The Need For A Space Programme : an article by: GF Willmetts

There is a lot of responsibility in being the only apparent sentient biped adaptable species, often called humans, in our local space. Although the number of stars in the Milky Way, let alone the number of other galaxies in the universe means there has to be other sentient species, the prohibitive distances reduce the likelihood of meeting any of them in the same time frame as our own. Of course, if there is some unknown science we’ve yet to discover that can reduce time travelling across space, it still wouldn’t change this. The odds of extra-terrestrial species having the same genetic make-up as our own is still pretty remote. Acknowledged human recorded history only goes back 4000 years, give or take a century. If we don’t sort out global warming or our need to attack each other or commit a nuclear holocaust, mankind isn’t likely to last very long. In a couple centuries, it’s also likely that little would remain to say that the Earth ever had a sentient species. As I’ve pointed out, in terms of nature, intelligence is not a requirement of or to nature and humans are really a cul-de-sac species as it’s not physically evolving to fill every niche in its environment. Any way it does so is purely by its own means. Even so, we should recognise that only existing on one planet is the limiting our chances of survival.

The choices of going to the Moon and Mars to really inhospitable places seems an unusual option. These are primarily because they are the nearest options and considering how dangerous Venus is comparatively, our only options. The discovery of water on both the Moon and Mars at least shows it possible for self-sustaining small colonies. The transportation of materials to both is likely to be very expensive. I should point out that either of Mars twin moons, Deimos or Phobos, might be used as advance bases than Mars itself.

I’ve been asked what are the benefits to our own planet from such expense and hence this article

When you look back at the Apollo programme and the space stations since, our advances in technology came largely from certain needs in miniaturisation. The silicon chip CPU containing so many transistors reduced the size of computers and used in all sorts of technology that most people across the globe now rely on. Although there are undoubtedly too many satellites in orbit around our planet, they also provide navigational aids and fast reception to audio and visual signals. New fabrics to keep people warm like those silver sheet blankets we see at the end of marathons or used in rescues. Certainly the solar panels feeding the sun’s energy to the space stations is technology now used on Earth and is continually developing to improve absorbency. Battery powered tools was a surprise but they might have happened anyway. Memory foam is something pretty common in mattresses and chairs. Fly-by-wire is also a bi-product and used in aircraft now. Both liquid-cooled and flame-retardant fabrics came from them as well. The list grows ever long and you can look at here at https://www.google.com/search?q=spin-offs+from+the+apollo+space+programme&sca_esv=feb3dd5743e99a28&sxsrf=APpeQntKMX-WipARBjlZRvKXSaISz9BP_w%3A1782636489890&source=hp&ei=yd9AaqDiM5CthbIP5f-LWA&iflsig=ABILxe8AAAAAakDt2XtL8-AxNBIwyin6ntu2fl9fz1ml&ved=0ahUKEwjg6va1xqmVAxWQVkEAHeX_AgsQ4dUDCCY&uact=5&oq=spin-offs+from+the+apollo+space+programme&gs_lp=Egdnd3Mtd2l6IilzcGluLW9mZnMgZnJvbSB0aGUgYXBvbGxvIHNwYWNlIHByb2dyYW1tZTIFECEYoAFIqlxQAFivWnAAeACQAQCYAWigAYcYqgEENDAuMbgBA8gBAPgBAZgCKaAC_RjCAgoQIxiABBiKBRgnwgIQECMY8AUYyQIYgAQYigUYJ8ICChAjGPAFGMkCGCfCAgoQLhiABBiKBRgnwgILEAAYgAQYigUYkQLCAhEQLhiABBiKBRiRAhjHARjRA8ICDhAuGIAEGLEDGMcBGNEDwgIKECMYyQIY8AUYJ8ICChAjGLQEGPAFGCfCAgQQIxgnwgIIEAAYgAQYsQPCAgsQABiABBixAxiDAcICDhAuGIAEGIoFGLEDGIMBwgILEC4YgAQYsQMYgwHCAgUQLhiABMICCBAuGIAEGLEDwgIFEAAYgATCAgsQLhiABBjHARivAcICCxAAGIAEGIoFGIYDwgIGEAAYFhgewgIIEAAYFhgeGArCAggQABiABBiiBMICBRAAGO8FwgIHECEYChigAZgDAJIHBDQwLjGgB6LlAbIHBDQwLjG4B_0YwgcHMTIuMjguMcgHR4AIAQ&sclient=gws-wiz  The companies who developed such things for the space programme using them elsewhere allowed themselves to continue to grow. I can hear some of you say some would have happened anyway but an incentive and necessity got them made quickly.

