Microminiature transmitters and receivers—used by police and doctors.Target drone autopilot—used as an inexpensive pilot assist and safety device for private aircraft.Inert thread sealing compound—- used by pump manufacturers serving process industries.Satellite scan devices—used in infrared appliances, e.g., lamps, roasters, switches, ovens.Automatic control components—used as proximity switches, plugs, valves, cylinders; other components already are an integral part of industrial conveyor systems.Missile accelerometers, torquemeters, strain gage equipment—used in auto crash tests, motor testing, shipbuilding and bridge construction.Space recording equipment automatically stopped and started by sound of voice—used widely as conference recorder.Armalite radar—used as proximity warning device for aircraft.Miniature electronics and bearings—used for portable radio and television; excessively small roller, needle and ball bearings used for such equipment as air-turbine dental drills.Epoxy missile resin—used for plastic tooling, metal bonding, adhesive, and casting and laminating applications.Silicones for motor insulation and subzero lubricants—used in new glassmaking techniques for myriad products.Ribbon glass for capacitors—used widely in electronics field.Radar bulbs—used in air traffic control equipment.Ribbon cable for missiles—used in the communications industry.Automatic gun cameras—used in banks, toll booths, etc.Fluxless aluminum soldering—used for kitchen utensil repair, gutters, flashings, antennas, electrical joints, auto repairing, farm machinery, etc.Lightweight hydraulic pumps—used in automated machinery and pneumatic control systems.Voice interruption priority system—used for assembly line production control.Examples such as the foregoing, it might be pointed out, do not generally emphasize an area in which space exploration is making one of its greatest contributions. This is the creation of new materials, metals, fabrics, alloys, and compounds that are finding their way rapidly into the commercial market.Less demonstrable but equally (and perhaps more) significant areas which may expect to benefit from space exploration are set out beginning on page 35.
Microminiature transmitters and receivers—used by police and doctors.
Target drone autopilot—used as an inexpensive pilot assist and safety device for private aircraft.
Inert thread sealing compound—- used by pump manufacturers serving process industries.
Satellite scan devices—used in infrared appliances, e.g., lamps, roasters, switches, ovens.
Automatic control components—used as proximity switches, plugs, valves, cylinders; other components already are an integral part of industrial conveyor systems.
Missile accelerometers, torquemeters, strain gage equipment—used in auto crash tests, motor testing, shipbuilding and bridge construction.
Space recording equipment automatically stopped and started by sound of voice—used widely as conference recorder.
Armalite radar—used as proximity warning device for aircraft.
Miniature electronics and bearings—used for portable radio and television; excessively small roller, needle and ball bearings used for such equipment as air-turbine dental drills.
Epoxy missile resin—used for plastic tooling, metal bonding, adhesive, and casting and laminating applications.
Silicones for motor insulation and subzero lubricants—used in new glassmaking techniques for myriad products.
Ribbon glass for capacitors—used widely in electronics field.
Radar bulbs—used in air traffic control equipment.
Ribbon cable for missiles—used in the communications industry.
Automatic gun cameras—used in banks, toll booths, etc.
Fluxless aluminum soldering—used for kitchen utensil repair, gutters, flashings, antennas, electrical joints, auto repairing, farm machinery, etc.
Lightweight hydraulic pumps—used in automated machinery and pneumatic control systems.
Voice interruption priority system—used for assembly line production control.
Examples such as the foregoing, it might be pointed out, do not generally emphasize an area in which space exploration is making one of its greatest contributions. This is the creation of new materials, metals, fabrics, alloys, and compounds that are finding their way rapidly into the commercial market.
Less demonstrable but equally (and perhaps more) significant areas which may expect to benefit from space exploration are set out beginning on page 35.
Figure 11.
Figure11.—Vital information about the forces which cause weather can be learned from meteorological satellites such as these. Even a slight increase in the accuracy of weather prediction will be worth millions of dollars annually.
An extremely difficult problem bound up with space travel of any duration is that of food. Astronauts will not be able to take large supplies of food on their voyages and probably will have to reuse what they do take. Learning how to do this is no easy matter. Some doubt if it can be done. Others are optimistic.
