Man traveling to space was once a one-shot endeavor, and dangerous at all levels. The history of spacefaring includes failures that remind us of the dangers of venturing to space, which have been depicted in several science fiction movies in an exaggerated fashion. The space setting itself is used as a manifestation of human nightmares.
Several movies depicted characters exposed to the vacuum of space; space was displayed as a cold and dark place with aliens; it is also displayed as an exploration of the characters’ inner psychology through the isolation of space travel. Moreover, space is displayed as an exploration of humanity’s past, present, and future.
In the early 20th century, theoretical works of interplanetary travel emerged; inspired from science fiction works, such as Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon. In 1903, the first realistic proposal of spaceflight was published by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, The Exploration of Cosmic Space by Means of Reaction Devices, which was then followed by a burst of scientific investigations that gave sufficient power for space exploration to become possible.
In 1957, in a competition, dubbed the Space Race, which brought an engaging touch of science fiction to the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, both countries developed the first orbital spaceflight. Henceforth, humanity ventured out of our homeland Earth, and touched the possibility of worlds beyond. Nevertheless, since the 1970s, spaceflights have not ventured further than the original pioneers did, as many astronauts have reported worrying negative effects on their bodies.
If we think of space as a plan B to keep us alive and finding new resources, we have to think twice. Ever since the invention of rocket-powered flights, accidents and disasters have occurred, in both manned and unmanned flights, where the first remain the ones with the deepest impact on the public. These accidents include the tragic flight of Soyuz 11, which occurred in 1971; the Challenger explosion, which occurred in 1986, when the NASA Space Shuttle orbiter Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight; and the Columbia disaster, which occurred in 2003, when Columbia disintegrated as it re-entered Earth’s atmosphere.
There are common causes of space accidents, which are linked to defects in the design and technology failures, which lead to tragic loss of lives. Those involved in the operation of space travel have the obligation to investigate the causes of these accidents and know how to prevent their occurrences. Analyzing space risks can bring more awareness to prevent next tragic space disaster.
Once astronauts reach space, they are not out of danger. They become more exposed to a new set of risks and extreme conditions in space, such as radiations that the Earth’s atmosphere shields us from. While there are astronauts responsible for commanding the missions and flying shuttles, there are others responsible for maintaining the spacecraft and performing any necessary Extravehicular Activity (EVA), who are called mission specialist astronauts. This happens when these astronauts enter the vacuum, meaning that there is a near or total lack of gas molecules.
Inside the spacecraft, the atmosphere can be controlled, unlike outside of it. There is no oxygen in space; thus, astronauts cannot breathe without assistance. Moreover, the temperature is so low they would freeze without proper protection. That is why astronauts have to take their environment with them when they leave Earth, as well as when they need to work outside the spacecraft by wearing specially-designed spacesuits that also protects them from the harshness of space.
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The harshness of spaceflight was exemplified by President John Kennedy in his 1962 famous speech, stating that: “We choose to go to the Moon, not because it is easy, but because it is hard”. Today, spaceflight has become more viable and routinely with the advances in technology; the risk of losing human life during space travel is now similar to the risk of climbing Mount Everest.
References
Space Exploration by Connie Jankowski
bbc.co.uk
english.cctv.com
mars-one.com
momentumbooks.com.au
nasa.gov
science.howstuffworks.com
space.com
spacesafetymagazine.com
spectrum.ieee.org
This article was first published in print in SCIplanet, Winter 2017 issue.
Cover image: source