visually stunning film rather than the typical sex and monsters Space films
Hollywood had been turning out. Kubrick used Homer's The Odyssey as inspiration for the title:
“It occurred to us that for the Greeks the vast stretches of the sea must have had the same sort of
mystery and remoteness that space has for our generation.”29 Few people can forget in the
Film’s opening scene when the ape tosses the bone into the sky and it transforms into an orbiting
weapons satellite denoting 4 million years of Human advancement. Space Odyssey was hugely
successful and masterfully done with its depictions of Space flight, Space environments,
Artificial Intelligence, Space stations, Orbital nuclear weapons satellites and Extra Terrestrial
Life. The portrayal of Extra Terrestrials was a difficult decision.30 The late Physicist Dr. Carl
Sagan provided some insight for Kubrick on the portrayal of ET’s: “…while acknowledging
Kubrick's desire to use actors to portray humanoid aliens for convenience's sake, argued that
alien life forms were unlikely to bear any resemblance to terrestrial life, and that to do so would
introduce at least an element of falseness to the film. Sagan proposed that the film suggest, rather
than depict, extraterrestrial super-intelligence.” Originally there was a prologue about the
possibilities of Extra Terrestrial Life but did not make it into the Final Cut of the Film.31
29 Jerome Agel, The Makingof Kubricks 2001,25
30 2001: A Space Odyssey, Film,Stanley Kubrick,1968
31 Dr. Carl Sagan, Cosmic Connection: An Extra Terrestrial Perspective, 183-184
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In total there were 17 Apollo Missions, the first manned mission to the Moon began on
July 16th 1969 when Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin and Neil Armstrong became the first two humans to
step onto the surface of Earth’s only Moon on July 20th 1969. History had been made and
Kenney’s Dream became a reality. The Apollo Program would host five more landings on the
Moon all powered by Wernher von Braun’s Saturn Rockets. The final manned mission to the
Moon was the 7th of December 1972. It has been nearly 42 years and no one has been back to
the Moon since. This end of an era and final conquest of the Moon did not mark the end of the
Space exploration, on the contrary it merely proved that humans can indeed land on an Extra
Terrestrial surface.32
Wernher von Braun’s (and even Arthur C. Clarke’s) dream of having a Space Station
orbiting the Earth was finally realized in May of 1973 with the launch of Skylab. Skylab was
NASA’s first free standing Space Station to orbit Earth. Skylab cost an estimated $10 Million
Dollars in 2014 Currency and was served by three different crews who manned the station for a
total of 510 days total. Wernher von Braun would not live to see the end of Skylab. The man
who became the mastermind of the German V-2 Rocket Program, repatriated to America through
Operation Overcast/Paperclip, headed NASA and successfully landed the first humans on the
Moon died on June 16th 1977. Despite his death, the Space Program would continue and Doctor
Von Braun would be regaled as the Father of Modern Rocketry.33 Three months after von
Braun’s death NASA would launch its’ first deep space probe called Voyager I. To date,
Voyager is now 12 billion miles from Earth (fully functional) and has been travelling the depths
of Space for over 37 years as of September 5th 2014. Should Voyager encounter Extra
Terrestrial Life, it was outfitted with a gold plated copper phonograph record including greetings
32 http://www.nasa.gov/content/lunar-encore-leads-to-first-precision-extraterrestrial-landing/#.VGwPefldWpA
33 http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/skylab/
18. 18
in 55 different languages as well as various sounds and pictures depicting our intelligence and
everyday life on Earth. “This is a present from a small, distant world, a token of our sounds, our
science, our images, our music, our thoughts and our feelings. We are attempting to survive our
time so we may live into yours. We hope someday, having solved the problems we face, to join a
community of galactic civilizations. This record represents our hope and our determination, and
our good will in a vast and awesome universe.”34 –President Jimmy Carter
Voyager was the first spacecraft to enter Interstellar Space in August 2012.35 Dr. von
Braun’s dreams of deep space travel have continued to live on in the Voyager Mission.