The body of scientists now working directly on space feeding and nutrition is working effectively at a rate only attained by high motivation. But this motivation suffices and their efforts will ultimately provide at least a partially closed space feeding system by the time it is critically needed and, eventually, an ideal one for long voyages of man into the remoter reaches of outer space.[54]
The body of scientists now working directly on space feeding and nutrition is working effectively at a rate only attained by high motivation. But this motivation suffices and their efforts will ultimately provide at least a partially closed space feeding system by the time it is critically needed and, eventually, an ideal one for long voyages of man into the remoter reaches of outer space.[54]
If the optimists are right, it is conceivable that the information gamed from this research will have profound influence on food and agricultural processes in the future. The use and growth of synthetics or new foods, and their effects on the soil, could prove invaluable as the worlds population climbs and the demand for food multiplies. Better understanding of weather processes, as provided through space exploration, will also be valuable in terms of agriculture. Long-range accurate weather prediction would be worth millions of dollars in proper crops planted and crop damage avoided.
Meanwhile, as in other technological areas, space research is providing specific new tools for the food and agriculture industry. Infrared food blanching, for instance, is highly effective in preparing foods for canning or freezing. The development of a new forage harvester based on principles of aerodynamics uncovered by missile engineers is another example.
This is a field of enormous promise, and its practicality has already been demonstrated to the extent of placing satellites into precise orbits, such as Tiros (weather) and Transit (navigation), and of communicating at long distances—23 million miles in the case of Pioneer V. As a result:
Government and industry technicians are rapidly developing new Earth satellites to beam not only television programs but radio broadcasts and phone conversations to every spot on Earth that's equipped to receive them. Thus this space project, far more than most, will touch the ordinary citizen. The goal: a workable, worldwide communications system in space before this decade is over. It will be, declares one researcher, "the ultimate in communications."[55]
Government and industry technicians are rapidly developing new Earth satellites to beam not only television programs but radio broadcasts and phone conversations to every spot on Earth that's equipped to receive them. Thus this space project, far more than most, will touch the ordinary citizen. The goal: a workable, worldwide communications system in space before this decade is over. It will be, declares one researcher, "the ultimate in communications."[55]
Incidentally, the first worldwide communications system of this type, and whether it is conducted in English or Russian, may have crucial prestige and propaganda ramifications.
Such facilities should be possible through a system of carefully placed satellites so that radio signals can be relayed to any part of the globe at any time.
Moreover they appear to be essential when one considers that within the next 20 years existing techniques are apt to be stretched beyond reasonable economic limits by demands for long distance communications. It is difficult to see how transoceanic television will otherwise be possible when it is realized that there is presently a capacity of less than 100 telephone channels across the Atlantic and a single television channel is equivalent in band width to 1,000 telephone channels. It appears that a system utilizing satellites is the most promising solution to this problem.[56]
More esoteric communications systems may also arise from space research.
In some future year when a cruising space vehicle communicates with another space vehicle or its orbiting station, it may use a beam of light instead of conventional radio. Not that radio will be inoperative under the airless conditions of space—rather the reverse—but there is reason to believe that communication by sunlight not only will be cheaper but will entail carrying much simpler and lighter equipment for certain specialized space applications. (The Air Force) is developing an experimental system that will collect sun rays, run them through a modulator, direct the resultant light wave in a controlled beam to a receiver. There the wave will be put through a detector, transposed into an electrical impulse and be amplified to a speaker. Depending on the type of modulator used, either the digital (dot-dash) message or a voice message can be sent.[57]
In some future year when a cruising space vehicle communicates with another space vehicle or its orbiting station, it may use a beam of light instead of conventional radio. Not that radio will be inoperative under the airless conditions of space—rather the reverse—but there is reason to believe that communication by sunlight not only will be cheaper but will entail carrying much simpler and lighter equipment for certain specialized space applications. (The Air Force) is developing an experimental system that will collect sun rays, run them through a modulator, direct the resultant light wave in a controlled beam to a receiver. There the wave will be put through a detector, transposed into an electrical impulse and be amplified to a speaker. Depending on the type of modulator used, either the digital (dot-dash) message or a voice message can be sent.[57]
Might not such a system find practical usage on Earth, particularly in sunny, arid lands?
Meteorological satellites should make possible weather observations over the entire globe. Today, only 20 percent of the globe is covered by any regular observational and reporting systems. If we can solve the problems of handling the vast amounts of data that will be received, develop methods for timely analysis of the data and the notification of weather bureaus throughout the world, we should be able to improve by a significant degree the accuracy of weather predictions. An improvement of only 10 percent in accuracy could result in savings totaling hundreds of millions of dollars annually to farmers, builders, airlines, shipping, the tourist trade, and many other enterprises.
Perhaps even greater savings will come from warning systems devised for hurricanes and tornadoes.
The slight knowledge which humans actually have of weather forces can be seen from the fact that at present we do not even know exactly how rain begins.[58]Learning to predict it and to modify it, through space application, might help slow down the soil erosion of arable land—that "geological inevitability * * * which man can only hasten or postpone."[59]It is noteworthy that the two leading nations in space research, the United States and the U.S.S.R., are among the most affected by soil erosion.
