The commercialization and exploitation of space might reduce and eventually solve many of the recent problems our country faces. The United States and Canada experienced the worst power outage ever to hit the North American continent.
Other problems space exploration may help to solve are overcrowding, starvation and environmental abuse.
Nations are forced to implement ever stricter measures to prevent overcrowding and starvation. Strip mining destroys environments and pockmarks the face of the planet to provide necessary and valuable metals.
As the richer mines are depleted new, larger mines must be dug to prevent the collapsing of industries dependant on their products (i.e. copper and iron).
Some exploitation has already begun. Satellite communications have contributed greatly to tearing down geographical and cultural barriers and creating a “global village.” Further exploitation of space has the potential to likewise change our lives while solving many of the world’s major problems.
Space exploitation begins with low earth orbit (LEO), the space nearest to earth. Most satellites and the International Space Station occupy this region.
LEO is easily accessible with modern chemical launch vehicles. In the near future, LEO could contain orbiting solar power satellites that could beam their power to receiver stations on the ground.
Unlike ground based solar power stations, power satellites are immune to weather and geographical conditions. They can be miles across and still transmit their power to anywhere in the world. Furthermore, power satellites do not pollute and use a renewable resource, sunlight, to generate electricity. Because their size can be so large (probably in modular sections, like the space station), they can serve a large portion of the earth’s power needs.
Moving further out from earth, geostationary earth orbit (GEO) is the next region to be exploited. Some satellites, usually for military or scientific use, currently occupy this region. Solar power satellites placed here could be even larger than those in LEO (it is much less crowded) and would remain stationary in relation to ground stations, making aiming the power beams (usually microwaves) much easier.
GEO is more expensive to reach than LEO, especially with chemical rockets, but emerging solar-electric and nuclear-electric propulsion promises to make it much cheaper to reach.
Beyond GEO lies the earth’s nearest celestial neighbor, the moon.
The moon has much potential for exploitation. Solar cells could be built from moon soil, turning the moon into a power satellite for itself and the earth. Also, metals and other resources that are becoming ever more scarce on earth could be mined from its soil.
The moon’s soil is similar to earth’s (it even contains a significant amount of water), so crops could be grown there to alleviate food shortages on earth. With plants come oxygen, allowing the construction of habitats to absorb earth’s ever-expanding population. The moon is the perfect stepping stone for future exploration of the solar system.
From the moon, planets like Mars become accessible. Mars offers many of the same advantages of the moon. Habitats can be constructed and food grown for their occupants.
Past Mars lies the asteroid belt, a region of metal laden rocks, which can be mined without sacrificing any of earth’s natural resources.
Developments in propulsion, specifically solar and nuclear electric ion drives make exploring and exploiting regions as far away as the asteroid belt feasible.
Nuclear power reactors currently in development are not radioactive unless activated. Such reactors would not be activated until they were past a critical orbit where their radioactivity will have completely decayed before they could return to earth.
Technologies currently under development such as electric propulsion allow for the exploitation of the space around the earth to humanity’s benefit.
Moving mining and power generation off the planet opens the door to, literally, an astronomical amount of resources and allows for a cleaner, greener earth. Agriculture and even people themselves could be moved into to space, reducing the pressures caused by overpopulation.
Through space exploitation, our society would be improved and our planet restored.
Nathan Alday is a senior aerospace engineering major. He can be reached at [email protected].
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