Over a week ago, we celebrated 50 years since humanity first stepped in the moon. To celebrate this monumental achievement of the moon landing and also to spark interest in the sciences in my children, we took a road trip with some friends to Alabama. There we visited the Space Center where they originally built rockets for NASA. The center currently houses an authentic Saturn V rockets that launched the Apollo program astronauts to the moon.
Before sharing my reflections, let me first put a plug for this place. As a parent of young children, the visit was a success at all counts. My kids were engaged, entertained and educated all at once. The place surpassed my expectations while also being relatively affordable ($25 adults/ $14 child for admission. There is an additional cost for movies and the planetarium). The combination of amusement park rides, educational expositions, VR attractions and planetarium made it for a rich and entertaining experience. Can you see that excitement in my face? That was real.
The visit was a trip on history lane, back to the twentieth century when the United States competed and won the space race against the USSR. While the backdrop of the Cold War loomed large, the story of the space race transcends nationalistic sentiments. At the center of it, it is a celebration of how 400,000 people worked together for a few decades to put a person in the moon and bring them back safely. As we just celebrated 50 years since the Apollo mission moon landing, its story reminds us of the potential of humanity when working together towards a common goal.
A Herculean Effort
We often forget the amount of effort, preparation, risk and courage it took to pull this off. In the center, we get to see the real size of the Saturn rocket, the same model that took astronauts to the moon. The three stage rocket is simply massive. The majority of its body is simply there to carry fuel so that the small capsule on top of it can overcome the extraordinary power of Earth’s gravitational force.
It was also striking to learn about the onboard computer that navigated the rocket. It was state-of-the are technology even if its memory and processing power is only a fraction of today’s smartphones. Somehow, even with those constraints, they were able to develop a navigational system that could not only steer the rocket to its destination but also greatly aid the astronauts at the crucial moment of landing in the moon.
The moon landing story reminded me of a time where technology’s aims were more noble and more daring than today’s. It is ironic that 50 years later, with all the advances we have made, nothing still compares to the feat of leaving Earth’s atmosphere. While it is encouraging to learn about the recent efforts on commercial space flight and the budding space programs of emerging powers like China and India, nothing really compares to the tremendous advance the Apollo program accomplished in the 60’s.
The competitiveness of the Cold War has long been replaced by the international cooperation of the last decades. The International Space Station testifies that space exploration is no longer the job for a nation alone but one that belongs to humanity. Even so, the challenges to deep space travel and Mars colonization loom large in the horizon. It will take multiple moon-shot style efforts for us to get there.
A Crisis of Imagination?
While finance, logistical and natural challenges persist, I wonder whether the biggest hurdle is the lack of interest. Space exploration no longer holds the imagination of our generation. We are too preoccupied with the latest absurd tweets staring down at our phones that we forgot to look up to the sky. What would be for us to dream of space exploration again?
I’ve been recently digging into Teilhard de Chardin’s theological writings. If it could be summarized in one statement it would be: faith in God and faith in the world. Today, both faiths are challenged. We not only wonder about a transcendent God but also whether we can live on to perpetuate our kind. Can we take care of this earth or are we destined to see it squandered by our greed? Can we learn to love each other or will we always be susceptible to the smallness of nationalistic and racial projects? Can we develop technology that foster the flourishing of life on this planet and beyond or is it all a game to perpetuate wealth accumulation?
Above all, I leave the Space center yearning to believe in humanity again. For if we are able to fly to the moon why can we not do amazing things here on Earth?