The "leg up" which the United States has in this particular phase of space research is illustrated by the acute photographic talents of the Tiros satellite and their meaning to weather experts. The following description of some of the earliest pictures by the Director of the Office of Meteorological Research, U.S. Weather Bureau, is illuminating.
This picture, labeled "No. 1," was the storm that was picked up in the early orbits of Tiros on the first day of launch, April 1. This shows the storm 120 miles east of Cape Cod, with dry continental air streaming off the United States, not shown by clouds, and off the coast the moist air streaming up to the north, counterclockwise around the center, producing widespread clouds and precipitation as far north as the Gulf of St. Lawrence.On that same day mention was made of a storm in the Midwest. That is illustrated by photograph No. 2. This was centered over southeast Nebraska, a rather extensive storm. Again, we have a clear air portion shown by a dark area, the ground underneath, which has less brightness than the clouds, the cold air from Canada streaming into that area, not characterized by clouds, and to the east the moist air from the Gulf of Mexico, in this general neighborhood, streaming around into that center and producing rather widespread rains. In this case near the Gulf of Mexico, where the cloud is extremely bright, indicating that the clouds are very high, thunderstorms were found in that area.Figure 12.Figure12.—Storm center over Nebraska photographed by the first U.S. weather satellite, Tiros, on April 1, 1960. The extent of the picture can be seen from the accompanying weather map.It is a sort of situation in which tornadoes are to be found in this very bright cloudy area, especially this time of year in the Midwest.A third vortex was observed, also April 1, in the Gulf of Alaska, 500 miles southeast of Kodiak Island. The vortex circulation is clearly evidenced by the clouds which form in a circular array, and the large clear area in the center of the storm.No. 4 picture refers to a very big storm 1,500 miles in diameter located 300 miles west of Ireland on April 2. This is a very old storm which was whirling around, had no fronts associated with it. It has long since wound up around the center. There is a rather well-marked structure to the clouds that you can see. It is quite different from the pictures in the first two. These are storms mostly over the continental area or just off the coast. The storms over the oceans seem to show more of a banded structure. By that I mean circular bands of clouds, of width perhaps ranging from 20 miles to a few hundred miles, spiraling around the center in a counterclockwise manner.[60]
This picture, labeled "No. 1," was the storm that was picked up in the early orbits of Tiros on the first day of launch, April 1. This shows the storm 120 miles east of Cape Cod, with dry continental air streaming off the United States, not shown by clouds, and off the coast the moist air streaming up to the north, counterclockwise around the center, producing widespread clouds and precipitation as far north as the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
On that same day mention was made of a storm in the Midwest. That is illustrated by photograph No. 2. This was centered over southeast Nebraska, a rather extensive storm. Again, we have a clear air portion shown by a dark area, the ground underneath, which has less brightness than the clouds, the cold air from Canada streaming into that area, not characterized by clouds, and to the east the moist air from the Gulf of Mexico, in this general neighborhood, streaming around into that center and producing rather widespread rains. In this case near the Gulf of Mexico, where the cloud is extremely bright, indicating that the clouds are very high, thunderstorms were found in that area.
Figure 12.
Figure12.—Storm center over Nebraska photographed by the first U.S. weather satellite, Tiros, on April 1, 1960. The extent of the picture can be seen from the accompanying weather map.
It is a sort of situation in which tornadoes are to be found in this very bright cloudy area, especially this time of year in the Midwest.
A third vortex was observed, also April 1, in the Gulf of Alaska, 500 miles southeast of Kodiak Island. The vortex circulation is clearly evidenced by the clouds which form in a circular array, and the large clear area in the center of the storm.
No. 4 picture refers to a very big storm 1,500 miles in diameter located 300 miles west of Ireland on April 2. This is a very old storm which was whirling around, had no fronts associated with it. It has long since wound up around the center. There is a rather well-marked structure to the clouds that you can see. It is quite different from the pictures in the first two. These are storms mostly over the continental area or just off the coast. The storms over the oceans seem to show more of a banded structure. By that I mean circular bands of clouds, of width perhaps ranging from 20 miles to a few hundred miles, spiraling around the center in a counterclockwise manner.[60]
Of all the problems contingent upon space flight it is doubtful if any are more perplexing than the biological ones. In fact, it now appears quite likely that the limiting factor on manned space exploration will be less the nature of physical laws or the shortcoming of space vehicle systems than the vulnerability of the human body.
In order to place humans in space for any extended period, we must solve a host of highly complicated biological equations which demand intensive basic research. The other side of the coin, however, is that when scientific breakthroughs do occur in this area, they will probably be among the most beneficial to come from the space program.
