The possibility of using space exploration as an instrument in procuring world peace is studied. Suggestions for obtaining such a peace, utilizing space programs, include removal of worldwide educational and communication barriers, building of an emotionally and socially stable society, creation of a unit or whole world rather than the mine and yours concept, and reevaluation and reorientation of human relations and values

Mercieca, C.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

PRECEDING PAGE BLANR NOT FTIdp- 
SPACE EXPLORATION AND WORLD PEACE 
By Dr. Charles Mercieca 
Professor, Educational Philosophy and Sociology 
Director, Center of Intercultural Studies 
Alabama A& M University 
Until this century there was always some 
place on earth to explore and know fully. Men have 
climbed earth's highest mountain, walked upon the 
North and South Poles, and plunged the depths of the 
ocean. Man's determination to fully explore his na- 
tive planet has finally turned him toward outer space, 
from which he can learn more about the earth and 
its surroundings, the sun and its radiations, the 
possibility of life on other planets, and the distant 
galaxies that lie beyond the Milky Way. 
The Meaning of Space 
Space begins at the point where the atmosphere 
is so thin that it has no effect on anything in it; 
where meteors start to glow from friction against 
the air; and where the ionosphere ends, let us say, 
somewhere about 250 miles above the earth. This 
is our frontier. Beyond this frontier there is practi- 
cally nothing. Space is a near-vacuum without air 
o r  sound. 
Around the sun are nine major planets including 
earth; many thousands of minor planets which we 
call asteroids, a big family of comets; clouds o r  
cosmic dust; and swarms of meteors. Between the 
various parts of our solar system is the void, which 
is another way of saying space. Gravity is the cos- 
mic glue which holds the system together. 
In spite of the fact that there a re  military and 
political reasons for the present urgency of the 
space programs by both the U.  S .  and the Soviet 
Union, a rich future can grow out of the very 
discoveries that people dread most - nuclear energy, 
automation, and biological advances, which are the 
most powerful social forces in this century. But 
these powerful social forces can be as great in peace, 
as in war; we can use them to create the future and 
not to destroy it. In space exploration, science 
promises a future in which men can lead intelligent 
and healthy lives - a future that i s  worth living 
for. 
Present Technical Knowledge 
From a purely technical standpoint, we already 
now know enough to do each of the following: 
I. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6 .  
Produce enough food to feed every hungry 
mouth on earth, even though the world's 
population should double o r  treble 
Rid our cities' a i r  of all forms of manmade 
pollution 
Make fresh water out of sea water and thus 
irrigate all the world's arid regions 
Transport large numbers of people o r  large 
quantities of material from any place on 
earth to any other, in a few hours 
Produce enough energy from uranium to 
light and heat our homes and offices, elec- 
trify our railroads, and run all our factories 
Establish instantaneous communication by 
telegraph, telephone, teletype, o r  television 
between any two points on the surface of the 
earth - and when the occasion arises, be- 
tween any two points of the solar system. 
Scienti f ic Space Development 
Since the inception of the space program, it has 
been a policy, especially carried on by the U. S .  , to 
extend the benefits of space research "to all man- 
kind, " as required by the 1958 act. The American 
space effort has been conducted openly, and its re- 
sults have been shared with many nations. 
The global communications satellite network is 
a prime example of tremendous space benefits. Over 
70 countries joined the U . S .  in the International Tele- 
communications Satellite Consortium (INTELSAT) , 
all of which are enjoying the benefits of this satellite. 
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We are all members of the same species called 
the human race. Like the various members of the 
body we have various kinds of people in the human 
society. Some people have unique roles to play dis- 
tinct from others. Yet a l l  roles are important - 
each person in his own unique way. The eyes are 
certainly the most important member of the body in 
relation to the recognition of colors, and the ears 
are undoubtedly the most important member of the 
body in relation to the appreciation of music. How- 
ever, certain parts of the body, such as the heart and 
the brains, are of vital importance. Although a hu- 
man being could live without an a rm o r  a leg, he is 
not expected to live without heart o r  brains. This 
means that in the history of human society there are 
certain members that are of vital importance. These 
members of society consist of those persons who are 
dedicating thnmselvea thoroughly for the welfme of 
mankind. They consist of persons who developed, 
since early childhood, outstanding virtues that later 
enabled them to develop a sense of equilibrium, bal- 