The Entertainment Industry was also making major pushes in terms of Space Exploration
and the possibilities of Extra Terrestrial life with George Lucas’ Space Opera, STAR WARS in
1977, which is the third largest grossing film in box office history. Then again with Stephen
Spielberg’s, E.T. the Extra Terrestrial. This was not Spielberg’s first venture into Science
Fiction, the Director is also famed for his 1977 space themed Film, Close Encounters of the
Third Kind.
Space Depressionor Recession?
The 1980’s brought about the next evolution of Earth based Space Travel with The Space
Shuttle Program. However, what was proposed for the Shuttle Program and what became of it
were two entirely different things. Initially the Shuttle Program boasted that it would be able to
place up to 50 Shuttles in Space a year. The end result was an average of 5 shuttle missions per
year with the highest point being 1985 with eight missions. The Space Shuttle program in its 20
34 http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=555
35 http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/
19. 19
years of operations sent a total of 135 missions only suffering two disasters with Challenger in
January of 1986 and Columbia in February of 2003. Both of these incidents halted the Shuttle
Program for two years. While overall viewed as successful, The Shuttle Program was widely
criticized for not fulfilling its promise of efficiency and a total lack of ambition. While it
brought about the concept of a reusable Space plane it simply didn’t do enough.36 Wernher von
Braun envisioned a Space plane that could travel to the Moon or even Mars and back, not just to
a low Earth orbit Space station. The Shuttle Program could be likened to a great depression for
Space Exploration. While it was another step in the evolution of Space flight, it simply didn’t go
far enough for break any new boundaries. Accidents and lack of innovation aside, this apparent
depression was also attributed to by the fall of Communism and subsequent peace in Europe.37
Former President George H.W. Bush gave a speech at the National Air and Space Museum in
Washington DC in October of 1989. Bush commemorated the 20th Anniversary of the Moon
Landing by declaring we will build permanent lunar colony on the Moon and a manned mission
to Mars by 1999. The proposal while lacking in the charisma possessed by President Kennedy in
1961 was the most ambitious Space project to date. However, after the fall of the Berlin Wall
just one month later and the dissolution of the USSR in December 1991 (not to mention the half
a trillion dollar price tag) the Space Exploration Initiative38 was dead on arrival. It appeared
Congress was unwilling to support such an initiative in peace time and the program was pulled
completely by the Clinton Administration in 1992 which foresaw robotic space flight as the
future of NASA. Shuttle Missions continued into the 90’s and 2000’s with repair work to the
telescopes and satellites orbiting Earth as well as a transport vessel to and from the Russian
36 http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/space-exploration/space-shuttle-program/
37 http://www.technologyreview.com/article/424586/was-the-space-shuttle-a-mistake/
38 http://history.nasa.gov/sei.htm
20. 20
Space Station, MIR (1986-2001)39 and the still operational International Space Station (ISS).40
For the moment the ISS serves as our only International Off-Earth Colony and is the greatest
International collaboration the planet has seen since the waging of war. The launch of the Space
Shuttle Atlantis in July of 2011 marked the final mission and the end of the shuttle program.
