In the collective imagination, space embodies the expectation for what the future will bring, somewhere between a dream and the creative vision of what is possible, the most advanced frontier of our prospective. Carved in our history is the image of the Earth captured by the astronauts on the Moon – observed through an extraterrestrial eye, able to embrace all of our planet, as do today, at every instant, telecommunication satellites that make immediately available to all any information reflected from space.
Revisiting the history of the wonderful period that was the race to the Moon, the role of politics appears fundamental: the intuitive foresight of premier Khrushchev and the crazy gamble of President Kennedy have indeed been essential ingredients of an extraordinary complex combination of political events that has been so favorable for research and technology. Even today space activities continue to need the support of a political strategy: on the one hand, for the effort for the space infrastructure necessary for the services that are useful to the inhabitants of the Earth and the support for the technology transfer to fertilize industrial activities with the knowledge originating in space; and on the other hand, for the effort for research and knowledge, an effort that answers to an imperative for our civilization.
It is certain that space offers new opportunities. It is also conceivable that the flourishing of new global space systems may alter important cultural certainties of the past because the global reach of the sea-space continuum allows the (re)drawing of charts and routes that ignore traditional political and geographical borders. The scientific reading of the history of space, the understanding of the laws of physics and of life itself contribute to fostering the hope of a globally shared knowledge, that projects itself, with due respect, as an answer to fundamental questions about the existence and destiny of mankind. Equally, the growing ability of technological systems to influence relations among humans and the environment will eventually enforce a reflection on the collective use of space at the service of Earth. If the international space station, result of an enlarged collaboration, offers an image of a peaceful outpost at the service of all for fundamental investigations in an exceptional environment, then space-based security, navigation and monitoring systems can anticipate new control instruments designed to serve the interests of national politics and sovereignty.
As we travel hesitantly toward our future, the astronaut becomes the modern and reassuring proposal of the ancient myth, of the challenge – equipped with knowledge and courage - to the limits imposed by nature and by the environment. Preceded and helped by ever more powerful robots and telescopes, man will never refuse the experience of travelling beyond the Pillars Of Hercules to explore other worlds, as part of an endless quest to find himself.
Dr.
Franco
Malerba
Director, Office of Alenia Spazio in Paris
First Italian Astronaut (1992)
http://www.francomalerba.it
Professional Category:
Physical Sciences
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