A SpaceX capsule with four astronauts docked at the International Space Station on the 3rd. Provided by Yonhap News/AP
There is a prospect that the global space industry will grow to regarding 1 trillion dollars (regarding 1,301 trillion won) by 2040, and while countries are actively participating in space development, scientists urge that they abandon the ‘colonial approach’ to space exploration. came out It is pointed out that the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and China are revealing their intention to mine and preoccupy metal or lunar resources on the moon.
At the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) held in Washington, D.C., on the 3rd (local time), Pamela Conrad, a researcher at the Carnegie Institute for Science, said, “We need to shift our focus away from current exploration methods that use discoveries on other planets.” If we accept space exploration as a necessity, not just a possibility, the ‘try not to interfere’ in the movie Star Trek series can be a major guideline for space exploration methods.”
In the Star Trek series, Starfleet Command’s main directive, ‘General Order No. 1’, states that Starfleet must not interfere with the social, cultural or technological development of other planets. As in Star Trek, going into space requires abandoning the urge to intervene or the colonial approach to exploration.
“Humans should strive to be ‘gentle explorers’ rather than owning or extracting resources from space,” said Conrad. will continue,” he said. It is pointed out that a colonial approach can ultimately lead to the violation of others’ exploration rights, whether in space or on Earth.
Previously, scientists have mentioned the problem of ‘light pollution’, in which low-orbit satellites prevent astronomers from making new discoveries and artificial lighting such as LEDs make it difficult to observe stars. Some argue that light pollution can kill human culture because the system of astronomical knowledge gained from stargazing is important to mankind.
Hilding Nielsen, a Native American from the Quebec region of Canada and a professor at Memorial University in Newfoundland, Canada, said, “In Canada, indigenous peoples have rights to land that has not been transferred under treaties, and because there is no height limit, these rights extend to the sky.” “The culture of having a deep relationship with the moon and other celestial bodies is inherent in the lifestyle and knowledge of the indigenous people,” he said.
“I actually heard a CEO of a large company say that going to space is the same as when people settled in Quebec,” he said. ignoring it,” he added.