Human advancement is hardly ever a matter of exploring one thing at a time, and space could be crucial in resolving some of our biggest problems.
The boom in new space companies comes as the private sector moves into space exploration for the very first time, and whilst most of them may remain in the realm of space tourism and satellite launches right now, that won't hold true for long. A series of space startups, like the one led by Matthew Gialich, aim to start mining near-Earth asteroids in the future; not only is this a huge financial opportunity, but it is likewise the start of the process of moving our heavy industry off the face of the Earth. Why mine Earth's finite resources at a huge environmental cost when you could tap into the practically limitless resources awaiting us in the vacuum of space?
Another important argument for space exploration in the time of climate crisis is the unanticipated developments that might be created in reaction to the unique difficulties that space positions. Take space junk for example; Nate Morris is offering a reward for solutions to this issue that might potentially ground the space industry market before it's taken off, as it's possible that eventually no spaceship would have the ability to leave Earth's atmosphere without being torn to pieces by quick moving trash that litters our orbit. An innovation that can tidy up our orbit might have amazing applications in handling waste and microplastics in our oceans. No human endeavour occurs in a vacuum, and the interconnectedness of our frontiers means that, really, we're always travelling in the same direction.
Space is, without a shadow of a doubt, the final frontier that humanity will ever be faced with. Is it our existing frontier? Probably not. Today, humanity is confronted by a collection of issues at the same time more complex and far simpler than exploring the stars. Primarily of these is the climate crisis, an existential danger born from nothing more than our own carelessness, greed, and complacency. The climate crisis is the true frontier of the modern world, the thing that will entirely reshape the way that we live our lives, the technology that we utilize, and the ideology that underpins our daily lives, however that does not suggest that there isn't a place for space in that. There is a powerful argument typically raised by sceptics of space exploration, asking whether we ought to be looking to (and spending resources on) the stars when we have so many pushing issues down here in the world, which might be difficult to counter when so many space companies in the world today appear in the form of people like Jeff Bezos sending celebrities and the mega-rich into orbit for a few minutes. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg, and our early forays beyond the atmosphere might actually assist the situation down here on the ground.