Time was when ‘to boldly go where no man has gone before’ was not just a line from Star Trek. It was a national dream. Space exploration transcended political divisions. When Nasa pulled off the first moon landing, the world watched in awe.
Last week, the Star Trek actor William Shatner was blasted into space on one of Jeff Bezos’s rockets. Yet there was no shared wonder. Instead, there was criticism. Scientists have more pressing problems to solve, argued detractors. In a rebuke to Bezos, who is pouring his fortune into space travel, Prince William told the BBC: ‘We need some of the world’s greatest brains… trying to repair the planet, not trying to find the next place to go and live.’
Such arguments miss three key points. The first is that technological breakthroughs in one area are frequently beneficial in another. Moonshot missions require the creation of many sub-technologies. In time, some of these become the building blocks for solving other complex challenges.
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