Homo sapiens is the systematic name used to classify humans. Homo sapiens, in Latin, means “wise man.” Homo sapiens, or humans, who have existed for approximately 200-300 thousand years and has always had the urge to explore what is on this planet and even what is in space. Whether it was the early humans going from Africa and dispersing all over the world to Asia and Europe, or whether it was King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella giving Christopher Columbus the three ships to “sail the ocean blue in 1492” to find a western sea route to China, India, and the Asian islands said to have gold and spices, or lastly, whenever the Apollo 11 mission put the first two humans to ever step foot on the moon, there was one thing that all of those “discoveries” had in common: curiosity. Humans are always tempted to trying to find ways to improve and innovate their way of living. While space exploration is somewhat of new thing, it is a very important thing. People are curious as to what is out there in our solar system on other planets and other moons. A common question that seems to be raised is, “are we truly alone?” While no one has a definite answer to that yet, one can only speculate that, given the size and the number of stars and other planets in just our solar system, we are not alone. Going into space is not cheap. In fact, it is not only expensive, but it also takes a ton of time. For these two reasons, and many more, it is important that countries that are interested in space exploration work together to solve the common goal, which is seeing what is out in our Solar System. By putting resources together, putting research together, and by creating a program to raise awareness by educating and preparing the future generations for space exploration.
A rocket, like a car, is an object that has many parts that all have to run smoothly for it to work correctly. Also similar to an automobile, it is an object that takes a lot of time and labor to get it to work correctly. When going to another planet, for example, Mars, there is a ton of factors that we have to take into account. The difference in gravity from Earth’s and the distance away from Earth are just two of them. According to the Stephen Petranek Ted Talk, Your kids might live on Mars. Here’s how they’ll survive, he states that, “for anybody that who wants to strap on some wings and go flying one day, Mars has a lot less gravity than on Earth, and it’s the kind of place where you can jump over your car instead of walk around it” This dramatic increase of gravity is something that has to be considered when constructing a rocket. The distance away from Earth is also something that needs to be considered. In the same Stephen Petranek Ted Talk, he claims that, Mars is “a thousand times farther away from us than our own moon. The Moon is 250,000 miles away and took astronauts three days to get there. Mars is 250 million miles away and it will take us eight months to get there” (Petranek, 2015). The amount of weight needed for our basic needs, like food and water, so people can survive that eight-month journey there and eight-month journey home is a lot. These are reasons why it is important for countries to work together and put resources together to put rockets that are big enough and reliable enough to get us to where we want to go, whether it’s Mars or Europa or anywhere else. The International Space Station is start to that cooperation as it is a joint project with five different space agencies: NASA, Roscosmos, JAXA, ESA, and CSA. Because it is a joint-project with different space agencies from different countries, it is owned by not one country, but by intergovernmental treaties and agreements. Something similar to this in terms of the amount of supplies needed to create a rocket to send us throughout space, could be very beneficial for all of the space agencies involved. Working with multiple countries in terms of the resources needed to create a rocket together would cut down costs as it is very expensive to go into space.
Research is a very important in figuring out key facts about our solar system. For example, what planets or moons are suitable for life, what those planets look like on the surface, and how far those planets or moons are from us. We do this research all of the time with the satellites, probes, and other spacecraft that we send out. This spacecraft that we send out is very expensive to make and to launch into space so by combining the research of certain space agencies and private companies all over the world, we can cut down costs and do more research. In a National Public Radio article, it talks about President Donald Trump sending NASA back to the moon after President George W. Bush had tried in 2009 but failed due to a “mismatch between the scope of the program and the money available to support it” (Greenfieldboyce, 2017). The main reason that these presidents want a human presence on the Moon is simply to research it. Research the effects space has on a human body and possibly use this for future reference if we were to go to Mars or somewhere else. If we have a camp on the moon similar to the ISS where it is a joint-project, then cost would be a lot less and that would mean more brain power coming from scientists all over the world.
The last way that I believe other countries can work together in relation to space travel is by working together to create some kind of educational program to inform kids at a young age to inspire and prepare future generations about space exploration. The human species going to Mars is happening and it is happening very quickly. If we educate the younger generation now on what Mars or other livable planets and moons have to offer, then that could excite them and want to get more involved with space exploration and science and technology. In a white paper written by the International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG), it claims that, “overcoming the challenges in working in space has led to many technological and scientific advances that have provided benefits to society on Earth in medicine, health, transportation, public safety, consumer goods, energy and environment, information technology, and industrial productivity.” It also goes on to give examples of some of these advancements including, improved solar panels, heart monitors, cordless tools, and many more. In other words, figuring out ways to be innovative and be able to live out in space not only benefits them, but also back on the home planet because we are able to use those same innovative ideas.
Exploration has been in the human DNA ever since we have been alive. The early humans did it. Christopher Columbus did it. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin did it. All of these people were stuck one word that will never go away: curiosity. While the Earth has been home to many species of animals for millions of years, the human species will always want to see what other places there are. Whether it is Mars or Europa, one day we will find a way to be there. Improving technology and innovating will make the process go more quickly and smoothly. Working together internationally by combining the resources we have, combing our research, and by raising awareness to the future generation are just three ways to improve progress in space travel and exploration.