I was very disappointed by Paul Larmer’s
dismissive editorial regarding NASA’s plans to send humans to
the moon and Mars (HCN, 2/2/04: A plan for Spaceship Earth). Larmer
writes, “We’ll travel the galaxy later, when desperation and
exploitation are no longer the driving forces.”
If Larmer
bothered to read more than media tidbits, then he might realize
that many, if not most, planetary scientists have a strong
pro-environment stance. Much of the impetus for the fledgling
environmental movement 30 years ago came from the photos of the
Earth taken by crews as they traveled to the moon.
Space
scientists and explorers are not driven by “desperation and
exploitation.” They are driven by a passion to know. I thought that
the publisher of HCN would understand the human desire to explore.
That urge led us to explore the many and diverse corners of the
West.
Space is our new frontier, and we go to those new
places in peace and with curiosity. In doing so, we learn much
about the Earth. The scientist who alerted us to the dangers of
ozone depletion was led to that conclusion by studying the
chemistry of the atmosphere of Venus. Carl Sagan was led to his
theory of a “nuclear winter” by his studies of dust storms on Mars.
The point is that we cannot predict what will be
discovered in our explorations, whether they are on Earth or on
other worlds. The key is to continue to explore. That will lead, in
the end, to greater knowledge to benefit us all. Let’s
explore space and preserve the Earth together. They are not
mutually exclusive efforts.
Philip
Horzempa
Syracuse, New
York
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Explore both Earth and space.
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