Week 9: Space Exploration + Art

The terming of space as ‘The Final Frontier’ could not be more apt in my opinion, as after all the lectures, a common theme that resonated with me was how mystery, curiosity and the defined limit of man with regards to space has transcended generations. When space exploration scientists explore regions never before seen, they find themselves having to dream up new ideas to try and explain what they observe. As we go further into space to understand its expanse, that is what is taking place. Even going as far back as Copernicus, who wasn’t even the first to postulate about heavenly motion, it boils down to man studying the stars and our solar system to find our place in it.

When there is an absence of knowledge, speculation and fantasy usually try to fill the gaps. Space has been the subject of our lack of knowledge and consequently so much of our imagination that space fiction was born from this. I find it to be a remarkable phenomenon that the fantasies of space we have written about have been taken as a guiding light for our development in this mission that at some junctures seems directionless.  In From the Earth to the Moon, published in 1865, Jules Verne describes a crew of three people who launch themselves, in a gun-fired projectile, to the Moon. The similarities of this to the Apollo 11 mission are amazing to see. Did he inspire our forays into space or just think of a logical way to get there?

It is interesting to note how this lack of knowledge also provoked paranoia and fear around the world. Both the US and Russia did not know the extent of what achieving space travel could do for them and ‘their enemy’, and if they were jeopardizing their national security by not pursuing it. This panic was the driving force behind the space race, which brought about unexpected positives like education system reform, investment in technology and research. It begs the questions like would we have the technological progress we do today without the space race, and whether fear is the only motivation to incorporate massive changes. Today the calls for education reform are loud but they do not come from a place of panic like last time, and institutions are hesitant to act on it. 

Sources;

1. “The Mystery of How Big Our Universe Really Is.” BBC Future, BBC, https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210326-the-mystery-of-our-expanding-universe. 
2. Kowalczyk, Ernest. “How Copernicus Put the Sun at the Center of the Cosmos.” History, National Geographic, 3 May 2021, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/history-magazine/article/astronomy-theories-nicolaus-copernicus. 
3. Minhinnick, Morelia Realta Biondi, et al. “How the Space Race Changed American Education.” TechNotes Blog, 22 Sept. 2021, https://blog.tcea.org/space-race/. 
4. Kowalczyk, Ernest. “How Copernicus Put the Sun at the Center of the Cosmos.” History, National Geographic, 3 May 2021, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/history-magazine/article/astronomy-theories-nicolaus-copernicus. 
5. Vesna, Victoria. "8 space pt 1 1280 x 720". UCLA DESMA 9 Art Science and Technology Spring 2022, Week 8.
6. “Four Things Jules Verne Got Right and Four He Didn't.” ZME Science, 29 Jan. 2021, https://www.zmescience.com/other/science-abc/things-jules-verne-got-right-and-he-didnt-2008/. 
7. Vesna, Victoria. "8 space pt 2 1280 x 720". UCLA DESMA 9 Art Science and Technology Spring 2022, Week 8.
8. “Four Things Jules Verne Got Right and Four He Didn't.” ZME Science, 29 Jan. 2021, https://www.zmescience.com/other/science-abc/things-jules-verne-got-right-and-he-didnt-2008/.