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The Importance of Exploration Part 2
American Exploration
Editor's Note:
This is the first in a series of essays on exploration by NASA's Chief
Historian, Steven J. Dick.
Exploration is certainly part of the
American character, and Federally funded exploration has been a significant part
of American history -- from land exploration beginning with Lewis and Clark, to
the U. S. Exploring Expedition headed by Charles Wilkes from 1838-1842, the
latter the subject of a colorful book by Nathaniel Philbrick, Sea of Glory:
America's Voyage of Discovery.
The exploration of the American West
during the 19th century by the likes of John Wesley Powell is another prime
example of American exploration. Of course the Western frontier was limited, a
cause for worry according to historian Frederick Jackson Turner, who argued in
the late 19th century his frontier thesis -- that many of the distinctive
characteristics of American society, including inventiveness, inquisitiveness
and individualism, derive from the existence of a frontier.
The Western
frontier closed about 1890, but Americans found a new one in space. Even though
some historians do not agree with the so-called "frontier thesis" as the sole,
or even the primary, source of these characteristics in the United States, space
as a new frontier has always been a driver of the U.S. space program, and I
think rightly so.
 Image right: Apollo 11 Lunar Module
Pilot Buzz Aldrin climbs down theEagle's ladder to the surface of the
Moon, as America fulfills the first vision for space exploration. Click for
larger image. Photo credit: NASA
To Explore ... Or Not to
Explore
Of course, even those who say we should explore in principle,
for whatever reason including new frontiers, face the hard reality of funding.
This brings us to an essentially ethical question: is it ethical to explore when
there is so much that needs to be done on Earth?
This is a public policy
question, but I would point out that it is always tempting to sacrifice
long-term goals for short term needs. It is an astounding fact that the
expenditure for the 15 U. S. naval expeditions from 1840-1860 approached one
quarter of the annual federal budget, by far exceeding even the Apollo
commitment. But I don't think we have cause to regret either the 19th century
expeditions or the Apollo Program.
Today there are ample reasons one
might give not to continue space exploration. 2001 --supposed to be the year of
Arthur C. Clarke's "Space Odyssey," will forever be remembered instead for the
events of 9/11. We do have to deal with the reality of world events, but surely
we should not let terrorism set the agenda. H. G. Wells said many years ago that
"Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe."
| Surely an international cooperative venture into
space -- with all that implies -- strikes a blow against catastrophe, and
a victory for civilization. | We are still in
that race today, and surely an international cooperative venture into space --
with all that implies -- strikes a blow against catastrophe, and a victory for
civilization. Great things were achieved in the past in the name of competition
-- the Apollo program would never have happened without Cold War competition. It
now remains to be seen whether great things may be done in the name of
international cooperation, even in the midst of great unrest in the world.
For its part, the United States has much at stake. Pulitzer Prize
winning historian William Goetzmann saw the history of the United States as
inextricably linked with exploration. "America has indeed been 'exploration's
nation,'" he wrote, "a culture of endless possibilities that, in the spirit of
both science and its component, exploration, continually looks forward in the
direction of the new." The space exploration vision must be seen in that
context.
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Previous PageReadings:
Daniel Boorstin, The
Discoverers (1983), especially pp. 186-201.
William Goetzman, New
Lands, New Men: America and the Second Great Age of Discovery (Penguin
Books, 1987).
Louise Levanthes, When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure
Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405-1433(Oxford U. Press, 1994).
J. R.
McNeil and William H. McNeil, The Human Web: A Bird's --Eye View of World
History (New York, 2003), 166.
Gavin Menzies, 1421: The Year China
Discovered America (William Morrow: 2002).
Nathaniel Philbrick, Sea of
Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery. The U. S. Exploring Expedition,
1838-1842 (Viking, 2003).
Stephen J. Pyne, "The Third Great Age of
Discovery," in Martin Collins and Sylvia Fries, eds., Space: Discovery and
Exploration(1994).
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