I've never read so much dribble in a while:
Our forays into space suggest that it is both a classroom and a science laboratory of immense proportions and of largely untapped potential. In a world of finite resources, many of which are diminishing at an alarming rate, space could and should be recognized as a strategic global asset that is critical to the protection and preservation of our planet.
I think that pretty much sums up how Garneau sees what humanity should be doing in space: science. Spaceflight, and the plight of extraterrestrial colonization isn't even on his radar screen. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's the impression I'm left with after reading this article. I like the mention of finite resources... Maybe he's come to conclusion that we could use resources in space to make things better on Earth.
Garneau also talks about the excitement people have been experiencing concerning finding life on Mars. I've said this before and I'll say it again: no one will care. If we find a germ under some rock on Mars the public will not all of sudden start clamoring for an increase in spending on space exploration. No matter how much it might mean to NASA buffs and scientists.
He then goes on this diatribe about how space research can help us save the planet from the ravages of global warming and the rest of like.
The only real inspiring part of his little eco-obsessed rant was this:
History commands us to be bold. Experience teaches us that we are most ingenious when faced with seemingly insurmountable obstacles. We are at our best when we make the most of every opportunity.
This is especially true from a uniquely Canadian perspective. Having carved a country from a wide array of landscapes and climatic conditions, CanadaÂ’s relatively small population of 32 million people is well aware of the challenges posed by nature and distance. Forging links to one another, no matter how far the thread must stretch, is a national preoccupation.
Garneau's only real compelling case for a Canadian space presence can be found in these two paragraphs. Canadians have a unique experience when it comes to frontiers. Our place in space should be based on our history of breaking those barriers boldly and with confidence. However that requires for real people to be given the chance to get into space. That requires average grassroots Canadians to be able to go into space just like Garneau did. And the only way that will happen is if launch prices decrease dramatically. It requires us to believe.
The X-prize, space tourism, and the alt-space community has been all about doing just that. He fails to mention either. He doesn't mention the new sub-orbital tourism effort being pushed by the Canadian team participating with PlanetSpace. It's both disappointing and annoying that he would fail to mention the ingenuity of the Canadian Arrow team in getting that far.
I've always been afraid of that Garneau shares the same opinions that his fellow Canadian NASA astronaut Chris Hadfield shares about space tourism. When Dennis Tito became the world's first space tourist Mr. Hadfield claimed that Mr. Tito had not earned his way there.
It seems no Canadian astronaut out there seems open to ideas that could actually lead to a powerful future of fulfilled dreams and new beginnings.
Something that I never thought of until you talked about this...
ReplyDeleteI believe that the push for commercial space-flight will be one of those defining moments that proves that the free-market system is far more realistic than the socialist attitude of government control/manipulation. Up to this point in time, space exploration and work in space has been extremely limited because it has all been under the guidance and rule of government (read: bureaucracy).
With the advent of commercial space flight pushed by projects such as the X-Prize, the cost for work in space is bound to drop significantly because of the commercial development of cheaper and varied approaches to space travel. This will give citizens that chance to experience space, but it will also make the scientific work that Garneau mentions much easier to attain. And when this happens, it will be further proof that the free-market is what pushes ingenuity, whereas government control hinders development more than it helps.
As an aside, I agree that Garneau's comments about the limited resources of space is funny. I always though that space was a limitless vacuum. But I could be wrong.