Discovery, innovation and opportunity: humanity’s future in space

With a planet full of problems to solve, it sometimes can feel counterintuitive, or even irresponsible, to allocate our time, money and resources to the exploration of space. The belief that going to space occurs at the exclusion of a worthier cause is born from a passionate drive to protect our home environment and its inhabitants. Still, it also highlights the need for the space industry to build a stronger and more transparent relationship with the public. Developing humanity’s presence in space is not an investment in an isolated niche – the knowledge we gain and technologies we innovate in the exploration of our universe have direct applications to life on Earth.

Earth-based benefits

The exploration of space always has been an impetus for growth. Whether it’s modern comforts or revolutionary technology, breakthroughs from the space industry are deeply ingrained in our everyday lives. To name just a few, advancements in MRI technology, the development of more portable medical devices, and improvements in water and air purification techniques have revolutionized healthcare on Earth, particularly in remote regions or ‘hospital deserts.’ Relying on GPS to navigate through the world is enabled by satellites in space. Other satellites monitor our global environment, providing early warning for dangerous natural phenomena. Technologies made for space do not stay in space. They also improve our lives on Earth.

The growing space economy

While each of these contributions has helped shape modern life as we know it, perhaps one of the most promising aspects of developing humanity’s presence in space is the creation and expansion of a full space economy. Thriving in our exploration of space will require every field, every job and every skill humanity has to offer. We’ll need more engineers, scientists, lawyers, doctors and craftsmen, but we’ll also need more artists, communicators, philosophers and activists. Arts and sciences have been deeply connected throughout human history, and the space age is no different.

Human space exploration is highly complex and inherently risky. We’re confronted with developing solutions for problems we don’t yet fully understand. How do we engineer spacecraft that safely transport crews through a harsh radiation and microgravity environment, unlike anything we know on Earth? How can we keep space explorers healthy or treat them effectively when their bodies adapt to spaceflight in new and complicated ways? In answering these questions, scientists, engineers and doctors are producing technological marvels and medical advancements that benefit humans wherever they may explore. However, even with the groundbreaking contributions of science and technology, and the researchers that drive them, exploring the universe and finding our place in it is too grand of an undertaking for any one field.

While careers in space so often are assumed to be exclusively for those with a STEM background, the reality is that arts and humanities are crucial components in space exploration. How can we govern space without extensive discussions on how we ethically and fairly determine authority? How can we build settlements on the moon and Mars without learning from humanity’s history of government structures, cultural norms and societal expectations? Who holds the door open for future generations more so than dedicated educators and skilled communicators? The ethical, political, economic and societal ramifications of human exploration of space are staggering, and we’ll need every perspective we have to navigate them responsibly.

Agile, efficient solutions

We at the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) at Baylor College of Medicine are uniquely poised to understand the needs and challenges of human spaceflight and exploration as we are built at the intersection of government and commercial activity in space. Our relationships and partnerships with NASA’s Human Research Program, premier medical research institutions like Caltech and MIT, and the private sector with commercial spaceflight companies like SpaceX, Axiom Space and Blue Origin help us understand and address the health complexities that come with human space exploration.

As a lean institute based in Houston, TRISH has proven space health research can be done flexibly and efficiently. With its limited resources, TRISH has provided NASA with more than 80 solutions and advancements to protect astronaut health in space, executing our shared goal of ensuring longer, safer and further exploration of space.

TRISH’s focus on expanding commercial spaceflight health research has provided advancements in understanding and research that could have taken years to execute and see launched into space. It’s not just researchers that see the value in these partnerships. Private spaceflight companies (PSCs) and their clients want to ensure spaceflight is as safe as possible. To do that, PSCs and their clients have the opportunity to participate in TRISH research, all for the sake of allowing more and more people to venture beyond Earth.

Propelling toward a future beyond Earth

Humans are explorers by nature. We push the boundaries of possibility, and through our problem-solving, we make discoveries and develop technologies that have widespread applications that improve our everyday lives. As we usher in a new era of space exploration and human spaceflight, it’s more important than ever for us to expand our knowledge, find results, and engage with the public about the opportunities for health and scientific discovery that await us in space.

By Sarah Kimmerly, communications fellow at the Translational Research Institute for Space Health