UNIT 10: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
My name‿ is Laura. I teach physics,│ an(d) the objection my students raise‿ is‿ always the same:│ why spen(d) billions‿ on space│ when there‿ are hospitals that need the money?
The objection‿ is serious,│ an(d) the usual‿ answer‿ is weaker than‿ it should be. Satellites for weather,│ navigation,│ an(d) communications cost‿ a fraction‿ of‿ a crewed mission‿ and‿ are used daily by everybody in this room. Spin-off technology from space programmes‿ is‿ in hospitals,│ in materials,│ and‿ in the device that measured my hear(t) rate this morning. That‿ is not‿ an‿ argumen(t) for‿ unlimited‿ expenditure;│ it‿ is‿ an‿ argumen(t) for distinguishing between‿ a probe‿ and‿ a vanity mission,│ which politicians rarely do.
Commercialisation has changed the arithmetic,│ because private companies now carry cargo an(d) reduce the cos(t) per kilogram considerably. Whether people will live‿ on‿ another planet‿ is‿ a differen(t) question,│ and‿ I am less‿ optimistic than my students. The scientific case for‿ exploring‿ is strong,│ an(d) the case for colonising‿ is largely rhetorical. If‿ a governmen(t) mus(t) choose,│ I would fun(d) research‿ an(d) probes,│ protec(t) the satellites that‿ everyone depends‿ on,│ an(d) be hones(t) that human settlement‿ of‿ a habitable world‿ is‿ a promise nobody can currently keep.