An idea of what is going on in the space medicine field can be obtained from this summary:
Engineers already have equipped man with the vehicle for space travel. Medical researchers now are investigating many factors incident to the maintenance of space life—to make possible man's flight into the depths of space. Placing man in a wholly new environment requires knowledge far beyond our current grasp of human biology.Here are some of the problems under investigation: The determination of man's reactions; the necessity of operating in a completely closed system compatible with man's physiological requirements (oxygen and carbon dioxide content, food, barometric pressure, humidity and temperature control); explosive decompression; psychophysiological difficulties of spatial disorientation as a result of weightlessness; toxicology of metabolites and propellants; effects of cosmic, solar, and nuclear ionizing radiation and protective shielding and treatment; effects on man's circulatory system from accelerative and decelerative g. forces; the establishment of a thermoneutral range for man to exist through preflight, flight, and reentry; regeneration of water and food.[61]
Engineers already have equipped man with the vehicle for space travel. Medical researchers now are investigating many factors incident to the maintenance of space life—to make possible man's flight into the depths of space. Placing man in a wholly new environment requires knowledge far beyond our current grasp of human biology.
Here are some of the problems under investigation: The determination of man's reactions; the necessity of operating in a completely closed system compatible with man's physiological requirements (oxygen and carbon dioxide content, food, barometric pressure, humidity and temperature control); explosive decompression; psychophysiological difficulties of spatial disorientation as a result of weightlessness; toxicology of metabolites and propellants; effects of cosmic, solar, and nuclear ionizing radiation and protective shielding and treatment; effects on man's circulatory system from accelerative and decelerative g. forces; the establishment of a thermoneutral range for man to exist through preflight, flight, and reentry; regeneration of water and food.[61]
In addition, intensive efforts are being brought to bear on such problems as the effect on humans who are deprived of their sensoryperceptions, or whose sensory systems are overloaded, or who are exposed to excessive boredom or anxiety or sense of unreality, or who must do their job under hypnosis or hypothermia (cooling of warm-blooded animals).
A recent space medicine symposium heard this theory advanced by a prominent medical scholar:
Attractive, indeed, for the space traveler would be the choice of hibernating during long periods when there was nothing he had to do. With the increase of speeds and the lowering of metabolism, consideration of flights running several hundred or even thousands of years cannot be offhandedly dismissed as mere fantasy. During prolonged flights of many months or years there will be very little to see and that of negligible interest. The most practical way of dealing with the problem might well be to have the pilot sleep 23 of the 24 hours.[62]
Attractive, indeed, for the space traveler would be the choice of hibernating during long periods when there was nothing he had to do. With the increase of speeds and the lowering of metabolism, consideration of flights running several hundred or even thousands of years cannot be offhandedly dismissed as mere fantasy. During prolonged flights of many months or years there will be very little to see and that of negligible interest. The most practical way of dealing with the problem might well be to have the pilot sleep 23 of the 24 hours.[62]
Lowering the body temperature would be one way of inducing the necessary deep sleep.
Another possibility of handling some of the biological problems of space flight, suggested by another physician, would be for astronauts to discard the 24-hour Earth day and establish a longer rhythm for their lives.[63]
At any rate, and while we may not now see just how it will come about, knowledge gained from experiments such as these may result in important medical and psychological advances.
In the drug and technological area of medicine, concrete benefits have already resulted from the national space program. These include, as already mentioned, a drug developed from a missile propellant to treat mental ills, a means of rapidly lowering blood temperature in operations, and a small efficient valve which could replace the valve in a human heart.
Particularly gratifying, from the standpoint of medical value is the Army's work toward an anti-radiation drug which could be taken before exposure to reduce the biological effects of radiation.[64]Such a drug, which is of special interest to astronauts who might be required to subject themselves to varying belts of radiation, might be of even greater use in the cause of civil defense.
A final and far-reaching phase of the health side of space exploration deals with the basic nature of biology itself—how and under what conditions life grows. Up to now biological science has been largely "the rationalization of particular facts and we have had all too limited a basis for the construction and testing of meaningful axioms to support a theory of life."[65]Through research made possible by the space program it may be possible to alter this condition. "The dynamics of celestial bodies, as can be observed from the Earth, is the richest inspiration for the generalization of our concepts of mass and energy throughout the universe. The spectra of the stars likewise testify to the universality of our concepts in chemistry. But biologyhas lacked tools of such extension, and life until now has meant only terrestrial life."[66]
Figure 13.
Figure13.—Biological reactions uncovered in space medicine studies, such as this centrifuge experiment, may lead to important health discoveries.