ance, and judgment, which is so badly needed in the 
solution of certain delicate problems at both national 
and international levels. 
Pr io r i t ies  in Education 
Because of surmounting problems, we seem to 
have, in the world today, a race between education 
and catastrophe. If we all yearn to see education as 
the hopeful winner, then the time has arrived to re- 
evaluate our educational needs and project a kind of 
education that transcends national, political, and 
ethnic boundaries. 
Our view of man, in terms of priorities, has to 
be reevaluated. A human being is first a sacred per- 
son with a unique identity of his own. Second, he is 
what he habitually presents himself to be through his 
actions and purposes - a good, honest, reliable per- 
son, o r  a bad, dishonest, unreliable individual. In 
the third place, a human being is a man o r  a woman, 
with all his specific characteristics and needs that his 
sexual role develops in a rational and sensible society. 
It was obviously in terms of such priorities and 
the kind of educational approach that urged President 
Kennedy to plead with the American people: "Ask 
not what your country can do for you, but what you 
can do for  your country.tf In other words, let us ask 
how beneficial we can render ourselves to the human 
race, beginning with ourselves here at home. Or, to 
put it in the words of Senator Robert Kennedy: "Let 
us  begin by healing the wounds from within. 
remark, of course, could be simultaneously applied 
to every single country without exception. 
This 
Reeva h a t  ion of Human Relations 
Why does the source of educational chaos, re- 
vealed in tensions existent in national and internation- 
al relationships, consist in the not-yet-solved prob- 
lem of priorities? We simply have formed the habit 
of concentrating primarily on the unessential, with 
little regard to the actually essential. 
A human being could be nicknamed American, 
French, Russian, o r  Chinese because of the fact 
that he was accidentally born in a global area that 
W ~ S  L~I turn nicknamed America, France, Russia, 
o r  China. Hence, in our reevaluation of educational 
priorities, especially in terms of human relations, 
the nationality we carry, the political party to which 
we claim we belong, as well as the ethnic creed we 
embrace in our private and perhaps public life, 
should, for all practical purposes, be considered 
of secondary and not of primary importance. 
In this way, the problem of communication in 
the realm of human understanding will diminish 
considerably. The conflicts that may remain among 
humans will then take the shape of those existent in 
the ordinary family. No matter how much brothers 
and sisters quarrel, litigate, and fight each other, 
they all end up eating at the same table and sleeping 
under the roof of the same house in protection and 
security. 
Bringing people together to live in a brotherly 
way is an educational t a s k  of a large order. So far, 
education has not accomplished this desired perennial 
goal. People a re  brought together only after we 
learn how to break through national and international 
barriers. In this regard, President Nixon took a 
great step forward in the establishment of world 
peace when he lifted the ban from American people 
to travel to the mainland of China. 
Space as an  Ins t rumen t  of Peace 
With a clear knowledge of space benefits on one 
hand and of educational needs on the other, we can 
now begin to realize that space exploration may per- 
haps prove itself to be the most effective instrument 
in procuring international understanding through 
451 
improved facilities in worldwide communications, 
and through the building of an emotionally and social- 
ly stable society in the growth of a peaceful world. 
When people of every nation learn how to corre- 
late their problems to those of others, when humans 
in every country learn how to break the barr iers  that 
hinder communications, when all the people across 
every continent learn to view their earthly blue plan- 
et as a unit and a whole, then the time would have 
arrived when man's long quest for peace would bear 
the desired results. 
We will certainly not be written down in history 
as members of the generation of peace, because of 
the short span of our lifetime. But we will go down 
in history as the generation that initiated the genera- 
tion of peace. This will eventually be revealed in 
our wholehearted efforts in space exploration that 
slowly, but surely, will break the barriers of com- 
munications that exist through national, political, 
and ethnic boundaries. Through space exploration 
we will, as a matter of fact, look at our planet as a 
unit void of artificial boundaries set by man since 
ancient times; through space exploration we W i l l  
eventually look at  all people as humans who share the 
same needs regardless of their background culture; 
through space exploration we will finally look at our- 
selves as lucky members of an intelligent species 
with unique contributions to make for the welfare of 
mankind in this planet and hopefully elsewhere as 
well. 


Space exploration and world peace

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