Do The Benefits of Space Exploration Outweigh its Environmental Costs? By Harsh Patel

Since the early 1960s space travel has increasingly become more and more prevalent as a variety of different space missions continue to be conducted day by day, year by year. From Yuri Gagarin becoming the first man to ever travel into space to current day multi-manned journeys being made to the ISS, space travel has come a very long way. Human kind has been able to scour the surface of the moon, conduct spacewalks, and research a plethora of stars and galaxies, pushing the boundaries of science every single day. 

Space travel doesn’t come without consequences though, there are a plethora of environmental costs that come from space exploration. Firstly, rockets pollute the higher layers of the atmosphere, specifically the stratosphere (where it contains the ozone layer), which protects us from harmful ultraviolet radiation. This occurs as rockets dispel nitrogen oxide which reacts with ozone, turning it into oxygen, which depletes the amount of ozone bit by bit. Moreover, rocket propellant, which is made of mostly hydrogen and liquid oxygen, also poses some threats to the environment. An atmospheric chemist at the University College London Eloise Marais talks about this issue, stating, “Hydrogen and oxygen can produce water and water released into the dry stratosphere can influence the climate”. Rockets also emit carbon dioxide into the environment at large levels, which again, poses negative effects to the environment in regards to climate change. 

Furthermore, it’s time to address the overarching question, that being if the positives of space exploration outweigh its environmental costs. Now, in order to answer this, we have to look at some of the positives and some of the truths surrounding this topic. For starters, an atmospheric scientist, Martin Ross, states, “The amount of fuel currently burned by the space industry is less than one per cent of the fuel burned by aviation”. Based on this fact, the harm that space exploration does to the environment is next to nothing compared to other industries and therefore, it shouldn’t be considered a large issue. 

Moving on from pollution, space exploration is vital to extending humanities reach in the extraterrestrial world and pushing the boundaries of science. Throughout the last 85 years since space travel has become possible, technology has advanced to extraordinary heights and the discoveries made in space have impacted the progression in studying different sectors of science on Earth. These areas include plant biology, physiology, materials science, and fundamental physics. Essentially, by using information and innovations created by engineers and astronauts, it allows humans on Earth to understand how to better develop technologies in order to be able to adapt to different environments and run efficiently. One example is the use of a technology in space that is used to transform urine into drinkable water being implemented on Earth so that individuals from harsh/poor environments can get safe drinking water as well. Basically, space exploration can impact all humans, even if it is indirectly, in a way that benefits us all and helps us improve our technology. 

Now, outside of the scientific and technological progressions that space exploration brings, it also carries the benefit of inspiring and bringing people together. There are millions upon millions of young children who dream of exploring space and learning skills that’ll help them make an impact on space technologies as they grow up. That inspiration is crucial to society and is the reason that more and more things get discovered day after day. Moreover, space exploration is incredible because even countries, some of whom may dislike each other, are forced to have to band together to fund missions and use each other's equipment to explore space. Essentially, space exploration brings countries, world leaders, and everyday citizens together, which is incredible.

All in all, the positives of space exploration far outweigh the environmental costs of it. From the technological and scientific progression, it brings individuals and countries together, space exploration is necessary and is most definitely worth the small environmental costs it brings. This balance between advancing space exploration and safeguarding our environment aligns with EcoAero's mission to promote sustainable innovation in aerospace for the benefit of both humanity and our planet.