Chapter 1: The Enigma of Outer Space Travel

Aadit Saha
Jul 26, 2020
8 min read

So welcome back! I suppose you are here to read my second post because you absolutely love my first one or because you thought that even though the first one was a bit bad and boring, you wanted to give me a second chance to grab your attention and quench your thirst for knowledge. So what are we waiting for? Let's jump right in...

ree — Can you guess what this is? A Cosmos...

Well, where can I start listing out the endless questions I have about the world of which we can only think dream about going to. Of course, as always there are astronauts who have gone there but how many of us can actually become one? I am sure that even if you ask an astronaut how he or she felt when they, for the first time in their lives, crossed the 6 layers of the atmosphere and entered the vast majority of blackness. And make sure to ask them what it felt like when they saw the entire Earth through just a small window in the shuttle.

Curiosity is the essence of our exsistence – Gene Cernan

If I was given a choice between becoming the President and also the richest man in the world or going to space just once, I would very easily choose the latter because even money cannot fulfill my desire to see the Earth with my own eyes just standing (or rotating slowly) there in front of me. That is my only true and permanent desire. I have had many desires over the last 13 years of my life but I can assure you that once you develop an interest in Space or Astronomy, it cannot be replaced. And it is very easy to fall in love with anything mysterious or something we know very less about, such as ghosts or dinosaurs but that is a story for another time.

I would have actually gone and taken an autograph of Galileo if he was still alive. If you think that is weird, you really need to sort your priorities. I mean he was the founder of the telescope! He discovered some of the moons of Jupiter back in those days. Can you imagine what a shock it must have been for the people? The Church even tried him for just publishing his theory of why the Earth was round and not flat (which is also one of the main topics for memes and jokes nowadays).

ree — As I had mentioned, this man right here with the beard is Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaulti de Galilei or Galileo for short.

"All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered, the point is to discover them" – Galileo

Anyway back to the topic, so as I was saying, there are literally innumerable mysteries about Outer Space and as a result, innumerable theories have been developed to satisfy human curiosity. But how many of those are actually true? Let's find out...

It all first started with the launch of the Apollo 11 on 16 July 1969. That marked the first spacecraft which successfully launched humans into space and took them all the way to the moon! That was actually the first time an American shuttle had been launched into space. But actually, the first time anything, specifically a satellite was launched into space was marked by the launch of the Sputnik 1. It was officially the first artificial Earth satellite. Unfortunately, it orbited for only three weeks before its batteries died and went silent for two more months before it fell back into the atmosphere. Even then, as we all know now, that marked the beginning of a new era of space travel in which people not only could dream about going into space but also could experience it first-hand (only astronauts though).

ree — The Launch of the Falcon 9 Heavy Rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Who has not heard about the launch of the Falcon 9 rocket, built by Elon Musk's SpaceX, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station? It has absolutely shocked the world as this is the first time in nearly a decade that an American-made spacecraft has launched humans from US soil. That success brought a wave of happiness over the world as most of us were in lockdown at that time, and we could not even go out of our houses. Whereas, this man, Elon Musk managed to launch and successfully lift it up into space! Remarkable, in my opinion.

Anyway, another event worth noting was the launch of the Mars Orbiter Mission or Mangalyaan by ISRO, the Indian Space Research Organization. Even after their failure of the GSLV Fatboy, they did not lose hope, and when the whole world, even NASA, was trying to figure out how to build a rocket big enough to carry humans and satellites up to Mars, India used a mere PSLV which was only built for excursions up to the Moon. Can you imagine the difference in the distances between the Moon and Mars? It's is probably in the millions of kilometers. But they were the first country to achieve that feat, and that too on their first attempt. Even the developed countries like the USA, Russia, and China have tried and failed for 3 or 4 times, but that did not apply for India. Now, I am not going to tell you how they did it, because where is the fun in being told everything and not learning a bit yourselves? But I can tell you one thing, whatever method they used, it was not copied or based on an existing theory. It was an original and majestic idea that had never been thought of before. Now, there are also plans about a Venus Mission called Shukrayaan and even a mission to the Sun, Aditya-L1! These would have taken a much longer time to even think about if not for the Mars mission.

ree — The Mars Orbiter Mission or Mangalyaan

In fact, this mission is so popular that a movie had been made about it. It is called Mission Mangal. And I would recommend you to watch that to find out more about the mission if you want a brief idea or are not the very reading type. I, myself also first watched the movie and then did the research. And I can promise you, you may not like it, but you will not hate it.

