The Space Option - an editorial in Leonardo

Science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke could not have stated it more clearly in 1968:

"The challenge of the great spaces between the worlds is a stupendous one, but if we fail to meet it, the story of our race will be drawing to a close. Humanity will have turned its back upon the still untrodden heights and will be descending again the long slope that stretches, across a thousand million years of time, down to the shores of the primeval sea.”

Human activities on our planet have reached the point where we are now forced to seriously consider the viability of our civilization and the ultimate survival of the human species. In the early years of the 21st century it is becoming acutely obvious that the impact of an expanding human population on a finite planet is resulting in situations that are simultaneously having major impacts on global issues such as climate change, the environment, energy, food production, economics and politics. Indeed, perhaps even the near term sustainability of human society as we know it may soon be in question unless immediate and effective corrective measures are taken. To address these issues humanity will implement either the “most innovative” or the “most repressive” solutions imaginable.

Without question, most people alive today instinctively assume that whatever humanity's fate in the years ahead, that fate will be ultimately decided and enacted here on planet Earth and surely not anywhere else. As our global problems seem to exponentially multiply, most our world leaders also surely believe that: Earth problems must have Earth solutions.

Fortunately, space visionaries and pioneers such as Krafft Ehricke and Gerard K. O’Neill long ago recognized this dire eventuality and they and their followers have consequently developed both the scientific rationale and the technological capability to address the impending human dilemma. This has led to a concept called: The Space Option.

In 1970 Krafft Ehricke wrote:

"While civilization is more than a high material living standard, it is nevertheless based on material abundance. It does not thrive on abject poverty nor in an atmosphere of resignation and hopelessness. It needs vigor as well as vision. Therefore the end objectives of solar system exploration are social objectives in the sense that they relate to, or are dictated by, present and future human needs."

The Space Option concept is an evolutionary plan to meet the basic and anticipated needs of humanity through the utilization of near Earth resources -­ not for the in-situ support of science or exploration - but rather to apply these resources and/or their products for use on Earth at a conspicuous level. Most immediately, the harnessing of energy from space would replace humanity’s dependence on the continued use of finite fossil fuels which are environmentally negative and likewise, on the widespread use of brown coal and/or nuclear fuels which have grave environmental and political aspects. Unfortunately, it appears that alternative and renewable terrestrial energy resources, while both desirable and necessary, can never be deployed on a scale sufficient to meet the growing needs and demands of our present and future populations.

Unlimited amounts of clean solar energy from space, on the other hand, would significantly contribute to the restoration of the environment while avoiding the environmental and political consequences associated with the continued use of fossil fuels or nuclear power. Having a inexhaustible supply of clean energy and other natural resources would not only perpetuate the lifestyle of the developed nations, but would continue to provide the basic means for further stimulating the economies of the developing countries. As such, future generations would be guaranteed a sufficient supply of energy and other material resources for their further development and today's less fortunate societies would be provided with hope that they, too, could still aspire to improve their living standard beyond their present situation.

If implemented in time and with sufficient commitment, the ultimate reward would be a prosperous and dynamic planetary civilization living in a healthy environment as well as the creation of an infrastructure in space upon which the expansion of the human species throughout the solar system and beyond could be realistically anticipated. Of all the options currently available to our species at this critical moment in its history, the Space Option offers humanity the most optimistic path to its long-term sustainability and survival  while meeting the challenge that Arthur C. Clarke so succinctly described above.

Arthur R. Woods
This editorial appeared in the journal Leonardo Vol. 41, No. 4 (2008), p. 314