Why you should look directly upwards more often
Looking up at the sky usually prompts one of three feelings:
- Curiosity and hope
- Fear and the unknown
- Indifference
I’d like to build a case for why you should feel the first (more often than not).
For as long as humans have existed, the night sky has been one of the most powerful drivers of religion, science, and progress. Many major leaps in modern technology have stemmed directly or indirectly from our desire to explore this vast and seemingly endless expanse.
Computers, MRI machines, cryogenics, advanced alloys and composites, precision manufacturing, and satellite communication are just some of the innovations born out of the need to push the limits of space exploration. These technologies exist because building better spacecraft demanded that we challenge what was previously thought to be physically and theoretically possible.
Humanity is destined to become a space-faring civilisation. Whether that future is led by public institutions or private enterprises is a separate debate, but progress towards that goal is undeniably important. Space has also proven to be a great unifier. One of the most remarkable examples of global cooperation and human achievement is the International Space Station (ISS). It brought together former rivals, fostered collaboration between scientific communities, and led to priceless discoveries about every aspect of our lives. For example researchers grew blood vessels in zero-g to study them aboard the ISS, something we couldn’t do on Earth due to gravity.
Space exploration has even helped us repurpose technologies originally developed for destructive purposes. For instance, the batteries powering Voyager 1 which is now travelling through interstellar space beyond our solar system, are fuelled by plutonium pellets. The isotope used is just one neutron different from the type used in nuclear warheads. Truly atoms for peace.
It is difficult to look up and not feel the full weight of human achievement when we see the stars, planets, and moons above us. Especially when we reflect on how far we’ve come from banging rocks together to now regularly building extraordinary machines capable of travelling beyond our own world. Soon, these machines will carry people to entirely new ones and beyond.
So next time you find yourself under an open sky, take a moment to look up. It might just remind you of what we’ve already achieved and what more we are capable of, brightening that dark abyss ever so slightly.
