On Our Way to a Galaxy Far, Far Away
Carina Soriano
English 1103H
Professor Presnell
22 November 2012
On Our Way to a Galaxy Far, Far Away
One of my earliest memories of my introduction to science fiction was when I was about five and my parents were watching the original Star Trek, though I didn’t know what it was at the time. I’m not sure what episode it was, but it had lots of shiny props and exciting noises and a big ship to stare endlessly at. That is probably the first real experience I had with science fiction of any sort. Though that sort of movie was and still is common in my house today, I think being exposed to certain things, in this case science fiction and my fascination with space, at an early age has made me more receptive to them at a later age also. I still enjoy reading the latest science news and anything to do with NASA has me glued to my TV screen. I also wanted to become an aerospace engineer at one point, but had to change plans when I found out I was not so good in math. My point is that being exposed to and encouraged to read and view things that were space-related has led to a broader interest in this topic as I age. NASA has always been a big part of my life, as my parents were around and old enough to remember when man first landed on the moon.
However, since Obama and the current government decided that funding for space programs would be cut short to focus on debt reduction and the economy, NASA has taken a low blow. In a way, this has been a good thing, as it has almost forced private enterprise to pick up the slack and start the public on developing their own ideas about space, but also has shown that the United States is now being beat in the space exploration arena. By forcing the privatization of space travel, the government now has less funds for smaller, private ventures that hope to achieve big and sometimes unrealistic goals. For one thing, they really have nothing to draw upon in terms of ideas because the government funded NASA by the billions and kept smaller goals as opposed to big ones, such as putting people on other planets. Thus, I would think that it would only be logical to have the public draw upon anything and everything, including science fiction. This brings to mind one of the most famous science fiction movies of all times; Star Wars. One thing I have always wondered since watching them; can the physics and technology of Star Wars be used for modern day space exploration?
The Technology
While there hasn’t been any major technological breakthroughs using ideas from the technology of Star Wars, since we don’t see any cops wielding lightsabers, or any large spaceships floating around and making day long trips to other galaxies yet; in some small ways, technology from the movies has been adapted or transformed to work for us in space. One good example of this is shown in the article Star Wars, Star Trek and NASA and is known as the PSA, or Personal Satellite Assistant, manufactured by NASA and modeled after the floating sphere Luke Skywalker uses to practice training his lightsaber skills on in Star Wars. On the NASA website, it gave a bit of a background story. College students actually created the original flying sphere prototype that functioned as a probe and could do several different small tasks on the ISS (International Space Station), where it was designed for. I think that this is a good start to the development of technology from Star Wars, but there is still a long way to go to be able to have the kinds of technology, such as starship engines needed to be able to physically take us to other solar systems, planets, etc. quickly. If we can take developments like this and start to expand on them more, then we will be able to create greater things such as more complex star drives and hyper drives which will ultimately culminate in further space exploration for the human race.
In the NASA article entitled, From R2-D2 to Curiosity: Good Fiction to Great Science, the Mars rover Curiosity has been compared to R2-D2 in that it can study Mars by using multiple tools such as drills, cameras and lasers similar to R2-D2. This is just another example of how far technology has advanced in our current day and age to a point that never would have been considered when Star Wars was born. George Lucas himself, But once again, this technology is not complex enough for us to turn it into something much more needed for a trip to the stars.
My final example would be that of the laser blaster, developed further in the article ‘Star Wars’ becoming real, which talks about how laser blasters are becoming more of a close goal, than a distant, futuristic technology. There is much interest in this technology especially from the military and defense groups associated with governments.
The Physics Behind it
In the article, Combining Forces-Boston Museum Exhibit Melds Science and Fiction of ‘Star Wars’, The Boston Museum held an exhibit of props and costumes and even some of the science and technology behind Star Wars. Originally, George Lucas did not design the series as a science fiction story, but rather as fantasy films. But technology has developed at such a rapid pace that it has nearly or in some cases surpassed what Lucas originally imagined up. Unfortunately technology hasn’t advanced quite far enough in the bigger issues that could be used to make space flight a more realistic future.
In addition, teachers are finding it harder to get kids excited about science today because of the growth of the rate of technology. Kids get bored quicker now and have shorter attention spans than in the late 20th century, when there wasn’t as much technology. In Star Wars props’ used as a bridge to real science, Matt Froment, a young science teacher working at a middle school, describes the challenges he and other science teachers face in getting kids excited about science since they are the future scientists and boundary-pushers. I think that science is an important field of study and if the next generations lose interest in it, then ultimately that could be damaging to society as a whole. When you see small children becoming jaded to the world around them because they are used to instantaneous communication and having everything at their fingertips, then that sense of wonder and awe in natural things becomes lost and we will have truly lost a part of ourselves if humanity ever gets to that stage.