The secrets which this research may divulge and their meaning for human health can only be imagined. But they certainly would not be minor.
No enterprise has so stirred human imagination as the reach of man toward the exploration of space. New worlds to explore. New distances to travel—3,680 million miles to Pluto, the outermost planet of our solar system, 8 years journey at 50,000 miles per hour when we attain such a capability. Innumerable problems ahead. New knowledge needed in almost every branch of science and technology from magneto fluid dynamics to cosmology, from materials to biology and psychology.[67]
"New knowledge needed" means better and stronger education is essential. And not only in the physical sciences. In the social sciences and the arts as well.
Certainly man's space adventure can help profoundly to make a finer creature of him, but only if his adventures on Earth can do so as well. Essentially what this means to a social psychologist is that we must somehow raise our level of education to the point where most men most of the time can appreciate and actively absorb the implications of knowledge and developments in all areas sufficiently to let them enrich their personal philosophies. Obviously this kind of education is only in part a scientific one.[68]
Certainly man's space adventure can help profoundly to make a finer creature of him, but only if his adventures on Earth can do so as well. Essentially what this means to a social psychologist is that we must somehow raise our level of education to the point where most men most of the time can appreciate and actively absorb the implications of knowledge and developments in all areas sufficiently to let them enrich their personal philosophies. Obviously this kind of education is only in part a scientific one.[68]
Moreover, the technical and management aspects of the space program involve collaboration with nonscientific persons such as businessmen, bankers, and public officials in assessing worthwhile objectives and in judging the technical and economic feasibility of projects designed to accomplish these objectives.[69]Consequently each type must educate the other in his own specialty if an effective, stepped-up space program is to be achieved.
The demand
Apparently the demand for specific formal education in the science of astronautics is increasing faster than it is being supplied. Although many colleges and universities have been setting up courses dealing with astronautics, the state of the art does not seem to have crystallized to the extent that it permits fashioning a career in the field at the educational level. Of course, discontent is created. One publication has editorialized:
We have received a surprising number of letters from young people who actually want to know how and where they can get started in a career in astronautics. These, for the most part, are high school students—and, evidently, they couldn't get the information they wanted from their own school. * * * Isn't the age of space yet important enough for all the high schools to sponsor interest in our space programs and to point out the need for a constant flow of young brains?[70]
We have received a surprising number of letters from young people who actually want to know how and where they can get started in a career in astronautics. These, for the most part, are high school students—and, evidently, they couldn't get the information they wanted from their own school. * * * Isn't the age of space yet important enough for all the high schools to sponsor interest in our space programs and to point out the need for a constant flow of young brains?[70]
The answer undoubtedly is that such grassroots demand will bring about increased academic curricula in astronautics in direct proportion to its magnitude.
Meanwhile, the availability of work for persons with a background in space-related subjects can be gaged to some extent by observing the variety of personnel requirements on major space exploration projects.
A single American firm, for example, uses 49 different professional specialists in its work for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and in its space work for the Department of Defense.[71]Multiplied by the thousands of companies which are doing similar work, the list gives an idea of the astronautic demand confronting the Nation's educational institutions:
AcousticianAerodynamicistAeronautical engineerAgricultural engineerAstrodynamicistAstronomerAstrophysicistBiochemistBiophysicistCeramics specialistChemistComputer specialistCrystallographerDevelopment engineerDoctor of medicineElectrical engineerElectronic engineerExperimental physicistFlight engineerGyroscopics specialistHydraulic engineerInformation theory analystInorganic chemistLogical designerMagnetic device engineerMathematicianMechanical applications engineerMechanical engineerMechanisms specialistMedical electronic engineerMetallurgical engineerMethods engineerNuclear physicistOceanographerOrganic chemistPhysical chemistPneumatic engineerProcess engineerProduction engineerProject engineerPsychologistReliability engineerSociologistSolid state physicistStructural engineerSystem analystTheoretical physicistThermodynamicistTransducer engineer
Figure 14.
Figure14.—Exploration within the solar system means a wealth of new knowledge which could lead to learning the secrets of life.
In assessing thepracticalvalues of space exploration it does not seem logical to limit considerations to those values which are immediate or near-future ones. The worth of a present activity may be doubled or trebled because of its long-range potential.
Such values may not be practical within the context of today's usage, but they may be extremely practical if we are willing to concede that those of us living today have an interest in and a responsibility for what happens on Earth in the decades and centuries to come.
Thinking along these lines it is not difficult to conjure up a picture of some of the difficult physical and social problems which will be facing the Earth in the years which stretch ahead. The foregoing sections of this report, for example, have already indicated extensive difficulties inherent in at least five major categories.
