Harish Palaniappan's

Space ... Why are we going there? What's up there so promising?

These questions should be there on anybody's mind these days.

Recently you should heard of the space shuttle missions...and all the news about its 'thank-god' successful landing, its past failure which killed all on-board, its problems that are still lingering.

Beyond all that, America still wants to put the space project back on seat. Why? Actually, its not just america that wants this space programme to continue.. the whole world is interested in it. We all in a way are wishing things to continue... on any space exploration programme for that matter.

Why? Becuase, We are thinking about survival beyond earth. Not that earth has problems and its going to burst.

Survival or finding aliens are actually only the last reasons for space exploration.

The core reasons for space exploration are,
To find more Natural Resources,
To support Growth. Growth needs space.

In a recent interview to an Indian magazine 'The Hindu', the President of India expressed these as a vision for future space research. The President, APJ Abdul Kalam has earlier been a scientist with Indian space research organization, successfully managing one of india's first rockets in space.

President of India, APJ Abdul Kalam

Natural Resources..
The way we humans are consuming earth's natural resources, we will.. in another 100 or so years have huge shortages of various natural resources... and it may become like a couple of resources would be extinct from earth (at least the more pure form natural resources). In such a state, with advanced high speed space transport vehicles, and with adequate, tested knowledge of other planets and ingredients of outer space, we will be in a position to meet resource demands by transporting resources from other planets, or, we also may be able to move some manufacturing / extraction / refining / some machinery to these planets, and regularly bring back to earth processed material/resources. The possibilities are many.

Growth needs space..
Growth needs more resources, be it human resources or natural resources these resources need more space to use... to grow. It may look vague today, but with the kind of growth we are looking at in the future... in various fields, we will need more space to support growth. May be we would think about estabilishing a human settlement on some planet in outer space in controlled environs to study that planet, its resources, its environment, its surrounding planets, and how these can be put to use for mankind (Obviously, we can't run space missions from Earth all the time to go, study and come back.. we have to put shop there).

And hence all this exploration and space exercises.
Given all the above visions for the future, exploration of Transportation possibilities transport to space, research on outer space and the planets around earth are becoming more and more important. If we are not doing this slowly and steadily today, future generations wouldn't be able to do it when they have to. And that way, its also about survival.

Why only Americans or Russians have to spend all that money!
Simply because they have the money to spend for the distant future.

And think of establishing yourself first in a planet and settling up there marking your free real-estate.

Its about invasion and after that transporting all the natural wealth that's available to your kitty (Something similar to transporting Oil from Iraq... atleast in outer space may be people don't have to kill anybody to absorb a natural resource).