Should space be colonized? If one were to ask Elon Musk, the answer is definitely yes! [1] The colonization of celestial bodies is not a new concept. In fact, this has been the premise of science fiction stories and film since the early Cold War. [2] Space worlds and colonies injected into pop culture during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries ( and some say the twenty-third century or galaxy far, far away) paralleled active research in areas of space exploration and rocketry. Even as far back as the 1920s when American physicist Robert Goddard launched interest in modern rocketry, space exploration beginning with landing a rocket on the moon was a serious and plausible quest, one followed by international planetary clubs and of a young Wernher von Braun who became the leading American rocket scientist at the height of the Cold War Space Race with the Soviet Union. Thanks to the research and study of rocket propulsion and design, some of the quests became a reality.
This research topic considers the possibility of planting colonies in space and the benefits of this achievement. The historical significance of this research is that it traces the evolution of the American space program from the perspective of the Cold War, commercialization, sovereignty, and intellectual achievement and how it can be used. It connects the past histories of the United States with modern applications of political and entrepreneurial endeavors that may prove beneficial for life on Earth. In the current environment of climate concerns, potentially limited resources on Earth, advances in medicine and agriculture resulting from experimentation in space, and a host of other benefits, this research attempts to uncover how many benefits there are and the gravity of those when weighed against drawbacks, as well as how it can be achieved.
Intellectual connections include the ramifications of the concept of reasons and consequences of early American colonization, the Market Revolution, a modern Manifest Destiny, State’s rights versus public and private rights, presidential efforts related to space exploration, the origins of Cold War ideology and politics, the democratization of space, and the role of sovereignty in space.
Professional discourse includes arguments against space exploration and colonization based on the costs associated with these endeavors and who will bear the burden of expenditures. Likewise, there are current conversations about the effects of space debris on earth as well as in the atmosphere, debates over the opportunity costs, concerns about solving earthly problems, and finally, the rise of subsequent questions such as who will explore and colonize space? What economic or political gap, if any, has exploration and colonization of space created? What are the religious or moral implications associated with exploration and colonization? How has the space program evolved concerning equity of intellect and benefit? How has commercialization and pop culture played a role in promoting American efforts in outer space and how will that continue? What impact has sovereignty, arguably popular sovereignty, had in space exploration and may have on future colonization?
I am qualified to study and conduct this research based on past scholarship and study in this area having published a brief article on the space consumerism as well as a master’s thesis on the Cold War and space race.
The proposed methodology includes a mixture of qualitative and quantitative research in historical political and economic periods in US History, examining presidential and governmental histories as they correlate to space-related policies, studying Congressional Records such as the House Committee on Space and Science, House Committees on Appropriations for fiscal years during the years of the space program, NASA websites, periodicals and newspapers, science and technology innovations in space exploration, consumer reports, census data, industry public relations publications, film, literature, and music, and NASA reports.
This is an exciting project because the rewards and benefits of space exploration. Colonization potentially reaps vast amount of research and knowledge in areas that may solve problems here on earth such as: medical technologies and advances in understanding biological and physiological changes, solutions for climate and environmental problems, new forms of energy production and consumption, new forms of transportation, architecture, farming, robotics, and potential intellect and entrepreneurial sharing. The multiple opportunities and benefits also potentially open the door for more access to space beyond government. Just as the post-cold war saw technology innovations and e-commerce, perhaps this extends to space exploration and more cooperation among the people of earth to achieve benefits. This may lead to more opportunities and a democratization of space.
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