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Journalism of Courage
The earth8217;s first artificial satellite, Sputnik, was launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957. Over the last 50 years, human beings have made remarkable progress in exploring space. In 1969, within 12 years after the launch of that first satellite, man could set foot on the moon. To quote Neil Armstrong, the first visitor to the moon, it was 8220;one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind8221;.
Space technology encompasses a wide range of activities 8212; from fundamental research to advanced technology development 8212; and puts huge demands on the state in terms of financial and infrastructure requirements. Naturally, through all these years, space assets have remained under the control of a few developed and few developing but technologically savvy nations. Despite this, space technologies have benefited all of humankind and have played a major role in areas like meteorology, communication, navigation, remote sensing and resource management. They have also contributed immensely to education and research.
Space technologies offer benefits not only to the states which have satellites in the space but also to the 8216;space have-nots8217;. The majority of satellite-derived products are now available at a cost. Recently, states like Russia have offered space trips to 8216;fee-paying8217; tourists. In future, with greater commercialisation, space could occupy a permanent place in international tourism.
Other benefits too could accrue to human beings thanks to space explorations. Take energy. At present the race for the moon has assumed urgency, given the possibilities of tapping Helium 3 from its surface and piping it to earth for energy generation. There are also possibilities of deploying space platforms that could capture sunlight and beam it down to earth for electricity. Any success in this area could offer global energy and security benefits 8212; including the prospect of preventing future resource wars between energy-starved nations.
Developed militaries, too, are using space for military purposes 8212; like communication, navigation, reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering. There may be unfortunate consequences too. The recent anti-satellite test carried out by China throws open the possibilities of states even weaponising space in the near future, which could have extremely deleterious consequences for humankind.
