On 21 July 2010, we celebrated the 41st anniversary of NASA’s lunar landing: the first time for our species to set foot, literally, on another world. It was one of those moments in history when nearly every witness to this momentous day can tell you exactly where she was and what she was doing. That watershed moment ushered in a new technological era for humankind. It was the culmination of a decadal rush toward the finish line: not just an old-fashioned Cold War showdown between the United States and the Soviet Union, but also an ancient appeal to our exploratory nature as inquisitive bipedal apes.
That old adage about curiosity killing the cat seems a ridiculous image for us scientists, supersaturated as we are with inquisitiveness about the natural world. I loved the witty retort to this maxim by Chicago symbol Louis “Studs” Terkel who told an audience, “Curiosity did not kill this cat.” As a species, we are naturally curious; and that curiosity is not Earth-bound.
In the aftermath of our 1969 extraterrestrial experience, what have we learned about our relationship with Earth, especially its rich biodiversity and its air, waters, and soils? Have we learned to honor Earth as cradle and our only home? Have we learned that life is sacred in all its wondrous diversity? Have we learned that our species – all 6.7 billion of us – has gifts, collectively and individually, to make for a better world?
I asked these questions throughout the day on 21 July 2010 to numerous colleagues. Most replied with nearly overwhelming pessimism or, worse yet, with conviction that we may be incapable of reform in our relationship with our ancient home planet.
I am, however, an unrelenting optimist.
As an ecologist, educator, and explorer, I believe that we can turn things around and conserve Earth’s resources sustainably for generations to come. We gathered our abilities and resources as a nation in the 1960s to put a human on the Moon. We can do this again to excel as stewards in an age of ecological crisis.
Sustainability is all about making decisions today that will not adversely affect the decisions of those who follow us tomorrow. For example, is our national energy policy sustainable? Are our lifestyles and life-choices sustainable? Perhaps American essayist Henry David Thoreau summed it best by instructing us to “simplify, simplify, simplify.” To simplify our lives is not just about sacrifice, but it does include an element of surrender for the greater good.
As an American, I’m very proud of our country’s work in space, especially of our role in the development of the international space station. Arguably, we can point to 21 July 1969 as the alpha point for our outward push into the universe at large, like the early 19th-century Lewis and Clark expedition undertaken by the United States to the Pacific coast and back that laid much of the groundwork for our subsequent westward expansion.
I fully support the space station because of its incontrovertible benefits for monitoring Earth from above, but I cannot justify manned efforts to explore Mars and beyond – at least not at this time. The costs will be astronomical and already threaten to divorce us powerfully from our home planet. Our current global woes, including human-caused climate change and biodepletion, are compounding themselves daily and, consequently, loading the dice progressively toward a point of no return: perhaps as early as 2050. Thus, we need to focus all our resources on solving the problems at hand.
Why this distinction between near and far exploration in space? Since Earth is our home, we need to instill an absolute respect for it and all its biological richness in each and every man, woman, and child. Near-space exploration can help us do that. Further, just because we can go to Mars, should we go? As a scientist, I am naturally curious about that remote environment; but perhaps we should take care of matters at home first before setting off physically for remote regions in the Solar System.
Thus, our choice is lunacy or enlightenment. During this 41st anniversary of NASA’s lunar landing, particularly as we edge closer toward 2050, it’s incumbent upon us all to take our role as planetary stewards much more seriously than we have heretofore. Since 1969, we’ve traveled to the Moon and launched satellites into deep space. A wise maxim seems apropos: “Your journey home must begin by leaving it.” We left Earth 41 years ago. It’s time now to return home – to help heal our ailing planet. Let 2050 be the start of a new Age of Enlightenment for humankind!
H. Bruce Rinker, Ph.D. Science Department Chairman [email protected]
When we were children growing up we took for granted that Mother Earth would always be there with all the Plants, Trees and Other Wonders of Nature, Then we would look to the Skies and see other Planets, the Sun and the Moon ,never thinking one day man would sit foot on the moon. What a proud day that was!
Now we all have to do is make sure Mother Earth is always here We need to talk to our children, grandchildren, friends.and
Talk to our senators and Congress to let then know how Passionate we are that Laws are made and enforced to do just this
Another great article~! Being curious as I am in the technology of today and where we may go in the future with it makes me very curious about the advances made into our solar system. Perhaps the future flights into space will find us a new home for us that now call Earth home. One day, yes, we may find that a new home on another planet is the only way some of us on Earth will be able to survive. Perhaps we will research the “black holes” and the “worm holes” and galaxies in our solar system and find that there is another perfect blue planet that will substitute as Earth’s twin. Until then, we need to take care of our Mother Earth now for she truly is an amazing place and our only home~!
Another wonderful and thought provoking article, Dr. Rinker! It is true that we should never stop exploring but we also need to take care of the planet we inhabit. In this era of technology, we are getting a good look into the far reaches of space with devices such as the Hubble telescope and unmanned probes. Let us focus on conserving the precious resources that we have been squandering for years. Thanks again for reminding us of this message.