The exploration of space: The perennial conflict between universal cooperation and national supremacy

“ There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its hazards are hostile to us all. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation may never come again. But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas?
We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon... (interrupted by applause) ”

“ We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained, and new rights to be won, and they must be won and used for the progress of all people. For space science, like nuclear science and all technology, has no conscience of its own. Whether it will become a force for good or ill depends on man, and only if the United States occupies a position of pre-eminence can we help decide whether this new ocean will be a sea of peace or a new terrifying theater of war. ”

“ The deadly arms race, and the huge resources it absorbs, have too long overshadowed all else we must do. We must prevent that arms race from spreading to new nations, to new nuclear powers and to the reaches of outer space. ”

“ It is the sense of Congress that— (1) as the United States works to send humans on a series of missions to Mars in the 2030s, the United States national space program should continue to make progress on its commitment by fully developing the Space Launch System, Orion, and related Exploration Ground Systems; (2) using the Space Launch System and Orion for a wide range of contemplated missions will facilitate the national defense, science, and exploration objectives of the United States ”

“ We must understand that, given proper goals, human spaceflight is a strategic capability for this Nation, and we must not allow it to slip away. In January, we remembered those whom we have lost in the exploration of space. In the aftermath of the Columbia tragedy, President Bush addressed the NASA workforce, saying: "In your grief, you are responding as your friends would have wished - with focus, professionalism, and unbroken faith in the mission of this agency." We must commit ourselves to the focus of professionalism and unbroken faith every day in order to carry out the tasks before us. ”

“ Increase man's knowledge of the universe.
Exploration of the solar system and observations beyond the solar system should be important continuing broad objectives of the Nation's space program. Many unanswered scientific questions remain about the planets, the interplanetary medium, the sun - both as a type of star and as a source of the earth's energy - and about a variety of celestial objects, such as pulsars, quasars, X-ray and gamma ray sources. ”

“ Recognition of this truth requires abandonment of prejudice—prejudice of every kind—race, class, colour, creed, nation, sex, degree of material civilization, everything which enables people to consider themselves superior to others.
Acceptance of the oneness of mankind is the first fundamental prerequisite for reorganization and administration of the world as one country, the home of humankind. Universal acceptance of this spiritual principle is essential to any successful attempt to establish world peace. ”

“ Peoples are ingenious enough to invent yet other forms of warfare, and to use food, raw materials, finance, industrial power, ideology, and terrorism to subvert one another in an endless quest for supremacy and dominion. Nor can the present massive dislocation in the affairs of humanity be resolved through the settlement of specific conflicts or disagreements among nations. ”

“ Maintain a steady return on space investments in applications, science, and technology. Use our space capability not only to extend the benefits of space to the rest of the world, but also to increase direct participation by the world community in both manned and unmanned exploration and use of space. The balanced program for the future envisioned by the Task Group would possess several important characteristics:
flexibility. The ability to see clearly the opportunities that lie ahead in this new field is limited at best. ”

“ SIGNIFICANCE TO SCIENCE One of the most critical research areas of the space program is bioscience. Of both practical and philosophical significance in exploring the origins of life and the possibilities of life on other planets, bioscience also promises much in medical aspects. Space offers biologists completely new environmental factors, such as the effects of zero gravity and of removal from Earth's rotation. ”

“ And the next generation Internet will operate at speeds up to a thousand times faster than today.
Even as we explore this inner space, in the new millennium we're going to open new frontiers in outer space.
Throughout all history, human kind has had only one place to call home: our planet Earth. Beginning this year, 1998, men and women from 16 countries will build a foothold in the heavens--the International Space Station. With its vast expanses, scientists and engineers will actually set sail on an uncharted sea of limitless mystery and unlimited potential. ”

“ It does not ignore, nor does it attempt to suppress, the diversity of ethnical origins, of climate, of history, of language and tradition, of thought and habit, that differentiate the peoples and nations of the world. It calls for a wider loyalty, for a larger aspiration than any that has animated the human race. It insists upon the subordination of national impulses and interests to the imperative claims of a unified world. It repudiates excessive centralization on one hand, and disclaims all attempts at uniformity on the other. Its watchword is unity in diversity”. ”

