‘Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission – to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before’.
In September 1966, these iconic words were heard for the first time when Star Trek arrived on television. They, in essence, remind us that the pursuit of knowledge and the exploration of the unknown are central to what it means to be human. They inspire us to dream big, embrace challenges, and continually seek to expand our understanding. The words were narrated before man landed on the moon, before the internet, before smartphones and laptops, and when the computing power available to astronauts was miniscule compared to that of a mid-range smartphone. Things have changed extraordinarily since 1966, but the opening words to Star Trek episodes are just as relevant to what it means to be human today.
Space travel is difficult, as US billionaires will attest (see here and here, for example). Today’s Space-race is different to that of the 1960s with, for example, the likes of India and China part of the fray. Putting humans back on the Moon is a key objective, and the USA’s Artemis programme intends to do just that within the next few years, if things go to plan. Putting human feet on Mars, as reaffirmed by the USA’s President Trump during his inauguration this week, is also an objective. The Badger, however, senses that it’s unlikely to happen for decades yet, if at all.
Why the scepticism? Well, two things. The first is that putting humans on Mars and bringing them back is much more challenging than returning to the Moon. The second thing is more fundamental. In the ~60 years since Star Trek’s iconic words were first heard, life and our knowledge of Space has been transformed through technological advances, especially in the sphere of capturing, processing, and using information digitally. Advances in digital technology continue apace with AI and intelligent machines fast becoming a reality. Indeed, Mr Trump has announced huge investment in Stargate, AI infrastructure. The automation of everything with machines becoming as intelligent as humans begs a question, namely ‘Is prolonged human travel in Space really viable and economically sensible?’
The evidence implies that humans are unsuited to prolonged Space travel (e.g. see here and here). So why send humans to Mars when intelligent machines are a better option? Perhaps a rethink of putting humans on Mars will happen as AI and intelligent machines become mainstream, perhaps it won’t. Meantime the Badger wholly subscribes to the pursuit of knowledge and exploration of the unknown, but he will enjoy Star Trek for what it is, just imaginative entertainment…
