Everything has an ending. For every ending there was a beginning. No one saw the beginning and many will never see the end of mankind. So, we are caught in between and must just accept there was a beginning and there will be an ending. Is this not why we study space? We have sent astronauts to the Moon and studied Earth’s outer atmosphere. We plan on spending billions of dollars to return to the Moon and billions more to land on Mars. Why? What will we accomplish by doing this? Are we searching for the beginning of mankind? Or, as we look at pictures of Mars from the Integrity helicopter are we viewing the end of a civilization unknown to us?
The First Exploration
Before I even mention space exploration, I must mention the human need to explore new worlds. We all learned at a very early age “in 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” But did the teachers who actually provided this education do it justice? Did they challenge the students about the magnitude of what Columbus actually did? Some educators may have even touched on the Vikings and their need to conquer new land unknown to their particular clan.
Columbus was granted the funds from the King and Queen of Spain, Ferdinand II and Isabella I, to sail to the New World. He had no idea what he was going to encounter. In fact many still speculated that the world was flat and he would fall off.
Yet, Columbus and his crew boarded three wooden boats, cramped with food, livestock, and passengers. They did not have weather radars, dependable navigational systems, or communication systems that would assist should trouble be abound (and no they did not have cellular telephones). All they had were poorly legible and highly inaccurate maps (remember the earth was flat). They did not have electricity but dimly light candles, amassed in a cold black ocean. There was no ventilation system. So, the smell of livestock, animal and human waste, could gag any man. I say ‘man’ but there were women and some children aboard as well.
Columbus was not afraid of what he would encounter, only that it needed to be discovered for the sake “of all mankind.” Although his voyage was mostly driven by greed, to provide additional trade routes for Spain, many believed his passage had little chance of success. Also, the King and Queen of Spain needed the trade routes to compete with England. England was beginning to expand it’s territory and mass a fortune of gold.
Indeed, when Columbus finally reach land, he had no idea where the voyage had taken him. In his book, 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, Charles C. Mann noted the following about Columbus and his exploration. “Columbus went to his grave convinced that he had landed on the shores of Asia, near India. The inhabitants of this previously unseen land were therefore Asians – hence the unfortunate name ‘Indians.'”
So, this is the unabridged story of mankind’s first exploration. If Columbus did not choose to go to the New World, history is certain that someone else would have made the discovery. (My bet would have been on the Vikings.) Let’s move ahead in history to a new exploration, a new frontier.
National Aeronautical Space Agency (NASA)
The Mercury Program
NASA was established on July 29, 1958, by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, under Public Law 85-568. On October 1, 1958, NASA began operation with the mission to perform civilian research “related to space flight and aeronautics.” It all started with the Mercury Program.
The Mercury Program was created to put the first American astronauts into space and consisted of six spaceflights. It lasted from 1958 to 1963. The first two flights were suborbital flights (i.e. they would go into space and come right back down). The first Mercury flight was achieved by Alan Shepard and he had the distinction of becoming the first American in space. Although his flight lasted only 15 minutes, his achievement would last an eternity. Gus Grissom became the second. In 1962, on the third Mercury flight, John Glenn become the first American to orbit Earth. From the Mercury Program, we learned to put a man in orbit around the Earth. Most importantly, we learned about trajectory and the need to break into the Earth’s atmosphere. In order to do this, we needed to be “spot on” with our coordinates, computations, and skill. A failure in the accuracy or timing of these figures, would throw the astronaut off course, never to return to the Earth.
The Mercury Program gave us many successes. However, the American public was still not sold on spending millions of dollars on space exploration. Also, in order to travel to the Moon, NASA could not just rely on a Public Law creation or the success of Mercury. It needed a mandate and purpose, it needed a creed. President John F. Kennedy provided that creed.
In this speech, given on May 25, 1961 before a joint session of Congress, President Kennedy committed the funds needed to meet the goals of space and placing a man on the moon before the decade was out, “for all mankind.”
The Gemini Program
Soon after the Mercury Program ended, NASA started the Gemini Program. It lasted from 1965 to 1966. The Gemini spacecraft could transport two astronauts, whereas Mercury could only occupy one. The program was a most ambitious program, scheduled to fly a total of ten missions. The main purpose of the Gemini Program was to bring the Moon closer within Earth’s reach. NASA defined the program in four main goals:
- to test an astronaut’s ability to fly long-duration missions;
- to understand how spacecraft could rendezvous and dock in orbit around the Earth and the Moon;
- to perfect re-entry and landing methods; and
- to further understand the effects of longer space flights on astronauts.