“ Today the world of humanity is in need of international unity and... Today the world of humanity is in need of international unity and conciliation. To establish these great fundamental principles a propelling power is needed. It is self-evident that the unity of the human world and the Most Great Peace cannot be accomplished through material means. They cannot be established through political power, for the political interests of nations are various and the policies of peoples are divergent and conflicting. ”

“ They cannot be founded through racial or patriotic power, for these are human powers, selfish and weak. The very nature of racial differences and patriotic prejudices prevents the realization of this unity and agreement. Therefore, it is evidenced that the promotion of the oneness of the kingdom of humanity, which is the essence of the teachings of all the Manifestations of God, is impossible except through the divine power and breaths of the Holy Spirit. Other powers are too weak and are incapable of accomplishing this. ”

“ The world is, in truth, moving on towards its destiny. The interdependence of the peoples and nations of the earth, whatever the leaders of the divisive forces of the world may say or do, is already an accomplished fact. Its unity in the economic sphere is now understood and recognized. The welfare of the part means the welfare of the whole, and the distress of the part brings distress to the whole. The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh has, in His own words, “lent a fresh impulse and set a new direction” to this vast process now operating in the world. ”

“ For none is self-sufficiency any longer possible, inasmuch as political ties unite all peoples and nations, and the bonds of trade and industry, of agriculture and education, are being strengthened every day. Hence the unity of all mankind can in this day be achieved. Verily this is none other but one of the wonders of this wondrous age, this glorious century. Of this past ages have been deprived, for this century—the century of light—has been endowed with unique and unprecedented glory, power and illumination. ”

“ Let men and women, youth and children everywhere recognize the eternal merit of this imperative action for all peoples and lift up their voices in willing assent. Indeed, let it be this generation that inaugurates this glorious stage in the evolution of social life on the planet.
IV The source of the optimism we feel is a vision transcending the cessation of war and the creation of agencies of international co-operation. Permanent peace among nations is an essential stage, but not, Bahá’u’lláh asserts, the ultimate goal of the social development of humanity. ”

“ The United States has always been a nation that moves forward, pushing back the frontiers of the West, pushing back the frontiers of social and economic development, and now pushing back the frontiers of space. ”

“ From this point of view, efforts to secure peace are extraordinarily detrimental to the national health so soon as they influence politics. The States which from various considerations are always active in this direction are sapping the roots of their own strength. The United States of America, e.g., in June, 1911, championed the ideas of universal peace in order to be able to devote their undisturbed attention to money-making and the enjoyment of wealth, and to save the three hundred million dollars which they spend on their army and navy ”

“ Sweeping energy, so enormous that the defenses of the ships did not even operate against it, shattered ship after ship, till the few that remained turned, and, faster than the pursuing energies could race through space, faster than light, headed for their base.
"That was fair fight; energy against energy," said Arcot delightedly, for his new toy, which made playthings of suns and fed on the cosmic energy of a universe, was behaving nicely, "and as I said, Stel Felso Theu, at the beginning of this war, the greater Power wins, always. ”

“ I am going to fit out the Red Rover for a voyage to Mars. It will take that much vitalium for the batteries."
"We are going to Mars!"
"The only hope for humanity is for us to strike first and to strike hard!" ”

“ Exploration and exploitation of space is costly with our current generation of expendable launch vehicles and spacecraft systems. This is particularly true for the manned flight program. Recovery and launch costs will become on even more significant factor when multiple re-visit and resupply missions to on Earth orbiting space station are contemplated. ”

“ The cost of exploration is dominated by the costs of launch to low-Earth orbit and of the in-space systems. It seems improbable that significant reductions in launch costs will be realized in the short term until launch rates increase substantially—perhaps through expanded commercial activity in space. ”

“ Options for the Human Spaceflight Program: The Committee developed five alternatives for the Human Spaceflight Program. It found:
Human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit is not viable under the FY 2010 budget guideline. Meaningful human exploration is possible under a less constrained budget, ramping to approximately $3 billion per year above the FY 2010 guidance in total resources. Funding at the increased level would allow either an exploration program to explore Moon First or one that follows a Flexible Path of exploration. ”

“ The Space Task Group sees acceptance of the long-term goal of manned planetary exploration as an important part of the future agenda for this Nation in space. The time for decisions an the development of equipment peculiar to manned mission to Mars will depend upon the level of support, in a budget sense, that is committed to the space program. ”

