RED PLANET BOUND by Evan Plant-Weir
International collaboration in space is an important catalyst for the growth of our species. Not only does is bolster our total scientific and economic productivity as a planet, but it also constitutes an important mechanism for our transition into a more planetary-minded people.
Humanity is fumbling through its adolescence. We grapple with the messy contradictions found at the intersection of our violent past, and our aspirations for the future.
We have matured enough as a species to see the urgent need for global coordination, but in the wake of millennia-old conflict we remain divided and distrustful as nations.
This isn’t something that can change overnight. Like the transition of an individual human from chaotic infancy into the wisdom of adulthood, it takes time. What we can do right now, however, is patiently sow the seeds of a more collaborative and unified human community.
There are various avenues through which we can chip away at this hopeful dichotomy. International collaboration in space exploration, and the pursuit of a multiplanetary future are among the most promising.
Whereas it is naïve to imagine that there will be no strategic competition beyond our atmosphere, partnership in space exploration represents one of the most effective ways for sustaining a thread of peaceful international association.
Working together in space offers superior efficiency for the scientific and technological development of our species as a whole. It opens a backchannel for constructive partnerships, even between otherwise opposed nations. Perhaps most importantly, it strengthens the narrative of shared human goals and lays groundwork for the older, wiser humanity we aspire to become.
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