Jul 17, 2008

The Social Value of Lunar Exploration

We were recently asked about our project's meaning to society. This is a good question that should be asked of any space-related activities beyond the obvious ones that directly serve people on Earth (telecommunications and remote sensing).

Our goal of sending a robotic lander to the Moon's surface has many benefits to society. Firstly, the desire to explore new territories is a theme embedded in all societies since the dawn of humanity. In the beginning exploration was by use of our own legs and then later by the legs of animals. In the last 2 millennia we began to use machines to aid our exploration - ships, cars, aircraft. Only in the last half of the 20th century did we start to explore space, first with machines and the later with humans.

We believe that our exploration of space is only just beginning, and indeed our current generation is sitting on the frontier of that exploration. We can choose to continue the bold visions of space exploration seen during the space race while those vision are still in our consciousness and in the memories of our parents generation. Alternatively, society can choose to turn its back on space exploration and focus its energies on the problems here on Earth. By sending a robotic craft back to the surface of the Moon we are saying that humanity's urge to explore will not end at the atmosphere and space near Earth. We see the return to the Moon as a way to remind society the benefits of space exploration.

Exploration of the Moon done with today's technologies should be cheaper in the sense that it places less burden on society. We would like to prove that by using modern technologies for engineering design, and the internet we can undertake a lunar surface mission at a fraction of the cost of the traditional space missions that are funded by governments. We would like to show that we can develop new technologies to meet these challenges, and that the technologies we develop will have benefits back on Earth as well as in space.

Another important benefit to society of our lunar mission will be the expansion of humanity's consciousness This will take place in many ways, scientifically, sociologically and artistically. When we go to the Moon we will take all of humanity with us. We will show them the stark beauty of the lunar surface in high definition imagery and videos. Also, we will show that small groups of motivated individuals can achieve extraordinary things that everyday life doesn't permit. Our lunar lander mission will pave the way for sending low-cost scientific missions to study the Moon up close, which has profound implications to the formation of the Earth and all life on it.

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2 comments:

mediaChick said...

Great post about the potential sociological impact of the Lunar Race on the Human Race! I'm very excited to see what happens next. ;)

White Label Space said...

Thanks for your comment mediaChick. We are really trying hard to to think outside the box & build a sustainable low cost space tech enterprise. In the future space technology will be reachable by the common man. The cost will always be prohibitive, but by people grouping together & us offering the tools to complete a mission, then the possibilities are endless. Thanks for dropping bye :)

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