Amidst an economically and socially crippling pandemic last year, a handful of billionaires managed to utilise their wealth to launch themselves into space. While the backlash against the “Billionaire Space Race” centred on the fact that the carbon emissions per flyer was astronomical, there have also been others that pointed out that such endeavours reflected inequalities and how out of touch the wealthy have become (Williams, 2021).
As I struggled in school, entered an unstable job market, and navigated relationships in this period of uncertainty, I could not help but resonated more with the latter critique. Space exploration as a final frontier for science is no doubt important – it is therefore quite reasonable that we allow organisations to continue launching space and satellite missions to learn more about the cosmos despite its costs. However, what does it mean when only a handful of (wealthy) individuals can participate in similarly costly and selfish activities?
In this blog, I hope to explore more generally humanity’s pursuit of space exploration and its implications for people back on the ground. Does greater investments into space mean greater pollution? Between the resources needed and the materials released upon launch, I believe aspects of space exploration and tourism encompass many intersecting and interdisciplinary issues related to pollution. At the end of this journey, I hope to reconcile the pollution brought about by space exploration with the potential benefits they bring, outline some solutions proposed by stakeholders, and identify the major challenges in this endeavour. Do join me!
References
Williams, O. A. (2021, December 22). Billionaire space race turns into a publicity disaster. Forbes. Retrieved January 16, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/oliverwilliams1/2021/12/21/billionaire-space-race-turns-into-a-publicity-disaster/?sh=7d7add345e4d