Many people began to question if this was the end of NASA and was the Space Age now really
dead? 41
Mars:A New Hope
Things took a dramatic change in August of 2012 when NASA successfully landed the
Rover, Curiosity on the surface of Mars. Following in the wake of the 2003 Opportunity Rover
(which is still roaming the Martian Wastes today) it looked as if the Robotic Space Program was
finally paying off. Opportunity while not as technically impressive as Curiosity was sent to Mars
to test for past evidence of water in the Martian soil.42 Curiosity is to date the most sophisticated
rover ever landed on an alien world; being outfitted with a nuclear battery, a laser, a drill and a
chemistry set. It also has a much more powerful camera than Opportunity and began sending
never before seen high resolution color photos of the surface of Mars. Needless to say, the Mars
Photos released by NASA have sparked a firestorm of controversy and conspiracy the moment
they were released to the public and continue to today.43 Humans love photographs and will
anthropomorphizing just about anything. What appears to most as baron, rocky, deserted
landscape, others see shapes, objects and structures indicating that at one point Mars may have
39 http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4225/mir/mir.htm
40 http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/
41 http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html
42 http://science.nasa.gov/missions/mars-rovers/
43 http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/
21. 21
been inhabited. This theory was further fueled by the discovery of numerous meteorites on Earth
particularly in Antarctica that originated from Mars. Some of the most popular finds are; Naklha
(1911) outside Cairo, Egypt,44 Allan Hills (1984) and Yamato (1998) both of which were
discovered in Antarctica.45 46 The most recent discovery of a Martian meteorite was Tissint
(2011) in Morocco.47 What’s more, all of these discoveries share similarities of what appear to
be microscopic bacterial fossils, but it is not yet clear if these fossils originated on Mars or after
the meteors impacted Earth. In August 1996, after Scientists published their findings within the
Alan Hills Meteorite,48 former President Bill Clinton gave a surprising address on the South
Lawn of the White House.
…I am determined that the American space program will put its full intellectual power
and technological prowess behind the search for further evidence of life on Mars. I have asked
the vice president to convene at the White House before the end of the year a bipartisan space
summit on the future of America’s space program. A significant purpose of this summit will be to
discuss how America should pursue answers to the scientific questions raised by this finding.”
–President Bill Clinton, 7th August, 1996.49
The possibility of life on Earth’s Sister Planet in the summer of 1996 sparked quite a
public stir and made major headlines.50 Through the help of the now public Internet, information
and conspiracy spread quickly. Some began to speculate that perhaps more was going on up on
Mars than the public were being lead to believe. Not to be outdone on a capital moment,
44 http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/one-hundred-years-ago-today-a-mars-meteorite-fell-
in-a-blaze-23722099/?no-ist
45 http://www.space.com/9366-meteorite-based-debate-martian-life.html
46 http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2014-065
47 http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/antmet/mmc/Tissint.pdf
48 http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lpi/meteorites/alhnpap.html
49 http://www.nasa.gov/50th/50th_magazine/10presidents.html
50 http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2000/ast20dec_1/
22. 22
Hollywood helped add provocation to the theories about the possibility of past life on Mars with
such Films as; Red Planet 2000,51 Stranded 200152 and even more recently Last Days on Mars
2013.53 Last Days on Mars even takes things to a whole other level in its depiction of unearthing
Martian bacteria which a zombie-style outbreak in a small research colony. Most of these films
tend to follow similar concepts of leaving Earth to terraform Mars as a contingency plan in the
event Earth is rendered inhabitable. Followed by mission sabotage which leaves the crew to
survive on an unforgiving, unfamiliar world. Mars has also been depicted as a back-up in the
untimely event mankind destroys Earth or a solution to over-population. Terraforming Mars was
made popular in Paul Verhoeven’s 1990 Cult Classic Total Recall.54
Climate Change:Science FactorScience Fiction?
The notion of terraforming a new planet to make it habitable has grown immensely in
popularity since 2012 now that the issue of Climate Change has taken center stage.55 While the
issue is still heavily debated by skeptics, Climate Change is becoming a very a real but perhaps
not new phenomena for Earth. The recent increase in extreme weather such as: super-cell
thunderstorms, super-typhoons, massive snow storms, polar vortexes, heat waves and severe
droughts are looking very much like they are here to stay. Scientists argue that it is our relentless
reliance on toxic fossil fuels and over-population that is finally showing consequence for our
51 Red Planet, Film, Antony Hoffman, 2000
52 Stranded, Film,María Lidón, 2001
53 Last Days on Mars, Film, Ruairi Robinson,2013
54 Total Recall, Film, Paul Verhoeven, 1990
55 http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/
23. 23
insolence. Unfortunately many citizens and people of power in America refuse to believe the
Climate Change Theory, denouncing it as conjecture and conspiracy. Even more disturbing is
many people of religious faith think it’s all according to a planned prophecy in a thousands of
years old book called The Bible. This again sets a dangerous precedent because many of these so
called believers are members or hold sway in US Congress and refuse to fund something there is
purportedly no hope in stopping.56 However, religion has played a rather minor role in
comparison to Corporate America with creating road blocks for clean energy. There are several
major corporations that stand to lose a lot of money in the inevitable shift to renewable energy.