NASA often referred to the Gemini Program as, “the bridge to the moon.” During the Gemini Program, several astronauts became household names and forged boyhood dreams. On June 3, 1965, on Gemini IV, Edward White II became the first American to walk in space. On December 4, 1965, Jim Lovell and Frank Borman stayed the longest in space on Gemini VII, a total of two weeks. On March 16, 1966, Neil Armstrong and Dave Scott, in Gemini VIII, rendezvoused with an unmanned Agena target vehicle.
I mention these astronauts of the Mercury and Gemini Programs not only for the history they forged prior to Apollo, but because of the courage they had to explore the unknow. Each astronaut knew that every flight into space could be their last. After all, they were attached to a rocket and literally blown into space. Gemini did not go without hitches. We nearly lost Neil Armstrong, the first man to land on the moon, and Dave Scott during the Gemini VIII mission. When they docked with the Agena, the Gemini capsule and the Agena spun out of control. Eventually, Armstrong detached the Agena and gained control of Gemini. If disaster had struck Gemini VIII, Armstrong could have easily been forgotten. However, history planned a different mission for him, as we shall see.
The Apollo Program
After the Gemini Program, NASA then moved onto Apollo. Sadly, before Apollo 1 even left the platform, three tragic lives were lost. You may remember the names. On January 27, 1967, Gus Grissom, Edward White II, and Roger Chaffee (the lone rookie) perished within the cockpit of Apollo 1. A spark intensified into a small fire. With the fire, you add pure oxygen and you have an inferno. After the spark ignited, the capsule reached near 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Each astronaut attempted emergency procedures, however, they found their task impossible. Opening the hatch door required a minimum of 90 seconds, under perfect conditions. There was no escape.
Eric Berger a senior space editor for Ars Technica, noted the following. “The aftermath of the grisly accident found America questioning its previously infallible space program…Ultimately, however, the Apollo 1 fire probably saved NASA’s lunar ambitions. The fire forced a hard reset of a space program that had been rushing headlong toward the moon, but had lost its way due to overconfidence. A better Apollo capsule was born from the accident.”
After the Apollo 1 accident, NASA flew four Apollo missions before attempting to land on the moon. The most important mission, but one that history forgot, was Apollo 8. During this mission, Astronauts Willie Anders, Frank Borman, and Jim Lovell, became the first humans to travel around the Moon. They were also the first to witness and photograph an “Earthrise.” They did this “for all mankind” to show that it could be done. With this mission, NASA was able to move on and attempt to put its footprint on the moon.
The fifth mission, Apollo 11, landed on the moon carrying Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Mike Collins had the distinction of being the “most lonely” man as he traveled around the Moon awaiting Armstrong’s and Aldrin’s return. In the last decade of his life, Armstrong reflected on the accident of Apollo 1 and his Moon walk. He stated, “The rate of progress is proportional to the risk encountered. The public at large may well be more risk averse that the individuals in our business, but to limit the progress in the name of eliminating risk is no virtue.” In NASA’s next lead up into space, it would encounter two of its worst tragedies since Apollo 1; Space Shuttle Challenger and Columbia.
The Space Shuttle
The primary purpose of the space shuttle was to carry astronauts and cargo to and from Earth’s orbit. It had the distinction of being the first reusable spacecraft. The first shuttle launched on on April 12, 1981, and its final landing occurred July 21, 2011. Within those 30 years, the space shuttle launched 135 missions and flew 355 astronauts. The space shuttles flew many difference missions, to include: launching satellites, serving as an orbiting science laboratory, to repair and improve other spacecraft (Hubble Space Telescope), missions of military nature, and worked on the International Space Station.
The Challenger Tragedy
On January 28, 1986, Challenger was scheduled to fly its 10th mission. As Challenger sat on the launch pad, temperatures dipped below freezing, very unusual for the sunny Florida Space Coast. Engineers were concerned over the integrity of the seals on the solid rocket boosters because of the extreme weather conditions. Regardless, Challenger launched and after 73 seconds into the flight, the seals did not hold. Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher to go into space perished, along with the crew. According to NASA, “Salvage crews spent several weeks recovering pieces of the shuttle and carefully bringing up the remains of the seven astronauts. Remains that could be identified were turned over to the families, while the rest were buried in a monument to the Challenger crew at Arlington National Cemetery on May 20, 1986.” Almost 17 years after the Challenger tragedy, NASA faced another disaster.
