Week 9.2 - Space Exploration

With the notion of sustainable cities still in its embryonic stages, and global population growth increasing by 1 billion people every 12 years, it begs the question as to how long our planet will be able to sustain the needs of humanity. The topic is cause for concern, and as a consequence, facilitates debate whether exploration and or habitation of other planets is necessary. Sceptics argue that resource allocation should be focused on implementing sustainable initiatives here on planet earth, whereas on the contrary, exponents of space exploration believe that we are fighting a losing battle, and that a manned mission to Mars is "feasible, affordable and necessary" if the human race is to survive. Charles Bolden, head of the US space program, takes the view that if humanity is to survive indefinitely we need to become a multi-planet species. The debate is extremely open ended, however Bolden's view is hard to ignore due to the fact that a mission to Mars would be able to act as a stepping stone to other planets.

Taylor, D, 2014. Mars trip 'key' to our survival. The Australian, 24 April. 8.