Spaceflight is the means by which we grow

I was born and raised in Fairbanks, Alaska. Auroral displays are frequent in the winter, and I spent many evenings in my youth observing the glowing plasma “clouds” above me. I would stay out as the aurora faded to look at the stars in that dark sky. I don’t remember when I learned that the stars we see are other suns, but I haven’t been able to see them as anything else since. They are more than points of light in the sky, but real places. These days, whenever the Seattle clouds open up and I glimpse planets or stars in the night sky, I feel myself pulled towards them. They ask us to come visit.

​A lot of people try to sell spaceflight to skeptical bystanders or taxpayers with practical reasons, trying to identify a return on investment. They promote the scientific value of the data we gather, the benefits of technology development, or the need safeguard our existence. While those are valid reasons, I find them uninspiring.

I fundamentally care about spaceflight because it represents growth. Spaceflight is the means by which we grow as a species. Our outlook and ambition, will ultimately be limited to the planet Earth, unless we leave. By leaving, we shall grow our senses, our economic domain, and our understanding of the environment that we inhabit. That environment, by the way, is not the dust-mote we evolved on, but the whole universe. We have made great strides in the understanding of our environment through observation, but observation alone is not enough. Active engagement with the rest of the universe on all levels of our senses, culture, and intellect is required to experience everything life has to offer. Human spaceflight is vital because it isn’t enough to send back data, samples, or even precious metals from off-world. For humans to take our place in the universe, we need to experience it in a very personal way, by actually being there. And there is a lot to experience.