Discussing current events in space news and the history behind it
Space has long been an object of human fascination and mild romanticism. Perhaps as a result, this has led to our centuries-long study of the cosmos that has left us humbled yet exhilarated. The Fulcrum had the pleasure of sitting down with science historian, writer and U of O professor, Jean-Louis Trudel. With a vast background spanning multiple degrees, novels, research and accolades, we discussed key topics in the world of space-exploration.
The genesis of his fascination with space began in his early school years — gathered amongst his classmates anxiously watching the first flight of ‘Space Shuttle Columbia’ (1981). As time passed an abundance of space-related media caught his eye citing Carl Sagan’s TV series Cosmos, reruns of I Dream of Jeannie, Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine and of course, the first Star Wars movie. Notably, this occurred during “NASA’s 1970s propaganda effort geared towards gaining sympathy,” according to Trudel.
The New Space Race
It’s hard to ignore the ongoing Artemis 2 mission which is set to launch in 2024. Not only is it expected to perform a flyby of the Moon, but will also set the stage for a much grander mission: Mars. As well as recent international efforts of countries and private corporations to reach the Moon in search of ice on its south pole. Many have begun to name these efforts as “The New Space Race”.
In Trudel’s opinion, these missions are long delayed.
Throughout his PhD work, “there were reasons to go back to the moon and people who wanted to mine the moon crust for helium three. One of the hopeful topics – back then we’re talking the 1990s, was to have on the far side of the moon, some automated [radio] telescopes.”
Trudel stated Canada’s place in the broad scheme of things and among the efforts of nations and companies to advance the exploration of space, “we are along for the ride, which is not a bad place to be.”
The Commercialization of Space
For one, Trudel found himself very envious about the people who get to leave the planet, mentioning when William Shatner went up into space and Canadian billionaire Guy Laliberte even before him.
He continued,“ it’s all part of making access to space easier and… people are going to take advantage of the fact” that billionaires can provide easier funding to space exploration projects than government-controlled programs.
Trudel drew historical parallels of technological advances made possible through generous and wealthy patrons gradually becoming vessels of common use over time. Such as with early planes, Spanish voyages into the Americas and China becoming the vessels of common pirates. This is not the first time a passion project required funding from wealthy interested parties — I’m looking at you, Christopher Columbus.
Sustainability of Space Exploration/Travel
In the past, space exploration had fallen out of public interest due to several reasons, the largest being the cost (the Apollo program costing over $ 200 billion in modern US dollars).
With a recent resurgence in space research and private space enterprises, the Fulcrum asked if space research should be approached more sustainably.“There’s always been a large amount of waste of resources that is unfortunately, implicit in what is known to physicists as the Rocket Equation,” said Trudel.
He also mentioned that compared to the Apollo program, we have made significant advancements in technology. Factoring in size, “the computing power of the Apollo modules was basically what you have in a small calculator, and much less was much less than what you have in a phone nowadays.”
Trudel noted the Artemis missions are going to resemble that of the Apollo ones, but the cost of research is a necessary long-term investment — which throughout the history of science have often paid off.
The success of the Apollo missions opened up new avenues for discovery and laid the foundation for further work. However, currently the next year’s budget for the Artemis missions would include $8 billion. Whether the idea of a potential payoff is better than investing in one with no clear one is up to the individual. However, Trudel is confident the payoff is worth it.
On the other hand, there are emerging negative effects of production costs. With news of potential debris cage trapping humans on earth for several years, and the risks the increased frequency of rocket launches now pose on ozone depletion.
Trudel mentioned some of the ideas over the years, from the recyclable rocket to the Delta Clipper project (DC-X) of the 90s to SpaceX experimenting with more recyclable rockets. All in all, there seems to be much work to be done before space exploration becomes more sustainable.
Extraterrestrial Life
UFOs (now referred to as Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena) and extraterrestrial life have remained a prevalent topic in all discussions about space according to Trudel who pointed out, “the [conversation] has lasted at least a few centuries.”
Amongst the Greek and medieval philosophers, he mentioned Lucretius of Roman antiquity and Nicholas de Cusa in the 14th century who both made mention of this “thesis of the plurality of worlds, and the idea that there might be equivalents of other Earth”.
Interesting talks about the ancient science fiction stories of Earth being caught in a battle between inhabitants of the Moon and Sun, the absence of stories following the fall of the Roman Empire, its return to prevalence with the invention of the telescope in the 17th century, and the lunar hoax around the 1830s, Trudel closed the discussion with a quote by Carl Sagan: “extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof.”
In his words, there is an evident and shared romanticism that compels us to study the sky. It is perhaps what leads us to name billion-dollar spacecrafts after figures thousands of years old, and name celestial objects hundreds of thousands of kilometres away after those important to us.