“ Program of Record as assessed by the Committee, constrained to the FY 2010 Budget
This option is the Program of Record, with only two changes the Committee deems necessary: providing funds for the Shuttle into FY 2011 and including sufficient funds to de-orbit the ISS in 2016. When constrained to this budget profile, Ares I and Orion are not available until after the ISS has been de-orbited. The heavy-lift vehicle, Ares V, is not available until the late 2020s, and worse, there are insufficient funds to develop the lunar lander and lunar surface systems until well into the 2030s, if ever. ”

“ The FY 2008 budget request for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) is $3.9 billion to support continued development of new U.S. human spaceflight capabilities and supporting technologies, and to enable sustained and affordable human space exploration after the Space Shuttle is retired in 2010. With this budget, ESMD will continue to try to operate our next-generation crew exploration vehicle by 2014, while also providing research and developing technologies for the longer-term development of a sustained human presence on the Moon. ”

“ On Earth, life is found practically everywhere there’s water. The same could have been true for Mars billions of years ago, when the planet’s climate was much more like Earth’s.
More About the Mission
A key objective for Perseverance’s mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet’s geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust) . ”

“ A complicating factor is that the effect of each factor depends on the other factors before, during, and after its application. The condition of the organism itself is a great variable. Proper evaluation requires the critical review by a variety of biological specialists, physicists, and chemists.
To determine the potential of Earth organisms to survive or grow under other planetary environmental conditions, a number of experiments have been carried out attempting to simulate planetary environments, especially of Mars, as reviewed previously. ”

“ The extreme ranges of physical and chemical environmental factors for growth, reproduction, and survival for Earth micro-organisms are phenomenally large.
Life is ubiquitous on Earth and is found in almost every possible environment, including the most severe habitats, from the bottom of the ocean to the highest mountain tops and from cold Arctic habitats to hot springs, as well as in volcanic craters, deep wells, salt flats, and mountain snowfields. Earth life has become adapted to, and has invaded, nearly every habitat, no matter how severe. ”

“ As the knowledge concerning the Martian environment becomes more refined, scientists can more accurately simulate this environment under controlled conditions in the laboratory. Determination of the effects of the Martian environment on Earth organisms will permit better theorization on the forms of life we might find on Mars and will permit us to estimate the potential survival of Earth contaminants on Mars. ”

“ The data resulting from the simulation experiments for Mars have been compiled in table II, and the experiments are summarized below.
The earliest simulation studies were carried out by the Air Force, and the studies during the past 6 years have been supported by NASA. Recently, these studies have received less support or have been terminated in favor of critical studies on the effects of biologically important environmental extreme factors on Earth organisms. These critical studies permit establishing the extreme environmental factor parameters in which Earth life can grow or survive. ”

“ The Earth's present atmosphere consists of nitrogen and oxygen in addition to relatively small amounts of other gases; most of the oxygen is of biological origin. Some of the atmospheric gases, in spite of their low amounts, are crucial for life. The ultraviolet-absorbing ozone in the upper atmosphere and carbon dioxide are examples of such gases.
Significant in the search for extraterrestrial life are the data (e.g., planet's temperature) transmitted by Mariner II, which was launched from Cape Canaveral on August 27, 1962, and flew past Venus on December 14, 1962. ”

“ Seeing warm and cold blobs passing over the rover down near the surface. We think that the ground is warming, transmitting heat to atmosphere, warm rises and goes up to 100 meters and gives its heat up to the rest of the atmosphere and then there's a cold blob that comes down. You're watching the boiling of the atmosphere. It's really convection. This is really exciting data that will allow us to much better constrain the models that were used to understand the winds that were a danger at the landing sites. ”

“ THE EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF CHEMICAL EVOLUTION Attempts have been made to simulate and approximate models of primitive Earth conditions for abiogenic synthesis, and successful synthesis of essential biochemical constituents necessary for maintaining life has been partly accomplished.
Urey ( [ref.11] ) has clearly pointed out the possible role of a reducing atmosphere in the synthesis of prebiological organic molecules. Miller ( [ref.12] ) synthesized a variety of amino acids in a reducing atmosphere by means of an electrical discharge. ”

“ The understanding of prebiological conditions on Earth, and possible conditions on other planets, depends upon the nature of the complex chemical species which might be encountered. Scientists have shown that biologically important compounds, such as amino acids, can be generated by applying an electrical discharge, ultraviolet radiation, or heat to a gaseous mixture. ”