Onto Bigger Things…
In one way Star Wars has helped to inspire new ideas for space travel, but the opposite is also true, apparently. In Star Wars fans to NASA: Build a Hyperdrive, some of the creators of Star Wars were former artists for NASA or were associated with the company. NASA has been working on projects based on Star Wars ideas for a long time, but they are still unable to create engines because of the fuel situation problem. That is the biggest obstacle facing those who want to move on to reaching planets and exploring them with human hands.
The Future?
One thing that definitely has to be considered with all the development of these potentially dangerous technologies is how they will be used and governed in the future. In “Whoever Owns Space Owns the World”: Star Wars or Star Peace?, the United States and Russian governments show that there is a potential for wars in space just because of the technologies and products being used to get us there. In my opinion, this sounds like something everyone should at least keep in the back of their minds as a way to avoid such a confrontation. But that also bring to mind thoughts of, is there a real threat for this? If so, should we halt development of these tools? These are just a few of the many questions that should be considered in the careful development of any technology, space-bound or not. For they could ultimately be a factor in the potential annihilation or salvation of the whole human species.
Works Cited
Emery, Theo. "Combining Forces-Boston Museum Exhibit Melds Science and Fiction of 'Star Wars'.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette [Pittsburgh] 27 Nov 2005, Five Star J-9. Web. 4 Nov. 2012.
Emery, Theo. "'Star Wars' props used as a bridge to real science." The Associated Press. Ventura County Star, 27 Nov 2005. Web. 5 Nov 2012.
"From R2-D2 to Curiousity: Good Science to Great Fiction." NASA. NASA, 28 2012. Web. 22 Nov 2012.
Kislyakov, Andrei. "Whoever Owns Space Owns the World: Star Wars or Star Peace?." Global Research. Global Research: Russia and India Report, 27 2012. Web. 22 Nov 2012.
"Star Wars fans to NASA: Build a Hyperdrive." NASA. NASA, 16 2010. Web. 22 Nov 2012.
"Star Wars, Star Trek and NASA." NASA. NASA, 13 2004. Web. 22 Nov 2012.
Vergano, Dan. "Star Wars' becoming real.." USA Today. AcademicSearch Complete. Web. 29 Oct 2012.
English 1103H
Professor Presnell
22 November 2012
On Our Way to a Galaxy Far, Far Away
One of my earliest memories of my introduction to science fiction was when I was about five and my parents were watching the original Star Trek, though I didn’t know what it was at the time. I’m not sure what episode it was, but it had lots of shiny props and exciting noises and a big ship to stare endlessly at. That is probably the first real experience I had with science fiction of any sort. Though that sort of movie was and still is common in my house today, I think being exposed to certain things, in this case science fiction and my fascination with space, at an early age has made me more receptive to them at a later age also. I still enjoy reading the latest science news and anything to do with NASA has me glued to my TV screen. I also wanted to become an aerospace engineer at one point, but had to change plans when I found out I was not so good in math. My point is that being exposed to and encouraged to read and view things that were space-related has led to a broader interest in this topic as I age. NASA has always been a big part of my life, as my parents were around and old enough to remember when man first landed on the moon.
However, since Obama and the current government decided that funding for space programs would be cut short to focus on debt reduction and the economy, NASA has taken a low blow. In a way, this has been a good thing, as it has almost forced private enterprise to pick up the slack and start the public on developing their own ideas about space, but also has shown that the United States is now being beat in the space exploration arena. By forcing the privatization of space travel, the government now has less funds for smaller, private ventures that hope to achieve big and sometimes unrealistic goals. For one thing, they really have nothing to draw upon in terms of ideas because the government funded NASA by the billions and kept smaller goals as opposed to big ones, such as putting people on other planets. Thus, I would think that it would only be logical to have the public draw upon anything and everything, including science fiction. This brings to mind one of the most famous science fiction movies of all times; Star Wars. One thing I have always wondered since watching them; can the physics and technology of Star Wars be used for modern day space exploration?
The Technology
While there hasn’t been any major technological breakthroughs using ideas from the technology of Star Wars, since we don’t see any cops wielding lightsabers, or any large spaceships floating around and making day long trips to other galaxies yet; in some small ways, technology from the movies has been adapted or transformed to work for us in space. One good example of this is shown in the article Star Wars, Star Trek and NASA and is known as the PSA, or Personal Satellite Assistant, manufactured by NASA and modeled after the floating sphere Luke Skywalker uses to practice training his lightsaber skills on in Star Wars. On the NASA website, it gave a bit of a background story. College students actually created the original flying sphere prototype that functioned as a probe and could do several different small tasks on the ISS (International Space Station), where it was designed for. I think that this is a good start to the development of technology from Star Wars, but there is still a long way to go to be able to have the kinds of technology, such as starship engines needed to be able to physically take us to other solar systems, planets, etc. quickly. If we can take developments like this and start to expand on them more, then we will be able to create greater things such as more complex star drives and hyper drives which will ultimately culminate in further space exploration for the human race.
