The effects of the factors described above on the society at large are a separate topic. My focus is on something entirely different. The average lifecycle of objects sent into space is usually quite short because of the unpredictable and generally harsh conditions experienced in space. And yet, when I read something like this article, I cannot stop smirking in triumph. It is possible, we will succeed!

I remember, when I was just a kid, the Galileo probe was launched in the direction of the Jovian system. It, too, has wonderfully succeeded, much beyond anybody’s expectations, and continued gathering data up until it was intentionally expired in 2003, gathering more data on its last flight.

This is not the end of good news, either. The Mars Global Surveyor has so far returned over a quarter million images during its thrice extended mission, and is expected now to last well into the next decade. ESA’s Rosetta probe, launched two years ago, is not even expected to make contact with its target until 2014!

While I do understand the general concerns of the society, especially when we come around to yet another national budget coming under scrutiny, that there are many problems here on Earth that could benefit from additional resources, I do not think that cancelling the space program, as it’s happened several times in the past, is the solution. If more resources are needed, take 20% of defense budgets from our beloved G8 group of countries and you’ll have triple the amount of money that could be gained by cancelling the space program.

We forget sometimes that exploring the universe has a two-fold implication. On one hand is the advancement of sciences, both hard – physics, mathematics, astronomy, and soft – philosophy, bioethics, well, even literature. On the other hand, however, is the paramount benefit of continuing to look beyond the everyday, to pursue a dream of the entire mankind, to go beyond the known. Economies will fail or succeed, imperia rise and fall, generations come and pass, but humanity will always strive to improve itself and reach some next step in the evolution. We should always look beyond today and everyday to ensure that the dream survives…

Although this debate has raged on for at least a few decades, I think that we’re slowly approaching a moment where space exploration will become a common-day task.  Whether this happens for the right or wrong reasons (i.e. to further our understanding of the universe or to mine Mars) is another story.  For now, however, I’ll be happy if we make it into space for whatever reason.