Just on a practical note I sometimes wonder about the simultaneous belief in nationalism and in space exploration. Not so much that they are incompatible as ideas, but that nationalism will inherently limit mankind's capacity to explore space at scale since it dissuades countries from working together (yes, alliances may form, but even within alliances there is competition and suspicion), and presents a whole web of issues surrounding space. While Cold War rivalry certainly accelerated space exploration, it fizzled out once the major milestone of the moon landing was achieved, and far more focus was given to the ongoing wars and domestic issues. It is hard to get people to care about space when your economy is suffering and when you are involved in conflicts both at home and abroad. Just something to wonder about.
It’s a good question, but I think space exploration is tending the way colonialism did - the big leaps and bounds were made by private economic actors. Competition drove state-led space exploration, but competition and government are not inherently tied. Competition and private companies, on the other hand, are, which has led to Bezos and Musk both trying to one up one another with private space flight capabilities.
Just on a practical note I sometimes wonder about the simultaneous belief in nationalism and in space exploration. Not so much that they are incompatible as ideas, but that nationalism will inherently limit mankind's capacity to explore space at scale since it dissuades countries from working together (yes, alliances may form, but even within alliances there is competition and suspicion), and presents a whole web of issues surrounding space. While Cold War rivalry certainly accelerated space exploration, it fizzled out once the major milestone of the moon landing was achieved, and far more focus was given to the ongoing wars and domestic issues. It is hard to get people to care about space when your economy is suffering and when you are involved in conflicts both at home and abroad. Just something to wonder about.
It’s a good question, but I think space exploration is tending the way colonialism did - the big leaps and bounds were made by private economic actors. Competition drove state-led space exploration, but competition and government are not inherently tied. Competition and private companies, on the other hand, are, which has led to Bezos and Musk both trying to one up one another with private space flight capabilities.