“The Earth is the cradle of humanity, but mankind cannot stay in the cradle forever” Discuss
When we think about Earth, a “cradle of enlightenment and human development” tends to be the most popularly known designation. It has been generous in providing the environment on which mankind depends — the right temperature, flowing water, atmosphere to breathe and so on. Wherever and whenever we have been, we have enjoyed the dividends of nature and, on that basis, have developed all sorts of technological advancements including mineral dredging or marine exploration. However, as we have continued to grow as a species, this ‘cradle’ has begun to show its limitations; the decline of biodiversity, global warming, resource depletion, etc., all of which are threatening the continuity of mankind. In this regard, countless scientists have opened numerous discussions on the topic of whether humans need to become a multi-planetary species, that is, to choose to begin colonizing areas beyond the planet Earth. My aim in this text is to examine whether interstellar colonization will do more good than harm to the future of mankind. Will its development accelerate the deterioration of the Earth’s environment? Is its impact too remote for us to matter? As an astronomy enthusiast, the success of every interstellar mission I have witnessed has taught me that multi-planet transfer and the re-emergence of the human race are not out of reach. In this essay, I will argue, both in the long and short term, that making humans a multi-planetary species will have a significant impact on our future human civilization, with the credentials of an aerospace company called “SpaceX” and Cady Coleman’s TED talk that serves as my case studies to prove it.
The departure of mankind from Earth in search of a new habitable place will give us the opportunity to establish a reserve of human civilization on extraterrestrial planets, thus leaving a way out in the face of possible ‘crises’ on this planet. As scientists continue to pursue emerging technologies, controversial areas of research such as genetic engineering or artificial intelligence have seen real progress in a very short period of time. While this provides a great deal of convenience to our society in the here and now, the future may be more likely to see malignant events that threaten human existence such as superbug infestation and cybernetic crisis. Therefore, by establishing colonies off-ground, humanity, as a multi-planetary species, can have a higher tolerance for error in its civilization; in other words, when humans on one planet suffer a fatal crisis, the entire human civilization, by virtue of living on different planets, may be able to avoid total extinction. This theory is also expounded by Elon Musk, who is the founder of “SpaceX,” a private American rocket company. Convinced that humans must become multi-planetary beings, he and SpaceX are committed to designing and building the most powerful rocket engines with the highest energy conversion rate in human history to power one of the future human vehicles to Mars: “the Starship.” They believe that it is high time to implement plans for the establishment of colonies on Mars, i.e., to utilize the Starship to transport large numbers of Earth-dwellers to Mars who will then spend generations in its ecological transformation and resettlement. Only in this way can human civilization continue more steadily, and not perish in the future when the Earth may become uninhabitable, or even annihilated, for various reasons.
Some advocates of the opposite view may argue that extraterrestrial colonization is a complete waste of resources. The development of aerospace cannot be achieved without the consumption of huge amounts of time, money and raw materials; every launch of a manned rocket will, without exception, result in the waste of large amounts of non-renewable fuel, such as dimethylhydrazine and kerosene, as well as the non-recyclable components of the rocket itself. Travelling from the surface of Earth to Earth orbit is one of the most energy intensive steps of going anywhere else. This first step, about 400 kilometers away from Earth, requires half of the total energy needed to go to the surface of Mars. NASA has stated that for the 1967 Apollo mission to the moon, Saturn V rocket ’s first stage carried 203,400 gallons of kerosene fuel and 318,000 gallons of liquid oxygen needed for, totaling over 500,000 gallons of fuel for getting out of the atmosphere alone. They argue that we should prioritize preserving the planet on which we depend so much and avoid the heavy industry of aerospace construction wherever possible. There is some validity in this view; as more and more countries enter the space race, we are putting more and more space junk into orbit and burning up huge amounts of our non-renewable energy supplies. However, whilst I share their environmental concerns, I disagree, because not only is the pollution limited, but space projects actually help us develop eco-technologies that we can re-use on Earth. As the only medium for mankind to travel to outer space at this stage, the orbital stage rocket is one of the most difficult engineering challenges known to mankind; to make a vehicle weighing several hundred tons fly out of the atmosphere, scientists need to push the limits of physics by conducting continuous research in various fields including Material Science, Aerodynamics, Topology, etc. A large number of research findings during all stages of these work can actually be applied to our daily lives, making everything more sustainable. Advanced space technology can be used right here on Earth. Take Cady Coleman’s TED Talk as an example. As an astronaut living in the International Space Station for four weeks, her recycling of waste through a device that converts urine into drinking water offers a few clues about the future of the planet in terms of sustainability. “We take our urine, we store it, we filter it and then we drink it.” She uses her own experience in ISS as an example of how to utilize supplies efficiently in the face of limited resources. The equipment that is now commonly used in the space station may decentralize to the civilian market someday in the future, which could possibly become a ‘Plan-B’ for us to get over the water shortages we may confront. It’s clear then that what we do in Space, or to reach Space, can conserve resources here on Earth as well as using them up. This precious balance is often overlooked by the critics who see rocket fuel and nothing else.
To conclude, while it is true that the Earth is and has been the cradle of humanity, we cannot lose sight of the risks that we may encounter in the future. It is imperative to open up human territory by establishing colonies on different planets to continue our civilization. We’ve already seen how Elon Musk and his SpaceX company are developing interstellar spacecraft to make Mars colonization possible and to allow humanity to continue to prosper more securely on multiple planets in the future. We’ve also seen how Cady Coleman has used modern technology to make her journey to the International Space Station more sustainable, and to provide humanity with a technological reserve for the foreseeable future when we face deadly threats. Just as babies will one day leave their cradles and go outside to toddle and take their first steps, so too will humans leave Earth to explore the mysteries of the universe. As Stephen Petrarch said, “Exploration is in our DNA.” It is man’s infinite quest for the unknown that has created the current civilization which is now so well developed and magnificent. As I said in my introduction, my mind is moved by the success of every space experiment; I cheer for every successful rocket launch and, most importantly, these discoveries and attempts ignited my curiosity as a human being; a kind of curiosity has driven all previous achievements made in history. Perhaps in this regard, interstellar exploration has become less about simply satisfying the wants and needs of human existence and more of a selfish — and yet selfless — challenge, that of progress for progress’s sake, for the simple reason it excites us and carries us to the extremities of our own intelligence as a species, even as we simultaneously fashion a safe future for mankind in the Universe.