for scientific purposes like
studying Earth’s atmosphere
or collecting samples of the
Moon. Over time, probes
were sent to explore the
planets in our solar system:
Curiosity on Mars, New
Horizons’ fly-by of Pluto,
Juno's visit to Jupiter, and
the Cassini mission in which
the probe made its farewell
plunge into the ringed planet
of Saturn last month. And
there's the Rosetta craft,
sent by the European Space
Agency (ESA), which landed
on a comet last September.
To date, the farthest
probes from Earth are the
twin craft of the Voyager
mission: Launched exactly
40 years ago, now beyond
the boundaries of our
solar system. Supervised
by the late Carl Sagan,
each craft bore a copy of a
Golden Record that stored
numerous images and sounds
representing Earth and its
cultures, natural scenery, and
architecture. Sagan described
Voyager as a “bottle into the
cosmic ocean” in case any
“advanced, space-faring
civilizations in interstellar
space” —if there is anyone
out there—might find them.
For studying bodies
beyond our solar system—
including galaxies other
than our own Milky Way—a
telescope needed to be placed
in outer space, in order
to capture “pure” images
without Earth’s atmosphere
filtering them. The most
famous example is the Hubble
Space Telescope, launched
in 1990. While the telescope
is still functioning today
as a long-enduring marvel
in astronomic technology,
a next-generation space
observatory named the James
Webb Space Telescope is
being developed by NASA,
the ESA, and the Canadian
Space Agency (CSA). This
successor to Hubble, bearing
a larger mirror than that of
its predecessor, is planned

to Launch in October 2018.

“Reach out and
touch someone...”

An old adage says that
science fiction often leads to
science fact. While we still
have yet to see lightsabers,
teleportation, or hoverboards
resembling those in Back
to the Future, Part II (1989),
we do have the World Wide
Web, robotics technology, and
telecommunication satellites.
That's right; the concept of
an orbiting satellite bouncing
signals between points on
Earth did not come from an
engineering laboratory—it
was the brainchild of science-
fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke,
author of Rendezvous with
Rama (1972), Childhood's End
(1953), and the screenplay for
2001: A Space Odyssey. Also
a non-fiction science writer,
Clarke submitted his proposal
titled Extra-Terrestrial Relays
to British publication Wireless
World (now Electronics World)
in October 1945—exactly
twelve years before Sputnik.

As the Cold War
superpowers rushed their
satellites into orbit, other
Western nations such as
Canada and the UK got
into the act by the mid-
1960s, piggybacking their
satellites onto American
rockets. As more joined in,
this led to space technology
for applications closer to
home for the average Earth-
bound citizen. Today, most
industrialized countries
have sent over 4,000
satellites in orbit—though
only about a third of them
are still operational—for
purposes ranging from
radio and television to
telephone and internet,
as well as the military.
Reconnaissance satellites, or
spy satellites, are still being
launched by government
organizations to this day.

These staggering
advancements in space

exploration also yielded
spin-off inventions used by
everyday consumers, like
image sensors in smartphone
cameras, memory foam, and
even Super Soakers. But

the sad irony is that such
achievements spawning these
side benefits were spurred
less by scientific curiosity,
but more because of a quest
for military superiority over
an ideological enemy. In
1962, when President John

F. Kennedy spoke at Rice
University about his goal to
send Americans to the Moon,
his words conjured that old
classic American imagery

of intrepid exploration and
relentless bravery: “We
choose to go to the Moon in
this decade, and do the other
things; not because they

are easy, but because they
are hard... that challenge

is one that we are willing to
accept, one we are unwilling
to postpone, and one

which we intend to win.”

In an era fearful
of mutually-assured
destruction, perhaps it’s hard
to completely fault Kennedy
for emphasizing courage in
dark times over cold scientific
research as he addressed
the American public. But
during the Apollo 8 mission
on Christmas Eve 1968,
astronauts photographed
“Earthrise”: a striking colour
image which showcased for
the first time a vulnerable-
looking planet Earth over the
Moon’s horizon, evoking a new
sense of wonder that even
the most destructive nuclear
weapon couldn't obliterate.
Life magazine would select
this picture for their 2003
collection of 100 Photographs
that Changed the World.

As today’s giants sound
off their visions to bring
humanity to the Moon, Mars,
and beyond, can another
image emerge to unify our
fragmented society's attention
for the sake of our survival
in these uncertain times?