(1) Bursting population.(2) Acute water shortage.(3) Soil erosion and disappearance.(4) Too much leisure.(5) Intensified nationalism.
In each area it is probable that space exploration will ultimately play an important role.
Population
Social scientists have been warning for years of the drastic social upheavals which must inevitably accompany an "exploding" population. It is a problem the complexity of which grows in geometric progression as time goes on. In the United States nearly 300 years were required to produce 90 million people. In the past 60 years this number has doubled. The implications are obvious. They are only too plain to urban and suburban planners who endeavor to cope with the antlike construction and activity of the human race as it burgeons with each succeeding year.
Of course, this is not a domestic matter but a global one. Its seriousness has been described as follows: "Projection of the post-World War II rate of increase gives a population of 50 billions (the highest estimate of the population-carrying capacity of the globe ever calculated by a responsible scholar) in less than 200 years."[72]A European professor of medicine adds that any surge in human longevity at this time is quite undesirable from the standpoint of making elderly persons useful or cared for. "The problems posed by the explosive growth of populations * * * are so great that it is quite reassuring to know that biologists and medical men have so far beenunsuccessful in increasing themaximumlifespan of the human species * * * and * * * it would be a calamity for the social and economic structure of a country if the mean lifespan were suddenly to increase from 65 to 85 years."[73]
Some anthropologists pessimistically wonder if man is going to prove like the locust by populating himself into near extinction from time to time.
Without subscribing to this view, one must nevertheless take notice of the difficulties posed by population increase, not merely those of food, shelter, education, and the like but also those resulting from cellular, cramped, close living.
Whichever phase of the problem is studied, it seems not unreasonable to conclude that space research will help find a solution. New ways to produce food, new materials for better shelter, new stimuli for education—all of these are coming from our space program. As for the matter of adequate living room, space research may result in ways to permit an easy and efficient scattering of the population without hurting its mobility. This might result from the development of small subsidiary types of craft, or "gocarts," originally designed for local exploration on other planets. Such craft, whether they operated by air cushion, nuclear energy, gravitational force, power cell, or whatever, conceivably would permit Earth's population to spread out without the need for expensive new roads—which, by the way, take millions of acres of land out of productive use.
A development of this sort, together with new power sources to replace the fossil fuels on which factory, home, and vehicle now depend, might also all but eliminate the growing smog and air-pollution blight.
Water shortage
A direct result of the population increase, multiplied by the many new uses for which water is being used in home appliances, etc., and plus the greatly increased demand for standard uses such as indoor plumbing, irrigation, and factory processing, is the likelihood that water shortage will be high on the list of future problems. Ways to conserve and reuse water, together with economical desalting of sea water, will be essential in the decades ahead. Space research may provide part of the answer here, too. (See New Water Sources and Uses, sec. III.)
Soil erosion
The Russian steppes of Kazakhstan are providing the world with a great contemporary dust bowl, reminiscent of the middle 1930's when dust from the Great Plains stretched from Texas to Saskatchewan. Questionable agriculture policies, drought, and strong easterly winds are among the forces blamed for the trials of southern Russia.[74]So great is the extent of this disturbance that the dust cloud has been identified in photographs taken by American weather satellites.
Of course, "wind erosion is only one of the processes whereby the Earth's arable land is diminishing and the deserts increasing; erosion by water can also sweep away the soil."[75]But insofar as the current dust bowl of the Soviet steppes has "diminished food resources at a time when the number of mouths to feed is increasing so rapidly, the world is the poorer."[76]
What can space research do about this vital trend, which again seems destined to accelerate in the future?
While we cannot be sure, we can conjecture that improved soil conservation might turn out to be the greatest benefit of weather understanding and modification. Agriculture policies might be adapted to the long-range patterns uncovered by weather satellites and, eventually, through better understanding of the making of weather, it may be possible to modify weather forces in a manner which will preserve the soil.
In a more remote vein, it may be that knowledge gained from a first-hand study of the Moon or other planets in the solar system will eventually contribute to the conservation of soil on Earth in ways as yet unimagined.
Added leisure
Acquiring more time for leisure sounds good. Very much more leisure than most people now have, however, is apt to present trouble in itself. Since it appears that the time is not far away when those living in the highly developed countries will no longer have to concentrate their prime energies on the traditional quest for food, clothing, and shelter, a potentially dangerous vacuum may be the result. At least the psychologists seem agreed that people must feel a useful purpose in their lives and have ways to pursue it.
