The Spiritual Imperative of Space Exploration & The Call For Global Action
- Paper number
IAC-15,D4,2,8,x29361
- Author
Mr. Michael Potter, International Institute of Space Commerce, United States
- Year
2015
- Abstract
The Spiritual Imperative of Space Exploration & The Call For Global Action Most of us have not taken the time to contemplate, and marvel, at the accomplishment of the International Space Station (ISS), which has been continuously occupied by humanity for over 14 years and has traveled over a billion and a half miles around the earth. When astronauts embark on their journey of manned spaceflight, they are generally focused on the scientific and technical aspects of their work. Even for astronauts, most journeys of significance culminate in lessons, realizations, and impacts that are entirely different from what we could have imagined, before we embarked. When astronauts travel to space they often experience what has been called "the overview effect." Astronaut Ron Garan has recently published a book entitled the “Orbital Perspective,” in which he describes his epiphany, "and in that moment, I was hit with the realization that this delicate layer of atmosphere is all that protects every living thing on Earth from perishing in the harshness of space.” A few hundred years ago, we were certain that Earth was the center of the solar system. We are now awed to understand that our Earth is a delicate side show in our universe. One of the most enduring and powerful outcomes of mankind's destiny to explore and live in space, is the awareness of the unique, wondrous beauty, and special responsibility that goes along with being born right here on Earth. The fully loaded cost of the the International Space Station is $200 Billion dollars. Do we need to pay attention to translating this new spiritual perspective into action and into impact? It has now become possible to positively impact the lives of a billion people in 10 years. This is not an easy challenge. We need to be bold, and harness innver bravery, as we embark on this demanding imperative. We will need to challenge ourselves, spiritually, creatively, technically and commercially so that we can create solutions in the developing world that are both scalable and sustainable. This vision is not a whole lot different from the critical life support systems of those living and working on the International Space Station, let’s start with ensuring the basic human needs of clean water and internet connectivity, globally!
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
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