Some more notorious companies like ExxonMobil and Koch Industries have donated hundreds of
thousands of dollars to fuel climate change denial.57 58 Whether people choose to believe in
Climate Change or not, the people of Earth, especially Americans need to accept that our current
way of life is unsustainable and must break the vicious cycle of fossil fuel dependence.
Silver Linings
But what does the future hold for the people of Earth and it’s obsession with Space
Exploration? It has now been 45 years since Neil Armstrong took the small step onto the surface
of the moon that changed the course of history. The years that followed saw a Space Age of
scientific, technological and human research, on which we have built the modern era. We stand
on a new horizon, poised to take the next giant leap deeper into our solar system. The Apollo
missions of the 1960’s blazed a path for human exploration to the moon and even today we are
extending that path to near-Earth asteroids, Mars and beyond.
56 http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/james-inhofe-says-bible-refutes-climate-change
57 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/16/science/earth/in-heartland-institute-leak-a-plan-to-discredit-climate-
teaching.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&sq=heartland&st=cse&scp=4
58 http://drexel.edu/now/archive/2013/December/Climate-Change/
24. 24
On November 12th 2014 The European Space Agency partnered with NASA successfully
landed the first robotic probe on a comet making Space History and also yet another milestone
for Space exploration. The Probe Philae accompanied by the Rosetta Probe, landed on an oddly
shaped, massive comet called Churyumov–Gerasimenko.59 Comets are like time capsules and it
is postulated that the Philae Lander will uncover what the known Universe was like 4.5 billion
years ago. The success of the Philae/Rosetta Mission is the first move in the next generation of
Space exploration. Following the Philae Probe, another Lander Osiris-REx is set to launch in
2016 and if successful will return a sample of a comet to Earth in 2023.60 Near-Earth asteroids
are also going provide a unique opportunity to test the new technologies and capabilities we need
for future human missions to Mars. By 2019 we'll launch a robotic mission to rendezvous with a
near-Earth asteroid. The spacecraft either will capture an asteroid in its entirety or retrieve a
boulder off of a much larger asteroid, then redirect the asteroid mass to a stable orbit around the
moon. This whole capturing an asteroid and placing it in orbit around our Moon, effectively
giving Earth two moons, sounds preposterous, but then again fifty years ago, so did humans
walking on the surface of the Moon.
The only obstacle standing in our way on reaching these asteroids, Mars and beyond is
technology. Technology drives our exploration and we're building on the Apollo program's
accomplishments to test and fly transformative, cutting-edge technologies today for tomorrow's
missions. As we develop and test the new tools of 21st century spaceflight on the Journey to
Mars, we once again will change the course of history. History and Space Exploration is about
to take another leap with the completion and test of the Orion Rocket. Former President George
W. Bush is not often remembered for his contributions to the Space Program but it was he who
59 http://rosetta.esa.int/
60 http://gsfctechnology.gsfc.nasa.gov/ORIRIS.htm
25. 25
established the Constellation Program in 2004. With goals of a return trip to the Moon and a
primary goal of reaching Mars, George Bush Jr was effectively breathing new life into his
Father’s proposal, former President George H.W. Bush 25 years earlier.61 The Constellation
Program was deemed over budget and lacking innovation by President Barak Obama in 2010 and
defunded. However, Congress refused to cancel the program and the Orion Rocket Program has
continued.62 It is now nearing completion the world will see its first test in early December of
2014. If successful, Orion, which ironically had been deemed illegal after the 1963 Test Ban
Treaty, will be the first long range nuclear powered rocket to reach not just Mars, but beyond.