Above all, leisure makes a challenge to the human spirit. Athens, in her Golden Age, displayed a genius for the creative use of leisure which can be seen as complementary, and indeed superior, to her genius for military and commercial ventures. There have also been such periods of all-pervasive inspiration in the history of other peoples * * *. The doubling of our standard of living will present a growing challenge to the human spirit and produce graver consequences, should we fail to meet it. We neglect the proper use of leisure at our peril.[77]
Above all, leisure makes a challenge to the human spirit. Athens, in her Golden Age, displayed a genius for the creative use of leisure which can be seen as complementary, and indeed superior, to her genius for military and commercial ventures. There have also been such periods of all-pervasive inspiration in the history of other peoples * * *. The doubling of our standard of living will present a growing challenge to the human spirit and produce graver consequences, should we fail to meet it. We neglect the proper use of leisure at our peril.[77]
In other words, the answer to the problem does not lie solely with the golf course, the yacht club, the theater, or the lengthened vacation. Much more will be required.
The intellectual stimulus of space exploration and research, which undoubtedly will divide into numerous branches like capillary streaks from a bolt of lightning, should be markedly useful in helping to fill this vacuum. Space research would seem particularly applicable in this role since it deals with fundamental knowledge and concepts which are satisfying in terms of psychological needs and sense of purpose.
Intensified nationalism
Ever since World War II the era of colonialism has been on the wane. Many nations have proclaimed, won, or wrested their independence during that period. Others appear to be on the verge of doing so. At any rate, it is clear that in the decades ahead the world is going to see the rise of even more independent nations with strong nationalistic feelings.
History implies that developments of this sort are often accompanied by international unrest—because of the normal ebullience of national adolescence and the desire to be accepted by the world community, as well as a variety of concomitant political and economical upheavals.
For whatever trials may lie ahead on this score, space exploration may prove to be much needed oil on rough water.
Ambitious, advanced, sophisticated space exploration in the future is almost certain to require a high degree of international cooperation and perhaps even a pooling of resources and funds to some degree. Already America has found it expedient, in some cases mandatory, to depend on facilities in other countries for her ventures into space. A good example is the close cooperation between the United States and tracking bases located in Canada, Australia, South Africa, and elsewhere. An even better one is the important part played in U.S. efforts by England's giant radio telescope at Jodrell Bank. Most of our launches are followed by this equipment and much of the best scientific information gained from it. In the case of Pioneer V, Jodrell Bank was essential to keep in touch with the satellite at the longer distances and, moreover, was actually required to separate the fourth stage of the launch vehicle and direct the payload toward its Venus orbit.
Mutual need and cooperation thus fostered by space exploration can be expected to siphon off some of the political tensions of the future, especially as more and more nations become interested in space and inaugurate complex programs of their own.
There are some who are convinced that the exploration of space is rigidly limited and that the landing of men on extraterrestrial bodies other than the Moon is quite improbable. They are sure that extensive travel outside the solar system is impossible.
Admittedly, the problems of such travel are enormous. But are they incapable of solution?
Twenty-six million miles to Venus, 49 million miles to Mars, 3,680 million miles from the Sun to Pluto at the outer edge of the solar system. The nearest of the stars is 25 million, million miles away, and travel to it at 10 miles per second would require 80,000 years. Is the travel of man to the stars a futile dream? Each generation of man builds on the shoulders of the past. The exploration of space has begun; who now can set limits to its future accomplishments?[78]
Twenty-six million miles to Venus, 49 million miles to Mars, 3,680 million miles from the Sun to Pluto at the outer edge of the solar system. The nearest of the stars is 25 million, million miles away, and travel to it at 10 miles per second would require 80,000 years. Is the travel of man to the stars a futile dream? Each generation of man builds on the shoulders of the past. The exploration of space has begun; who now can set limits to its future accomplishments?[78]
Figure 15.
Figure15.—Need for international cooperation in the U.S. space program is illustrated by this map showing the areas from which help must be procured for projects already planned or underway.
That is the thought of one of the Nation's most expert space scientists.
"Who now can set limits* * * ?"
It seems to mesh curiously well with one of the most interesting phenomena of our day—the emergence of a breed of engineers, technicians, teachers, and scientists who do not recognize limits and who refuse to concede that something cannot be so because it fails to fit conventional patterns or conform to the physical laws of the universe as we now know them. Of this there is growing evidence.
