Lift off of a launch vehicle– that is the moment which gives strong impact and even sublime movement for everybody, not only those who directly involved in that particular space program, but also every citizen who happen to watch the scene through television. Why is that? I believe that is because everybody, by instinct, realizes that launching artificial object into space is something beyond our concept in our arena which we accustomed to reside for the past thousands of years and therefore sends strong message into our DNA.
I think that is the very reason why we should continue our space activity. It is evident that space activities for the past 50 years have given us wonderful innovation to our life in the area of communications, broadcasting, navigation, earth observation and sciences. However, even if we exclude those direct benefits, society learned how human technology and knowledge is limited through space activity. Through space activity, we can have our own axis of coordinates in the universe which we cannot gain otherwise. This will give us the idea where we stand and tell us how foolish we are if we act without it.
Therefore, space activity by itself is impacting society by giving us different perspective, or giving us another “eye” to look this world, our culture and everyday life. If our activities were confined within this small planet, with our eyes only on the surface, human beings may lose their way to survive for the coming centuries, millenniums and beyond.
Space activity needs long term investment all over the world because it is not just a simple means to make profit or handy tool to improve our society. We should continue space activities in case it may not be so “profitable” for the industry or in case it is “difficult to persuade taxpayers” for the government. To continue the activity, therefore, is one of the most important missions for us, the IAA members.
Mr.
Hiroshi
Kanai
Managing Director
Institute for Unmanned Space Experiment Free Flyer
http://www.usef.or.jp
Professional Category:
Engineering
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