A New Opportunity for Experiments

     
So admittedly a lot of the recent topics on this blog have had a somewhat depressing tone, implying that the world is being flushed down the tubes by those in power.  Well, I am excited to write about an article I read the other day.  Earlier last week I spoke about the spaceport in New Mexico.  Well, there is more news out relating to the upcoming space industry.  I can't help but write about it.  As a child I was enamored by NASA, thrilled by the prospect of space travel, and I even wrote a 12 page report in fourth grade about NASA.  Currently, as I mentioned before, one of the major companies developing technologies to attain space travel is Virgin.  Now, the space flights will not be as extensive as those carried out by NASA's space shuttle (the last shuttle flight is currently in progress before it is retired permanently).  Rather, they will attain a height capable of achieving weightlessness and remain there for 3 minutes before returning to earth.  While this is a much shorter flight, the cost at $200,000 per flight is nothing compared to the $2,000,000 plus for a shuttle flight from NASA.  So how is this beneficial for scientists?  Well, it will cost a lot less to perform experiments in an atmosphere sans gravity even if they have only 3 minutes.  Currently, the only other option they have to perform these types of experiments is to drop a capsule from a tall tower in which they have only a few seconds to perform them.  This is the type industry where we should focus more of our efforts.  Besides Virgin, there are a few other companies working on technology to offer similar space flights to paying customers.  In the 50's and 60's the U.S. was united behind a common goal of reaching the moon.  We need a new goal for the U.S. to be galvanized behind.  How about settling a colony on the moon or even Mars.  If we don't dream big, we will never get anywhere.  The human mind is amazing.  By setting larger and larger goals, we stimulate our minds to come up with creative ways of reaching those goals.  Granted our economy is in a tough place right now, but unless we start dreaming of what we could do, we will be stuck where we are.  We need to look around us, see what is available, and come up with new and creative ways of achieving goals.  It is not always about creating new, expensive technology (although it does help).  But by being innovative with what we have already, I guarantee that we can build what we need to achieve our space goals (if we dare to set them).  This need not only be a goal of the U.S.  Lets look beyond our borders, open discussion with scientists abroad, and work together.  This is the age of globalization where almost every country is interconnected via the Internet and yet it seems we forget this and look only to ourselves for solutions.  Lets take some money from the military, and put it towards science and technology especially when it comes to space exploration.  If I had the money and there was a colony on the moon, I would elect to be the first to move there.  The idea to me is tantalizing.  I personally will follow these developments and see where we go.  For the full article that I refered to, click here Space Exploration.  Till next time, lets look to the sky and dream a little bit, dream of the day when space travel is available for all of us.