For many years it has been an accepted "fact," for instance, that the Moon is a dead world with no life upon it. The suggestion made by the great 16th century mathematician, Johannes Kepler, that some life might exist on the Moon was debunked into silence long since. Yet today a fellow of the British Royal Astronomical Society writes that the first men to arrive on the Moon may find not only plant life but possibly animal life. "The fact that terrestrial organisms may be unable to survive in the surroundings of another planet is by itself no more significant than that fishes and other marine animals die when exposed to the air. From their point of view air is uninhabitable because they have failed to equip themselves with lungs."[79]And he adds that his surmise "leaves out of account the possibilities of the Moon's underground world, which are incalculable, for there water, the vital gases, congenial temperatures, and increased pressures will all be present. Only sunlight is absent."
Then there is Project Ozma, the search for life on other planets or in other star systems, which began in April 1960 at Green Bank, W. Va. It is being undertaken by the National Radio-Astronomy Observatory and consists of carefully directed listening by radio-telescope for signs of intelligent broadcasts originating outside Earth.
At Stanford University another astronomer is concentrating the efforts of part of his laboratory on behalf of a similar idea. The chances are, he believes, "that the superior races of other planets in other galaxies have already developed a communications network among themselves, and have entered a joint program to scan all the other solar systems looking for signs of awakening civilization among the backward planets. Each of the advanced communities might pick as its probe assignment a single other solar system—and one such probe may well be circling our Sun right now on a routine check for life."[80]Unexplained delayed echoes of earthly radio transmissions received in the past, it is thought, could be evidence of such a scheme.
Are goings-on such as these nonsense?
Here is the answer given by one hard-headed science writer:
Centuries may pass before there is any sign of intelligence outside the Earth. But the advantages of communication with another civilization that has survived our present dilemmas are far too great to permit the experiment to be abandoned.[81]
Centuries may pass before there is any sign of intelligence outside the Earth. But the advantages of communication with another civilization that has survived our present dilemmas are far too great to permit the experiment to be abandoned.[81]
The results of recent and more orthodox experiments have already done much to shake the complacency of scientists in regard to their concepts of space. Investigations have disclosed that, far from being a complete vacuum, space is relatively full of matter and energy. Hydrogen gas, radiation belts, cosmic particles, solar disturbances of unknown nature, micrometeorites—and, from Pioneer V, proof of a 5-million ampere electromagnetic ring centered about 40,000 miles away.[82]The director of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Laboratory in Cambridge, Mass.,[83]has said that more and more startling astrophysical information was gathered during the first few weeks of the space age than had been accumulated in the preceding century.
In brief, it is becoming the vogue in science to refuse to say "impossible" to anything. On the contrary, the watchword for tomorrow is shaping up as "takenothingfor granted."
Everything learned from space exploration thus far indicates that the knowledge lying in wait for those who manage to observe the universe from outside Earth's atmosphere will be far grander than anything uncovered to date.
We may finally learn the origin of our universe and the method of its functioning. A good part of this knowledge may be no farther away than the next 3 to 5 years. Satellite telescopes now under construction are expected to elicit far more information than even the 200-inch giant at Mount Palomar. One such observatory satellite, to be launched in 1963 or before, "will permit a telescope of about 10 feet in length to point at heavenly bodies within a tenth of a second of arc for periods up to an hour. Present plans call for an orbit between 400 and 500 miles, as a lifetime of at least 6 months is required to observe the entire celestial field."[84]
Perhaps, and sooner than we think, we shall find a clue to the destiny of all intelligent life.
Perhaps the theory advanced by a noted eastern astronomer will turn out to be true—that biological evolution on the habitable planets of the universe may be the result of contamination left by space travelers arriving from (and leaving for) other worlds. In other words, the fruition of life on the various planets of the millions of solar systems might be the product of a wandering group of astronautic Johnny Appleseeds who leave the grains of life behind them. "Space travel between galaxies has to be possible for this, but of course this needs to be only quite a rare event. In a time of about 3.3 billion years, the most advanced form of life occurring in a galaxy must be able to reach a neighboring one."[85]
The notion seems fantastic.
But when we look clear to the end of Earth's road (and assuming the astrophysicists are right in their theories about the evolution and ultimate death of our solar system) we know that Earth will one day become uninhabitable. Life on Earth must then perish or move elsewhere. If we further assume that mankind will not want to die with his planet and if we acknowledge that other worlds may have been through this entire cycle in eons past—perhaps the notion is not so unreasonable after all.
Whatever the truth is on this score, space exploration will certainly be of "practical" value to our descendants when that dim, far-off day arrives.
Long before the arrival of that millennium, however, the knowledge and understanding awaiting us through the medium of space exploration is certain to have profound effects on the human race psychologically and spiritually.
It already has had effects on humans of all ages.
Adults, who are paying the taxes to support the space exploration program and reaping its practical values, are also thinking of themselves, their country, and their world in broader, more knowledgeable terms.
In a sense, children may be even more deeply involved.