Orion will be the first manned Space exploration rocket in over 40 years.63 The buck does not
stop with Mars however. The possibilities of exploration in our own system are limitless. There
are perhaps even more mysteries to uncover on the uniquely strange, aquatic Moons of Saturn
like Enceladus and Titan or Jupiter’s ice covered Moon, Europa. In fact as of 2014 NASA is
required by law to send a mission to Europa. While these future missions of exploration are
thrilling, there is a harsh reality that cannot go unrealized, Space travel like all travel can be
unpredictable and frightfully expensive.64
Space:The Final Corporate Frontier?
We are currently seeing the resurgence of an old trend in regards to travel and
exploration. Private Corporations like; SpaceX, Blue Origins, Sierra Nevada Space and Virgin
Galactic are becoming the rising stars (so to speak) in getting people into Space as well as
61 http://www.nasa.gov/50th/50th_magazine/10presidents.html
62 http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/images/stories/constellation_fact_sheet_jan_2011.pdf
63 http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/orion/#.VHN_VPldWpA
64 http://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/july/nasa-seeks-proposals-for-europa-mission-science-
instruments/#.VHOH1vldWpA
26. 26
Mars.65 Where the Dutch East India Company and the British East India Company funded the
discovery and settlement of lands far away from Europe 400 years ago, Private Space Companies
are seeking to do the same. However, as strange as it may sound, corporations tend not to have
the first say in the pioneering of new territory. Even Christopher Columbus received his initial
funding from the Spanish Monarchy. Someone had to draw the maps, chart the trade winds and
locate beneficial natural resources. When railroads began expanding into the American Frontier,
it was the Government who bought up the land, had to map the terrain and had to distinguish
who were the peaceful Native Americans and who were the hostile Native Americans. History
has shown these tasks were essentially funded by the Government and once the coast was clear,
then private enterprise like Dutch East India got involved. NASA has faced serious budget cuts
in the last 3 years that forced the space agency to delay several projects. After a House Hearing
for the NASA Authorization Act of 2013, Thomas Young was asked how long would it take
NASA to put a human on Mars given the current budget; his response: “Probably never.”66 It’s
no secret in recent years, Space, as expensive as it is, was becoming a low priority as opposed to
American defense spending which hit a staggering $729 Billion Dollars in 2012. The United
States spent more on its’ Military in 2011 than the next 13 most powerful Nations combined.67
Cleary nothing short of an alien invasion was going to get Congress to allocate NASA its
requested funding. It was even more obvious in 2011 with the closure of the Shuttle Program
that NASA was not going to make it without the help of the private sector. America was still
recovering from the 2008 Recession so it was unclear exactly where this apparent non-existent
money was going to come from. It was not just America, but the World as whole began looking
65 http://science.howstuffworks.com/10-major-players-in-private-sector-space-race.htm#page=9
66 http://www.planetary.org/blogs/casey-dreier/2013/20130619-2013-nasa-authorization-bill-house-hearing.html
67 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/01/07/everything-chuck-hagel-needs-to-know-
about-the-defense-budget-in-charts/
27. 27
inward instead of outward. It seemed Humanity needn’t care about happenings off-planet when
they can’t even control things on-planet. What’s more, the average American knows very little
about Space Exploration and when Americans don’t see immediate tangible results in any kind
of venture, they quickly loose interest.
It was also during this period that a young Entrepreneur, Elon Musk stepped into the
Astrological spotlight with his new company SpaceX.68 Musk who is well known for his
fantastical plans such as establishing an 80,000 person colony on Mars and a reusable space
capsule known as the Dragon V2 which will dock with the ISS then return to Earth for a soft
landing. The Dragon V2 was unveiled in May of 2014 following successful test launches of the
Falcon 9 Rockets and Grasshopper reusable rockets.69 Elon Musk was already a self-made
billionaire thanks to his other two companies PayPal and Tesla Motors so money was of lesser
concern. SpaceX, which has been referred to as somewhat of a dark horse in the private space
race and destined to fail has become the most successful and widely known of the private space
companies. Elon Musk’s solution to NASA’s diminishing budget was to cut costs in
manufacturing by using reusable rockets, rather than single use which costs billions of dollars.
