Explore

In 1980 I was 13 years old and had dreams of working in space at some point in my life.  Solid fuel rocket motors, telemetry modules, and star charts littered my bedroom.  With STS-1, Space Shuttle Columbia took it's first voyage to the void and Carl Sagan was my hero.  That was also the year the Planetary Society was started by Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray, and Louis Friedman. I was one of the first card-carrying members.  I remember the excitement of receiving my card all the way from Pasadena California, which seemed like a billion miles away for a teenager from British Columbia, Canada.  The card itself was just a piece of paper, but what it represented was important to us as a species, and I was determined to be part of it.

Thirty-six years in, The Planetary Society has been responsible for S.E.T.I. (The Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence), Rovers on Mars, Lightsails, and a myriad of space science advances. We have driven the mission to discover Pluto and to chart near-Earth objects.  Its 40,000 members have funded research and pooled resources to search the sky for threats and opportunities.  The Society has lobbied governments, penned papers, and built backyard telescopes in the name of discovery and understanding our universe.  There is also an excellent chance you have never heard of it.

This week, astronomers revealed details around the discovery of three Earth-like potentially habitable planets orbiting the star TRAPPIST-1 in the constellation Aquarius.  The data shows seven planets in total with three in the habitable zone.  This may be one of the most important discoveries in space exploration history.  For SETI researchers, this is a gold mine of vast proportions.  While there have been other planets that could potentially support some description of life including Mars and Europa in our solar system, at least one of these new TRAPPST-1 planets could support life very similar to our own.

The discovery is remarkable in many ways and should provide decades of work for space science researchers.  Exobiologists will be examining data and hypothesizing on the possibility of life forms.  Astronomers will be trying to gather as much data as possible to accurately chart the planetary system.  Aerospace engineers will be redirecting their efforts to find ways to improve how we observe that portion of space for some time.  I would not doubt that at least some attention will be directed toward transport technologies to develop better rocket motors.

The TRAPPIST-1 system is more than 39 light-years from Earth.  With current technology, it could take 700,000 years to reach, but engine designs already in the conceptual stage could shorten that to 300 years.  A Heinlein style generation ship powered by a Hawking Starshot engine could be within reach in the next decade.  If a Star Trek style warp drive were a reality, at warp factor 7 (TNG) the trip would take less than 22 days.

I watched the official announcement and press conference with great excitement this week, followed by disappointment reading through the comments sections of posts and articles.  Aside from the obvious trolls who just hate everything and exist only to start a fight, there were genuine comments from people suggesting this was a waste of funds, a hopeless exercise, or useless information.  The number of individuals either commenting that this was junk science or irrelevant to us here on Earth now were overwhelming.   That thinking is just so wrong.

When space science researchers explore, they learn important things about Earth while they are gathering data about space.  We would not have a real understanding of oceanic tides had we not studied the moon.  Kepler's work observing our neighboring planet's interactions created a set of calculations that enable us to see a larger universe.  Recording the creation of new stars in stellar nurseries helps us understand the mechanics of our own sun.  Sending probes and rovers to other planets gives us insight into natural geologic patterns unhampered by humans.  They also allow us to look for colonization opportunities that we may need someday.  Most logical people agree that if the human race is going to survive for the long term, we cannot bank on Earth being our only home.

I am looking forward to following the spin-off research from this discovery over the next few years.  I can only hope that scientists will have the backing and resources they need to do the important work that is ahead of them.