On Innovation, Error and Space Exploration JESKO A. VON WINDHEIM Summary Exploration of space will pose one of the largest technological and scientific challenges for mankind in the 21st century. The success of our space programs will largely depend on meeting these challenges as well as developing broadly based popular support for the objectives of these programs. In order to do this, a new approach must be taken to involve business, academia, industry, and the public more directly in the space program. Emphasis must be placed on improving access to space, reducing the bureaucracy involved with space research, and focusing on technology development that will have applications in space as well as on Earth. To ensure that Mankind’s venture into space leads to long-term benefits instead of draining away scarce resources, we must develop a fundamentally new approach to the conceptualization, design and implementation of space projects. Space exploration must be structured so that one step leads logically to the next, rather than be based on one time make or break schemes. The business community, the academic community, and the general public must be involved, and they must all have a stake in the success of space endeavors. New approaches must be welcomed and occasional mistakes accepted. Very few of the costly experiments and technologies developed for space have come into widespread use on Earth. This is partly due to the fact that most of the scientific community has simply never considered the benefits of running an experiment in space. Of course, those few who do consider this are confronted by the costs, politics and long lead times involved, and many are convinced that other options will be more attractive. Without rapid, frequent, low cost access to space for whoever cares to use it, few scientists will be able to use the space environment to further their research and perhaps develop practical technologies. The present system of space exploration does not permit error. Mistakes are a necessary part of learning and growth for all entities. Such mistakes often lead to new understanding and fundamentally new approaches to the problem. The annals of major industrial R&D laboratories are filled with ‘mistakes’ that led to fundamental new breakthroughs. If enormous amounts of energy are expended to ensure that no mistakes are made, or in covering up the few that slip through, the ultimate result will be to severely limit growth and development. Two icons of modern innovation and technological progress spring to mind. They should serve to remind us of how future successful space technologies might be established. In both cases private innovation created worldwide markets for specialized technology through risky ventures. These icons are the mass-produced automobile and the personal computer. Jesko A. Windheim, Department of Chemistry, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada NIG 2W1.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTU5NjU0Mg==