April 08, 2012

Distances, Time, and Perception

I was on my way home when the song '@#$ Back Home' by Gym Class Heroes played on the radio and triggered a line of thoughts. We live in a society where everything is close together. Assuming money is not an object, I can be anywhere I want to be on the planet within a twenty four hour period. I can communicate with people pretty much anywhere at will, even those few that are currently in orbit. But it also occured to me that much like smartphones, this closeness has only sprung up recently. As little as forty to sixty years ago airplane travel was not that common. So, could this be affecting people's perception of what depth of investment a trip to Mars would involve?
The smartphone has become so ubiquitous in our society that I have trouble remembering what it was like to even just have to page a friend, or hope they were at home already when I needed to talk to them. That was only fifteen years ago. I now feel out of touch if I forget my cell phone at home, or if the battery died. At the turn of the 20th century, expeditions to lesser traveled parts of the world by Europeans would takes months or more of sea travel. Someone interested in going to the Arctic or Antarctic Poles could be gone for a year to eighteen months easily, assuming nothing untoward happened. This is not unlike a trip to Mars with today's current technology.

 So why are people so hesitant to invest or put support behind this kind of program? We've gotten too comfortable with our instant access, everything in reach life. We as a culture (largely from the focus of an American) don't want to wait for the trip to and fro. We want to be there now. We want to know if we succeed now, not in a year or two. Our politicians want to claim credit now for the missions, and not take the 'hit' to their reputation for approving such a large expenditure, and then not be in office when the mission results come in.

Ultimately, I urge everyone to try and take the long view on our exploration of space. I think all the pieces are there. Another planet is in reach. We just need to have some patience and vision to get there.

Posted by: Tom Tjarks at 10:41 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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