[Science World] Why Space Should Be a Frontier for 'Pioneering' Not 'Challenge'

The first artificial satellite was the ‘Sputnik,’ launched in October 1957. It was only 67 years ago that humanity rejoiced as a small object sending just beeping signals was placed into Earth's orbit. The first astronaut, ‘Yuri Gagarin,’ spent 108 minutes outside Earth, and the first astronaut to reach the Moon, ‘Neil Armstrong,’ conducted extravehicular activity on the lunar surface for just over two hours. Space was revered as a mysterious entity whose significance was found merely by having ‘touched it once.’ However, the situation has now begun to change. Thanks to the remarkable advancement of science and technology, space is no longer an object of ‘challenge’ but is becoming an object of ‘pioneering.’

Until now, we have mainly used outer space to create a ‘more convenient Earth environment.’ For example, the development of satellite positioning systems (GPS) and satellite communication technology has greatly improved the lives of humanity living on Earth. Recently, however, the goal seems to have shifted to ‘human expansion into space.’ In the early days, those who could go into space were mostly Air Force pilots with extensive flight experience, and others had to pass strict qualification tests and undergo extensive training. To date, fewer than 700 people have been beyond Earth.

But now the situation is changing. Public institutions no longer monopolize space-related businesses. There are commercial space travel programs to choose from. Companies such as the UK’s ‘Virgin Galactic’ and the US’s ‘Blue Origin’ operate ‘suborbital programs’ that briefly take people outside Earth’s atmosphere and bring them back. Additionally, the US’s leading private space company, ‘SpaceX,’ also offers commercial space travel programs.

SpaceX’s CEO Elon Musk openly states that ‘human expansion to Mars is the goal.’ The spacecraft developed by SpaceX for this purpose is the ‘Starship.’ It is the largest in the world, with a total length of about 120 meters, comparable to a 40-story building. On October 31, SpaceX successfully recovered the first-stage rocket that was launched into the sky and returned, demonstrating ‘overwhelming technological prowess.’ After reconnecting the recovered rocket to the Starship spacecraft and refueling, it can send about 100 people into space again. It is a spacecraft perfectly suited for humanity’s mass expansion into space.

This era, in which private companies lead space development, is commonly called the ‘NewSpace’ era. Of course, the NewSpace era has not yet fully arrived in any country worldwide, and development continues in the MidSpace stage, where governments and private sectors jointly lead the aerospace industry.

In this era, the roles of private companies and the scientific community must be clearly distinguished. Private companies inevitably focus on transportation services that carry people into space, real estate businesses that build, operate, and lease bases in space, and the production and distribution of various products for space residents. This is because economic profit must be generated. Therefore, the scientific community needs to observe and research space more deeply and aggressively acquire more knowledge. It must conduct large-scale research and development investments that private companies cannot easily undertake and extend its reach into unknown fields that the private sector has not yet recognized as necessary, securing diverse knowledge and information.

Human expansion into space is inevitable. Through this pioneering process, we will gain a richer living environment and economic growth. Humanity has developed this way so far.

Jeon Seung-min, Science and Technology Specialist Writer