Our Priority Lies Within the Atmosphere: Why We Must Heal Earth Before Reaching for Mars

On June 5th, 2024, NASA made a mistake. The US’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration agency made a mistake. Sunita Williams traveled on the Boeing Starliner to test if it was able to transport astronauts. But the 8-day mission turned into a 286-day trap. The spacecraft malfunctioned and Sunita was stuck in the International Space Station. What ultimate purpose did the mission serve? They didn’t find a new planet. They didn’t invent a new form of space travel. Their mission failed completely. Space travel is perceived as a brilliant, complex study of the universe, but it is really driving us towards an unfortunate future, by polluting the environment and ruining the lives of poor astronauts. Moreover, the odds of even meager success in space travel are quite low. Whoever is sitting on their throne on top of the space industry needs to open their eyes and see that our planet must become our priority, not any others.

History shows us how many sacrifices have been made in the name of “space travel”, with Sunita Williams being only one example. On January 28, 1986, the Challenger famously exploded a mere 73 seconds after take-off, killing all the astronauts aboard it. 73 seconds of being a real astronaut, a role model, achieving everything you’ve wanted. And boom, you’re dead. And a few years later, on February 1, 2003, history repeated itself. The Columbia disaster claimed the lives of seven astronauts. The whole nation felt the loss. But I don’t have to tell you about that grief. Instead, I can tell you about Evelyn Husband, whose last glance of her partner was through a screen, unaware that he would be dead 4 days later. I can tell you about Jonathan Clark who turned to alcohol upon the death of his wife. I can tell you about their son who was only 8 when he was left motherless. All because of space travel. I could go on and on about how pathetic the premises of this whole industry really is, and I will. But, I’ll also show you a better way. A way that really will save our children from a dark, gory future.

If we want to live, we need to make sure our Earth does too. Space travel has often been overlooked in terms of global footprint. Because at first glance, it only takes up 0.01% of our carbon footprint. But we must realise that compared to aviation and cars, rocket launches are currently extremely rare. One rocket only hosts a handful of people. And yet, it emits a notable amount of carbon. Imagine what will happen if the industry grows. A study in the 2022 World Inequality Report found that for an 11 minute flight, 75 tonnes of carbon dioxide are emitted per passenger. Per passenger! Decades of CO2 emissions released in minutes thanks to the help of our rockets. And as of 2024, the global space economy reached a value of $613 billion. That’s how much money we’re putting into a failing system that gives us unsatisfactory results and worsens climate change. If the money were invested into our environment instead, we could’ve saved animals, plants and people alike. But it’s not too late to change. It’s time we look at our own bright blue planet and realise our true priorities lie within the atmosphere.

But when I was young, satellites and carbon dioxide weren’t what I associated with space. I thought of aliens and living on mars. Which, in a less extreme way, is one of our ultimate goals. Find a planet suitable for human life. For both research purposes, and potentially as an escape plan for when our Earth becomes uninhabitable. Scientists have declared that there are 40-60 billion planets suitable for human life. But the problem is, the nearest of those planets is light years away. We only just surpassed the speed of sound in 1947. And according to Einstein’s theory of special relativity, it is physically impossible for a human to even reach the speed of light. So, fruitful space travel is yet to become obtainable, Maybe we can come back to it after we discover a more powerful fuel. Or after we create robots that can space-travel for us. We’ve got some time on our hands, but even that’s going to vanish if we don’t start taking care of our environment now. So, let’s all put aside our rockets and pick up a watering can, because it will take all of us to help our planet.

I’m not saying I want all space travel to stop. But I think we’re fighting against ourselves. We’re desperately working against climate change, but we’re also investing in space, which is hurting our planet and people. We can explore the universe all we want but there’s no point if there’s nothing to come back to. To those in the space industry, please, understand our planet’s needs. And to those of you listening who think you don’t have power – you do. Join my cause and they will hear us. Because together, we can fly sky-high.