The political context for human space exploration

Abstract

Public and political discourses are often punctuated with unfair questions. Space activities seem to attract such unfair questions — in particular by the little minds. High-spirited activities such as humans in outer space and their visions risk being ridiculed or slammed. One such unfair question is: do astronauts solve any problems on Earth? It relates to the pressing questions our societies face in times of large financial and economic crises with a credit crunch, rising unemployment and lower living standards for many people. It also relates to global problems like securing peace, saving the environment or eradicating hunger and poverty in developing countries. Is there anything less likely to be a solution to these questions than sending humans into outer space? Certainly not, to be honest. So the strategy should be to refrain from entering into such debates, which are predestined to be lost.