Space X also builds all of their rockets in-house rather than shipping them around to various
locales for other components. In September of 2014 SpaceX signed a contract with NASA
allowing them to build all of NASA’s future rockets.70 This early attempt at the privatization of
space has raised some concern that perhaps corporations have reached their limits on Earth and
are now attempting to seize new acquisitions off planet. While it sounds alarming that
Corporations have grown so large and so powerful that they can expand onto other planets, it is
68 http://www.spacex.com/
69 http://www.spacex.com/news/2014/05/30/dragon-v2-spacexs-next-generation-manned-spacecraft
70 http://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/april/nasa-signs-agreement-with-spacex-for-use-of-historic-launch-
pad/#.VHOEIPldWpA
28. 28
in all likelihood that any future space exploration will not be possible without their help. The
agenda must be clear. If it's open to exploration for whatever purpose, then having private
corporations compete with each other will fuel innovation, technological advances. In other
words a type of space capitalism. Of course there should also be some level of oversight, the
government should be involved in some aspect, but it shouldn't have control over the entire
venture because that leads to waste, inefficiency, and bureaucracy. We already have enough on
that here on Earth. Any corporation that goes off planet should have the people of Earth’s best
interests in mind, be it continuity of the human race or the collection of precious resources vital
to sustaining human life. Astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson has argued that corporations
will never take over Space.71 That the risk of return on investment far outweighs the reward. I
agree with Dr. Tyson to an extent, but I believe a few corporations such as SpaceX will assist the
Government in future Space exploration. Elon Musk seems to be proving his concern for eco-
sustainability, even being regarded as the greatest CEO of the modern era with his creation of
Tesla Motors, his major contributions to SolarCity and the release of the Tesla patents to
encourage eco-friendly auto competition.72 It also appears that Musk’s head is in the right place
in terms of off planet expansion and it’s very unlikely that SpaceX will become the next
Weyland-Yutani Corporation as we saw in Ridley Scott’s 1979 Film, Alien.73
Back to the Future
71 http://science.slashdot.org/story/13/08/30/0035216/neil-degrasse-tyson-says-private-business-will-not-open-
the-space-frontier
72 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/don-tapscott/is-elon-musk-the-greatest_b_5908544.html
73 Alien, Film, Ridley Scott, 1979
29. 29
The new technologies that will be put to the test through the Asteroid Redirect Mission,
as well as the new human spaceflight capabilities we prove by sending astronauts to study the
asteroid, will ensure important advances to safely send humans to Mars. This includes tools like
Solar Electric Propulsion, a highly efficient way to help us transport large objects and heavy
cargo to support future Mars missions. Something Wernher von Braun only dreamed of some
fifty plus years ago. NASA will continue to make significant investments in new technologies
vital to achieving exploration goals. It’s not only Mars which beckons us to explore, but other
Planets in our Solar System, other Moons. Missions to Mars could answer some of the burning
fundamental questions of humanity: Can life exist beyond Earth? Could humans actually
terraform Mars in the future and make it a habitable? The objective to answer these questions
has risks, but the rewards for humanity far out way them. Meeting these remaining challenges
will take the ingenuity and innovation of the entire nation and our international partners.
