Memorandum 60
Submission from Dr Patrick Magee
ARGUMENT FOR
THE UK GOVERNMENT
TO SUPPORT
THE EUROPEAN
SPACE AGENCY'S
(ESA) HUMAN SPACE
PROGRAMME
1. While it is true that the presence of
humans in space started as an expression of military and political
competition between two post WW2 superpowers, the development
of robotic and human space exploration in the early 21st century
has matured well beyond that. It now forms an integral part of
man's curiosity about himself and his place in the universe. There
are currently a much larger number of countries, frequently working
in co-operative groups, which are actively engaged in space exploration,
which increasingly involve a human presence. Under the umbrella
of ESA, Europe has become a major participant in the exploration
of space of the current era. The "Aurora" programme
of planetary exploration (starting with the Moon) which is being
developed by ESA, starts with robotic exploration, in which UK
is an active participant. However it will necessarily move to
a programme of human involvement, in which the UK is currently
a non-participant. While it is recognised that robotic space exploration
is much more cost effective than human involvement, the level
of commitment to "Aurora" means that sooner rather than
later, a European human presence in space will become inevitable.
Meaningful exploration of extreme environments, such as the North
and South Poles, the ocean depths and the highest mountains, has
involved humans, not exclusively robots. At the proposed level
of space exploration, humans will become a necessity, not a luxury.
It will require a great deal of scientific and technological planning
to ensure the success of human involvement. The UK has uncharacteristically
managed to exclude itself and its scientific community almost
entirely from such plans to date, which seems extraordinarily
perverse considering the UK's economic, scientific, medical and
technological standing in the world.
2. Given the expense of supporting humans
in space, it would be unreasonable to expect UK taxpayers' support
without there being some prospect of enhancing the UK's economic,
scientific, medical and technological standing. Justification
of the huge US expenditure on sending humans to the Moon in 1969
included the invention of Teflon, which today sounds absurd, given
that the rationale was the assurance of Cold War victory. However,
such commitment also resulted in driving forward microelectronic
and communications research and development at a much faster rate
and to a vastly greater extent than anyone could have imagined
in the 1950's. No-one can argue that such development has not
had a huge impact on the lives of everyone on the planet in the
current era, and helped other scientific and economic development
of many countries.
3. Because of the necessity for economic
reasons for international cooperation, research and development
for supporting humans in space will therefore drive other fields
of endeavour in a way that will in the long-term appear justifiable.
In fact failure to be an early stakeholder in such development
will seem foolhardy, given that others will be the greater beneficiaries
eg China, Japan, US, Canada, Russia, Germany, France, Italy. Because
the author's professional experience is in medicine and technology,
examples of benefits to UK in these fields will follow.
4. The UK is already a world leader in the
technology for supporting humans in extreme environments such
as aerospace and underwater, eg Qinetiq. Direct UK involvement
in ESA's human programme will give a huge impetus to further economic
and technological development opportunities. Such technology is
directly related to environmental control, which is becoming increasingly
relevant to our own planet's very survivability. Such development
can also be applied to an increasingly adventurous and wealthy
population who want to explore extreme environments for themselves,
eg the popularity of sports diving, the imminent arrival of space
tourism thanks to Virgin Galactic. While the earliest beneficiaries
of such activities are necessarily the richest, such opportunities
eventually spread further and wider than we can envisage.
5. The need for humans to communicate with
each other, even when in extreme environments means that the communications
development industry will be encouraged to come up with novel
solutions to communication across distances which now seem unimaginable,
eg the radio signal delay to Mars is 20 minutes; effective communication
will require the development of communication protocols to ensure
survival. Such development will benefit communication protocols
much closer to home.
6. The required development of medical science
to ensure human survivability will enhance medical development
at home. For example, there is a need for a greater understanding
of human protection from radiation hazards inherent in human space
travel, and how to protect humans from these environments. Such
development will aid the understanding of radiation induced cancers
such as skin, blood and bone marrow cancers; this is relevant
in the current context of naturally and malevolently induced environmental
changes which expose earthbound humans to such dangers and how
to protect individuals and populations.
7. A major problem with humans in space
is the bone and muscle wasting which occurs in microgravity. Research
into the mechanisms of these conditions is relevant to an increasingly
ageing and sedentary population, as are the exercise regimes to
minimise or prevent such disuse atrophy.
8. The provision of adequate medical support
in an extreme environment is relevant to such support in earthbound
isolated environments. This applies to the domains of pharmaceuticals,
biomedical technology, non-expert protocols and medical expertise
itself. Given the increasing proportion of GDP which healthcare
budgets are consuming in all countries, such development should
be welcome.
9. Such developments will allow mankind
to answer fundamental questions about himself, as well as contribute
to Earthbound human development as described above. Crucially,
such involvement will encourage a wealth of knowledge transfer
across boundaries of scientific and industrial expertise in ways
hitherto unimaginable. This would help to attenuate and even reverse
the current detachment from science by schoolchildren, eg the
diminishing number of "A" level candidates in Chemistry
and Physics. Such knowledge transfer will reap economic benefit
for the UK in generations to come.
10. A significant proportion of doctors
of the UK Space Medical Association are anaesthetists. The President
of the Royal College of Anaesthetists has given the College's
support to the views expressed by this author and other anaesthetists.
October 2006
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