We ’ve got a Green party to advocate for environmental causes on Earth . But what about a Space party ? With a burgeon individual infinite industry , and the International Space Station in full bloom , maybe it ’s fourth dimension for space advocates to defend their interest politically . What would that search like ? permit ’s do a thought experiment .
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The finish of the Space Party
First we need to demand what a Space political party would preach for . It seems to me that the Space company ’s goal would be to help humanity research space , both for resources and potential settlement . That would think of that the agendum for such a party would be to fund basic research into fuels and engines that could be used in space exploration , as well as the variety of habitats we ’d need to experience in quad or another humankind full clip . It would also intend doing more robotic reconnaissance missions to find out what exactly the resources are that we can work in space , without doing the variety of environmental damage that we ’ve done on our own planet .
I conceive those are worthy farseeing - term goals , and I ’m sure we could add more to them . But there are also a wad of brusque - condition end that the Space party would need to deal with .
Space Junk and Liability
For example , we ’re tight go about a fourth dimension when we need to start thinking about how country and private entities will be held accountable for theirspace rubble . Right nowthere is an estimated 5,000 wads of debris up thereorbiting the planet , and it ’s severe for explorers and for new vessels and satellite . How are we run low to clean that up ? Who is responsible if the ISS is smash with a clump from a dead artificial satellite ? Or a soul is smashed with one that comes back down to Earth ? A Space party can serve us come up with some legal frameworks and outside policies for deal with this grow problem .
https://gizmodo.com/how-space-junk-blanketed-the-earth-over-the-past-50-yea-5505100
https://gizmodo.com/why-a-tungsten-dust-cloud-could-help-solve-the-space-ju-5791767
The space junk trouble brings up another issue , which is territorial . Do we involve to start imagine about extending air space further up , into the regions above our atmospheric state ? Will blank extend to function the style external waters do ? Should countries or corporations be able to lie call to region of the Moon orasteroids for mining ? Given that mining is one of the major incentives for private companies investing in blank flight , this is not a crazy doubt . It ’s a next - fifty - years question , and so is space junk financial obligation .
https://gizmodo.com/asteroid-mining-could-be-against-the-law-5906440
Disasters and International Response
A Space company might also want to take the lead on dealing with any form of crisis or disasters that come from infinite , too . Incoming asteroid ? The Space party should have a system in place that allows the world ’s body politic to make a agile conclusion about how to respond . Same goes for the unlikely ( but not completely impossible ) chance that we are contacted or visited by extraterrestrial intelligence . What ’s our policy on that ? What ’s the best way to make first contact?There are societal scientist who have thought about this , but we have no political entity that ’s poised to take responsibility . Without one , there will be chaos .
https://gizmodo.com/anthropologists-explain-how-to-approach-aliens-parked-i-474026110
So one thing a Space company would advocate for would be the formation of international trunk that could handle with something like space debris liability , as well as get up a response to a place - base emergency like an incoming asteroid .
Why Now ?
As space entrepreneur are lovesome of saying , we ’ve move beyond the exploration stage in space and into the exploitation phase . Private companies are trying to get into the business of space mining , space touristry , and evenMars colonization . We need a political party that can advocate for doing all of these thing safely , both for humans and for the environments we ’ll encounter beyond the Earth . That said , we also require a company that can advocate for getting these things done without crimson tape of nationalistic sentiment , and without anti - science propagandizing getting in our way .
https://gizmodo.com/first-look-at-the-space-hotel-offers-aliens-aplenty-bu-5832361
https://gizmodo.com/20-000-people-have-already-applied-for-the-one-way-miss-484213787
We also need a party that will preach for novel ways that governments and private entities can work together on basic inquiry as well as merchandise ontogenesis . As a potential appendage of the Space company , I would have it away to see politicians arguing , for example , that we demand to fund inquiry into geoengineering so that we can make space habitats for humans in the long running play — but in the unforesightful run , so that we can make our habitats on Earth more sustainable for all the live creatures on our home planet .
My point is that the Space party would exist to safeguard our planet , as well as to safeguard our future in space . I think a Space company would be appealing to constituents who do n’t fit into typical political categories — there will be reason for people from both the left and the rightfield to require quad issues on the political docket .
world ’ great military strength lie in in our ability to search . The Space party would be our chance to ferment our love of find into a political force — and to fight for our destination of creating a future tense for humans that goes beyond this lovely but small planet .
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