For continuing colonies off-planet that have to be self-sustaining, there has to be progress in areas that will benefit other parts of our plane. Hydroponics removes the need for soil to grow plants has to be high on the list and probably a lot more food choices. The needs of natural sunlight and ever improving nutrients to feed such plants can expand on Earth. Unusually, it will be the improvements made here that will benefit these colonies than the other way around. Much of what these colonies need will already have been tested on the manned space stations, although it will have to go further for self-sustainability, especially with Mars where there can be no immediate rescues if anything goes wrong. In that respect, a colony on the Moon will be the test ground before going further. Survival in unusual environments is bound to have some effect on how it can be applied on Earth as well as off-planet.

If we go back to the Apollo missions, it was the American public’s lack of interest in its continuing missions that put pay to them and the move towards building a manned satellite which was cheaper, even if it did become an international project. Investment was spent on the space shuttle programme than rocket development. A lot of experiments are carried out up there, although they rarely enter the media. The most important thing is testing the various crews for their health in low gravity. There’s invariably a movement of the internal organs and loss of calcium from the bones, which has still be remedied. A short flight to the Moon wouldn’t be quite as bad as going to Mars. If anything, having a centrifuge like the USS Discovery in ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ or rotating sections of the spacecraft like the CCCP Leonov in ‘2010: The Year We Made Contact’ would achieve that aspect. Don’t under-estimate the research into calcium retention. A number of people are born with fragile bones who would certainly benefit from any remedy.

As both films are being mentioned here, author Arthur C. Clarke thought by 1999-2001 we would have various moonbases and an active culture on our nearest satellite. As such, various progressions would have happened and we would have moved ahead with our missions in space. A mission to Jupiter wouldn’t have seemed a big deal to organise within a couple years.

The biggest stumbling block is inflation. A google search reveals it’s gone up 2000% since the Apollo missions. If we hadn’t them in the 1970s, I doubt if we’d have had any sort of manned space flight by now because it would have been seen to be prohibitively expensive. If we consider this for alien species, you would have to consider how many of them wouldn’t have developed beyond their own planets.

Oddly, using the American federal annual budget, only 0.02% is used on the NASA space programme. It might be measured in billions of dollars but everyone has felt some benefit and our current reality certainly has some reflection of the various space missions in it. We might not have gone far enough in sorting out global warming or being less wasteful with our mineral resources but it’s a human failing to putting off long-term projects when we think a future generation can handle it.

Interest going up now because outside interest is investing in space projects. There is also the fact other nations, like China and India, have their own space projects and manned flight with the aim to have colonies on the Moon. It’s getting competitive again. Although there are laws forbidding war in space, no country who has any involvement in the various manned space programmes want to be left out. Compared to when it was just the USA and the USSR, it is now becoming more of a free-for-all, especially now commercial companies are launching their own rockets without some of the restrictions placed on NASA.

One thing I have given thought to about the UAPs/UFOs recorded roaming our planet is are they here to actually watch us develop? The so-called foo-fighters that watched over aircraft during World War Two would certainly suggest that. As the only thing we really know about whoever controls their vessels is that they are extremely fast in flight and stop on a sixpence, other currency is available. Even with our current aircraft, we are beginners compared to them. If they are waiting for us to have comparable technology, then they still have a long wait ahead of them. If we are going to match their technology before they reveal themselves, then we need to keep evolving our knowledge of the sciences and advancing our flying capacity off-planet. All the signs that they are aware of cultural shock and we are still primitive apes in comparison means we still have to develop. The ability to prove we can live off-planet must then surely be considered a contributing factor in development.

© GF Willmetts 2026

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