As a nerdy, science-mad boy growing up in the great age of space exploration, you might say that I “drank the Tang” when it came to the idea that the drive to reach out beyond the Earth in search of whatever was to be found there was both a noble pursuit an unquestionable benefit to humankind. NASA was a name to be spoken with reverence, anyone working in the field of space science was a hero, and funding any space-oriented project was an absolute national necessity.
However in recent years, the grand ideas of why we as a nation (speaking of course in regard to my own natal United States), indeed even as a species, should expand our realm of understanding and perhaps even eventual residence beyond our home planet have given way to more pedestrian mercantilism sentiments. Space has become something to exploit rather than explore, and governmental programs have been too often eclipsed by private ones – sometimes describable even as little more than vanity projects – that seem devoid of larger benefits than economic ones solely to the benefit of those who control them. Judging by the enthusiastic tone of press reports about each of these recent ventures, I sometimes feel like I’m the only one who thinks that perhaps we’ve lost our way, but a recently published book has shown me that I’m not alone and indeed in very good company.
Prof. Mary-Jane Rubenstein‘s new book Astrotopia; The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race presents an examination of the current state of space exploration juxtaposed with the history of previous periods of exploration – and exploitation – here on Earth. Dr. Rubenstein, Professor of Religion and Science in Society at Wesleyan University, brings a particularly interesting perspective to the subject in examining not only the histories themselves but the motivations concurrent with them and presents her readers with a fresh perspective on the subject that they have likely not previously encountered. What’s more, she caps her examination with the presentation of an alternative of how the future of space exploration might unfold if undertaken with appropriate reflection upon the past, and a re-examination of the motivations and methods for its continuance.