In the NASA article entitled, From R2-D2 to Curiosity: Good Fiction to Great Science, the Mars rover Curiosity has been compared to R2-D2 in that it can study Mars by using multiple tools such as drills, cameras and lasers similar to R2-D2. This is just another example of how far technology has advanced in our current day and age to a point that never would have been considered when Star Wars was born. George Lucas himself, But once again, this technology is not complex enough for us to turn it into something much more needed for a trip to the stars.
My final example would be that of the laser blaster, developed further in the article ‘Star Wars’ becoming real, which talks about how laser blasters are becoming more of a close goal, than a distant, futuristic technology. There is much interest in this technology especially from the military and defense groups associated with governments.
The Physics Behind it
In the article, Combining Forces-Boston Museum Exhibit Melds Science and Fiction of ‘Star Wars’, The Boston Museum held an exhibit of props and costumes and even some of the science and technology behind Star Wars. Originally, George Lucas did not design the series as a science fiction story, but rather as fantasy films. But technology has developed at such a rapid pace that it has nearly or in some cases surpassed what Lucas originally imagined up. Unfortunately technology hasn’t advanced quite far enough in the bigger issues that could be used to make space flight a more realistic future.
In addition, teachers are finding it harder to get kids excited about science today because of the growth of the rate of technology. Kids get bored quicker now and have shorter attention spans than in the late 20th century, when there wasn’t as much technology. In Star Wars props’ used as a bridge to real science, Matt Froment, a young science teacher working at a middle school, describes the challenges he and other science teachers face in getting kids excited about science since they are the future scientists and boundary-pushers. I think that science is an important field of study and if the next generations lose interest in it, then ultimately that could be damaging to society as a whole. When you see small children becoming jaded to the world around them because they are used to instantaneous communication and having everything at their fingertips, then that sense of wonder and awe in natural things becomes lost and we will have truly lost a part of ourselves if humanity ever gets to that stage.
Onto Bigger Things…
In one way Star Wars has helped to inspire new ideas for space travel, but the opposite is also true, apparently. In Star Wars fans to NASA: Build a Hyperdrive, some of the creators of Star Wars were former artists for NASA or were associated with the company. NASA has been working on projects based on Star Wars ideas for a long time, but they are still unable to create engines because of the fuel situation problem. That is the biggest obstacle facing those who want to move on to reaching planets and exploring them with human hands.
The Future?
One thing that definitely has to be considered with all the development of these potentially dangerous technologies is how they will be used and governed in the future. In “Whoever Owns Space Owns the World”: Star Wars or Star Peace?, the United States and Russian governments show that there is a potential for wars in space just because of the technologies and products being used to get us there. In my opinion, this sounds like something everyone should at least keep in the back of their minds as a way to avoid such a confrontation. But that also bring to mind thoughts of, is there a real threat for this? If so, should we halt development of these tools? These are just a few of the many questions that should be considered in the careful development of any technology, space-bound or not. For they could ultimately be a factor in the potential annihilation or salvation of the whole human species.
Works Cited
Emery, Theo. "Combining Forces-Boston Museum Exhibit Melds Science and Fiction of 'Star Wars'.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette [Pittsburgh] 27 Nov 2005, Five Star J-9. Web. 4 Nov. 2012.
Emery, Theo. "'Star Wars' props used as a bridge to real science." The Associated Press. Ventura County Star, 27 Nov 2005. Web. 5 Nov 2012.
"From R2-D2 to Curiousity: Good Science to Great Fiction." NASA. NASA, 28 2012. Web. 22 Nov 2012.
Kislyakov, Andrei. "Whoever Owns Space Owns the World: Star Wars or Star Peace?." Global Research. Global Research: Russia and India Report, 27 2012. Web. 22 Nov 2012.
"Star Wars fans to NASA: Build a Hyperdrive." NASA. NASA, 16 2010. Web. 22 Nov 2012.
"Star Wars, Star Trek and NASA." NASA. NASA, 13 2004. Web. 22 Nov 2012.
Vergano, Dan. "Star Wars' becoming real.." USA Today. AcademicSearch Complete. Web. 29 Oct 2012.