Please stop pitting space travel against saving the home planet

Jah argues that the society should stop pitting space travel against saving the home planet. In a BBC interview, Bill Gates said, "you can buy measles vaccines and save lives for a thousand dollars per life saved," and that means"don't go to Mars." He comments that they in t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Aerospace America 2023-03, Vol.61 (3), p.64
Main Author: Jah, Moriba
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Environmental protection
Gates, Bill
Manned Mars missions
Mars
Space exploration
Space flight
Vaccines
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Summary:Jah argues that the society should stop pitting space travel against saving the home planet. In a BBC interview, Bill Gates said, "you can buy measles vaccines and save lives for a thousand dollars per life saved," and that means"don't go to Mars." He comments that they in the space community are used to hearing such false choices, as though every dollar directed away from sending humans to Mars would automatically go to vaccines and other human needs. Gates has done much good for society, but he's wrong in this case. Instead of falling for this fallacy, we need to focus on the word "and," as in we can love our planet and its inhabitants and go to Mars and begin to prepare for our long-term survival as a species.
ISSN:0740-722X