Years ago, Buzz Aldrin said: “Once you have stood on another celestial body and looked back at the Earth, you realise how small, precious and fragile it is amid the vastness of space. We shouldn’t be fighting over it.” Buzz was a successful fighter pilot before he became an astronaut, and the experience of walking on the Moon changed him hugely. The moonwalkers went there in peace for all humankind. If NASA plans work out, they will do it again.
Most have always had philosophies and feelings which transcend national, cultural and racial barriers. It comes with the turf. Space agencies around the world, including NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), are for the peaceful exploration of space. But for others, ‘peaceful’ equates with ‘defence’, since strong armed forces can keep the peace. Military planners in the richer nations are increasingly turning their attention to space for the protection of space assets and services and possible warfighting in orbit. Developments in civil space can often be applied to military programs.
Recent, very worrying political events have shown that even the most developed and trusted political systems are failing to prevent megalomaniacs from gaining power. And these people are often in charge of the armed forces. If the bad are strong, then the good must be stronger. But this can often lead to the proliferation of arms and a strengthening of the military-industrial machine where manufacturers make a huge amount of money out of arms contracts, therefore influencing politicians to support military spending. At one point the US had some 31,000 nuclear warheads, and you might wonder how many planets they were planning to destroy with those.
Denne historien er fra Issue 114-utgaven av All About Space.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 114-utgaven av All About Space.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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15 AUTUMN STARGAZING TARGETS
Go on a night-sky treasure hunt as the brighter evenings give way to the cooler months
MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE WHY IS VENUS SO DRY?
A new study reckons the answer lies high in the Venusian atmosphere
WHEN BLACK HOLES TURN WHITE
Can bouncing black holes help physicists find the ultimate theory of everything?
THE MOON'S THIN ATMOSPHERE IS MADE BY CONSTANT METEORITE BOMBARDMENT
While the solar wind also contributes to the atmosphere, meteorites are the main culprit
INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL AND HOW TO BECOME A SPACE TOURIST
Having explored much of the Solar System, attention is now turning to the stars beyond
NASA'S PERSEVERANCE ROVER FINDS POSSIBLE SIGNS OF ANCIENT RED PLANET LIFE
Further analysis is needed, but a rock contains potential evidence that life once existed on Mars in the distant past
A NASA TELESCOPE MAY HAVE FOUND ANTIMATTER ANNIHILATING IN POSSIBLY THE BIGGEST EXPLOSION SINCE THE BIG BANG
The massive explosion was captured in 2022
Jameel Janjua "This is how we get to Mach 3”
Jameel Janjua made it to the bitter end in a Canadian government astronaut selection in 2009, but wasn't chosen. He found a different path to space through Virgin Galactic
BOEING NEEDS TO IMPROVE QUALITY CONTROL ON THE SLS MOON ROCKET
The NASA Inspector General's report finds serious quality-control issues affecting the upgraded version and expects cost overruns and delays
DARK ENERGY
THE MOST DOMINANT FORCE IN THE UNIVERSE IS ALSO ITS MOST MYSTERIOUS AND MOST UNANTICIPATED
