Before my morning reading the New York Times was rudely interrupted by a fire alarm in the dining hall (and it’s been raining outside, go figure), I read two articles that highlight the ever-political nature of space exploration.

The first describes China’s launching three astronauts (or “taikonauts“) for a three-day mission, primarily to perform the first Chinese space walk. Concerns are raised in the article that China’s fledgling space program could surpass NASA by landing people on the Moon by 2020. First of all, we’ve already been there. The first US space walk was in 1965 (the first successful one shortly thereafter) and the first Moon landing was in 1969. Beating us to the moon in 2020, when it would be China’s first time and NASA’s fourth, would be sort of like China barely preventing itself from being lapped four times. But 1969 was a long time ago, a time when most people in the current space program were watching the Moon landings in grade school or behind TV dinners on black and white televisions. It’s a new race now.

As with the Olympics, I would presume China hopes this venture will increase their national prestige. I have one fear though; a fear I think is justified and with precedent. China, as was the case with Russia, I believe would be far less cautious than NASA when it comes to their pilots’ safety. In the Cold War era space race, the USSR sent up failed spacecraft after failed spacecraft, often accidentally killing scientists and engineers working on the mission. China has demonstrated what they are willing to do, the human sacrifice they are willing to endure, in the name of national glory. We heard this story many times with regard to Olympic athletes, and I think it’s fair to say we can expect no less from their space program. It took a tragic accident for NASA to emphasize safety more than anything else, a lesson Russia seems not to have learned. I can only hope China follows in our footsteps, not theirs.

The second article discusses the tenuous legislative agreements that have allowed NASA astronauts to fly on Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station. The details of the matter aside, politics completely dominate the conversation about a project designed to foster cooperation in space exploration.

These kinds of stories make me think about the necessarily interwoven nature of space exploration and politics. Has human space exploration ever been about the science? Or was it always politics? 50/50? 30/70? 10/90? As a scientist, for me it all comes down to the relative worth of the science. With regard to landing people on the Moon and Mars, the question for me is whether the scientific benefit of having humans (as opposed to robotic landers and rovers) outweighs the risks and the costs. Perhaps space exploration in the United States is moving into a new political realm with private corporations and individuals getting in on the game. If politics and government agencies (especially the military) not nearly as involved, it’s possible human space exploration could turn more towards science and away from politics. Wouldn’t that be nice?