This next decade of Space Exploration will be an exciting time of rapid technological
development and testing. Like something out of an Arthur C. Clarke novel, 2015 will mark the
beginning of NASA’s Asteroid Initiative74 in which NASA will fly a collection craft to a near
earth Asteroid, capture it and return it to Earth and place it in orbit around the Moon. If
everything goes according to plan this could effectively give Earth two Moons like its’ sister
planet Mars. Orion will launch humans on the crafts first crewed mission in which astronauts
will explore this redirected asteroid sometime in 2021. They will also collect surface samples
that could hold even more clues to the origins of the solar system and life on Earth. In 2016
NASA will launch an asteroid sample return mission called OSIRIS-REx. OSIRIS will land on
the Asteroid Bennu in 2018 and bring samples of it back to Earth in 2023.75 By the end of 2017
74 http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/asteroids/initiative/#.VH41EvldV_Q
75 http://science.nasa.gov/missions/osiris-rex/
30. 30
SpaceX will begin taxiing astronauts from Earth to the ISS ending the United States’ current
reliance on Russia.76 In 2018 Orion will fly a test mission to simulate Distant Retrograde Orbit
around the Moon making way for the return of the Asteroid Return Mission. Also in 2018,
Hubble's successor, the James Webb Space Telescope, will extend our senses farther into space
and time, allowing for unprecedented views of distant systems and the universe's first stars. In
2020, we'll send a new rover to Mars, to follow in the footsteps of Curiosity but better equipped
to search for evidence of life, and pave the way for future human explorers.77 While no concrete
date has been set for the first human mission to Mars, Elon Musk has stated he will send people
to Mars by 2026. Mars is an imperative and will serve as a starting point if humanity is to begin
travel and habitation to other worlds.78
The Truth
When it comes to Space Exploration the sky is not the limit, but it is the beginning. In
the scope of Human evolution we have made astounding progress in just the last 100 years.
These expeditions into the unknown take us beyond the limits of where (directly or indirectly)
our hands can touch, our eyes can see, and our bodies can travel. All species that have made the
journey thus far are still here because they were greater explorers than those that did not. The
most fundamental primeval essence of exploration is survival. Whether we are exploring or
seeking intelligent life in the universe, our own beginnings to this very day remain unclear. Life
on Earth may have developed and gone extinct many times over before long last taking hold.
76 http://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/september/nasa-chooses-american-companies-to-transport-us-astronauts-to-
international/#.VHOTTvldWpA
77 http://techcrunch.com/2014/03/08/neil-degrasse-tyson-sxsw/
78 http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/184640-spacex-says-it-will-put-humans-on-mars-by-2026-almost-10-
years-ahead-of-nasa
31. 31
Each species on Earth goes as far and as fast as its evolutionary path can take it. This path is
dictated by that species’ exposure to the environment and to other species. We (as in life in
general) are all trying to constantly expand our horizons, be it mentally, philosophically or even
economically. At the most basic level the horizon is that- of physical survival through a greater
range of environments. Environments which provide additional resources to supply an ever
growing Human Species. No one ever said these environments were specifically limited to just
Earth or just our Solar System. Humans (some better than others) also adapt to new
environments remarkably well. Likewise, first single cell organisms were likely not curious
about their environment but rather, they simply had to adapt to it. But as far as humans go,
beyond survival, exploration is certainly associated with physical, mental, and yes, even spiritual
questioning that fuel each other by changing our perception of all the dimensions we know of,
and give to the universe. Repeated questioning and exploring expands our imagination, thus our
ability to further question and explore. When we exhaust or tire of one environment we have the
ability to move onto another. The creativity or curiosity we apply to exploration is also one way
for us to stimulate our imagination and gauge its validity in understanding our universe and its
endless diversity. Ultimately, we want to know. Humans have the gift of intelligence, we have
the power to expand our knowledge and with that expansion of knowledge comes not just great
power, but new possibilities, technologies, solutions to problems and answers to questions. To
some extent, each generation of a species creates and expands its own universe.
Today, Humanity still strives to survive as it has for hundreds of thousands of years, but
now life has also reached an apex where its exploratory path has come to question its own points
of origin. Indeed, we do explore to understand where we came from and define the meaning, if
any, of this wonderful universal journey of ours. It is fascinating to realize how, as we walk the
32. 32
Earth, soon the surface of other planets and the perhaps very edge of the known universe. This
journey, this obsession with Space exploration gives greater depth to our consciousness, for
exploration in itself is also very much an inward voyage. We are all made of the stardust of this
universe, the molecules inside of all living things can be traced to the phenomena in the cosmos.
There is, therefore, a chance that part of this answer that we have set out to seek so far from
Earth in the limitless confines of our universe, might be within us, waiting for the time when
Space exploration will inevitably take us back home.79
79 Neil deGrasse Tyson, Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier, p. 3-253
33. 33
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