The Columbia Tragedy
On January 16, 2003, the space shuttle Columbia launched from Kennedy Space Center. After 80 seconds into the launch, a piece of foam insulation broke off from the shuttle’s propellant tank. The foam hit the edge of the shuttle’s left wing. On three prior shuttle launches, similar incidents were reported. Engineers at NASA opined that damage to a wing could cause a catastrophic failure. These concerns were expressed by the engineers. However, on this particular mission, NASA management believed that even if major damage had occurred, there was little that could be done to fix the situation. On February 1, 2003, upon re-entry, Columbia broke apart killing all seven astronauts. The catastrophic event occurred only minutes before they were expected to land. The cause of the catastrophe was the damaged wing.
NASA’s The Artemis Program
The purpose of this program is clear – to explore and develop deep space. NASA has made it clear in the introduction of Artemis Plan: NASA’s Lunar Exploration Program Overview. NASA notes that it has been almost 50 years since we last walked on the Moon. With that understanding NASA has set out a vision. “America has entered a new era of exploration. NASA’s Artemis program will lead humanity forward to the Moon and prepare us for the next giant leap, the exploration of Mars.”
Under this program, NASA plans to land on the Moon within four years. The agency opines it will need several years in orbit and footprints on the surface of the Moon to support life outside of the comfort of Earth. NASA explains this must occur first to prepare for a multi-year human mission to Mars.
On April 17, 2021, NASA awarded a contract to SpaceX which provides for the building of a new capsule to land astronauts on the moon. SpaceX will call the ‘moon taxi’ the Human Landing System. The craft will carry astronauts to and from the Moon’s surface as early as 2024.
The competition between private sectors are forcing man’s advance to deep space. The Wall Street Journal reported on May 6, 2021, that Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, has a very ambitious future. They reported, “At various times Mr. Musk has said SpaceX foresees sending a Starship, with or without people on board, around Mars within a handful of years…Mr. Musk has talked about ultimately sending as many as 100 people on a single Starship voyage.” Although this sounds rather ambitious, is that the foresight mankind needs to continue its quest of space?
Where Do We Go From Here?
Odds are if we are going to send astronauts back to the Moon, or on a mission to Mars, we are going to lose men, women, and talent. It is not a matter of “if but when” the next space tragedy occurs. However, we must never think or believe in the “limits of space.” In his book, A Man On The Moon, Andrew Chaikin chronologically documented the life and mission of each Apollo astronaut. In the epilogue of his book, Chaikin concludes, “If NASA has lost direction, it is only because we have not chosen to give it one. Instead of letting the moon be the gateway to our future, we have let it become a brief chapter in our history.”(12)
Now, I want to return to the beginning of this post. Remember how mankind went from the sea, believing that the world was flat, to landing on the Moon. Today, we cross the sea with impunity. Captains rarely question their coordinates and can avoid bad weather instead of sailing into it. We fly plans from continent to continent with minimal accidents. Yes, we have come a long way and we need to continue man’s nature to explore. Eventually, the idea of going to the Moon or landing on Mars should come routine, just like flying a plan from London to New York. As Mr. Chaikin ended:
“For a time it will still be magical to meet someone who has been to the moon, but gradually that mystique will fade, and a moon voyager will seem no more extraordinary than an explorer who has been to the Antarctic.(13)”
The search of space should always be an endless story. As new insight into the universe continues from each exploration, from each journey, we cannot afford to stop. Maybe, just maybe, the search for the beginning of mankind, for the sake “of all mankind” will prevent us from ever experiencing the end of mankind.
“To limit the progress in the name of eliminating the risk, is no virtue.” – Neil Armstrong
Sources
https://www.nasa.gov.
Carpenter, Scott; Cooper, Gordon; Glenn, John; Grisson, Virgil; Schirra, Walter; Shepard, Alan; Slayton, Donald. We Seven. New York; Simon&Schuster Paperbacks, 1990.
Chaikin, Andrew. A Man On The Moon. New York: Penguin Group, 2007.
Kluger, Jeffrey. Apollo 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2017.
Mann, Charles C. 1491 New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. New York: Vintage Books, 2006.
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