So now, after all this, what is the next step? Humans can never give anything a rest and it is the natural human tendency. They are always waiting for the next big thing. Like, for example, every year, Apple launches an iPhone. At first, the media and public go crazy and start obsessing and hoarding the new model as it is not only a new trend to have the latest iPhone, but also to portray their status. But never mind, after a few weeks or even just the first month, the craze fades away. Then, people try and develop theories for the next model, for example, the iPhone 12 containing 4 cameras which looks absolutely absurd. But this tendency is quite understandable. If it is anything related to space travel, we simply cannot wait for too long. That is why space research organizations try and create at least 1 or 2 new rockets every single year. Imagine how much that would cost them! Several billions of dollars. That is why the next big idea is here, building space hotels...

ree — Here you go. A proposed Space Hotel in the future.

Well, the image above is not really believable because I don't think we would have anything built as good and stylish as that in about even 50 years (I can be wrong). And also, this is going to be a huge waste of money and time, so there is very little chance any company is going to build something even close to this design. But here is a more believable one.

What about this one? Much better right and it also looks very similar to modern days satellites and rockets so I think this is going to be the one. But the good part about them is that not only do they add a new spice to travel and luxury, but they are also environment friendly. I remember I had read a book about the future of space travel once when my mom had left me to explore the bookshop near our house that the future space hotels and exploration modules are going to be made up of the scrap materials of the earlier rockets such as the fuel tanks, the windows, and many other materials. Remember that I am just recalling some bits and pieces from what I had read when I was about 6 or 7, so that is ages back, and if I am somehow wrong or have missed a point, don't mind me! So what I was saying is that, if that was indeed true, these hotels can be a lot cheaper and better then we thought before. In fact, the SpaceX Falcon 9, mentioned a bit earlier, already has this feature. Have you heard how the empty fuel tanks flew back to orbit and then landed on the ground a few miles away from the launchpad instead of burning up and being sunk in the ocean? That is another example of Elon Musk's incredibly eccentric but also incredibly impressive, and sometimes useful, ideas. It cannot replace the hybrid electric racing car, the Tesla Roadster, though. That will always be the best unless something even better comes up in that brain of his.

ree — But will you just look at that room! And that view is just extraordinary...

So, what do you think? Would you like to stay in one of these? Obviously, YES right?! I mean, is that a question to ask. I hate to burst your bubble but I have to tell you this. Unless, you are very, very, very, very, very, very rich, you cannot, I repeat YOU CANNOT, afford that kind of room. Look at what I just found on the internet.

Ten years ago, US multi-millionaire Dennis Tito became the world's first-ever space tourist. He is said to have paid $20 MILLION for his eight days in space.

I wonder if even a hundred people in the world are actually going to pay such a hefty price for just a room, even if it is inside a spaceship, floating in the middle of space. Well, let's just hope that the tickets for this kind of trip become cheaper in the future, or else we will just have to make do with what we have. Well if you ever book a room on this rocket, don't forget to send me a voucher or even a gift card, because I am the one who told you all about it! So yeah, I will be waiting...

Well, I think its pretty clear but even then, human forget to see what is right in front of their eyes, but instead try and look for the stuff which they cannot.

Now you may ask, what can we conclude from reading all this? It just shows how much we have evolved from the time of Galileo, using his telescope, to now actually traveling to Mars in a shuttle. We rarely even think about what is there outside. But tell me one thing, if you don't even know what is there, what will you do when the Earth is on the brink of collapse and we have only 2 choices, either abandon the Earth and go and make a home in Mars or perish as the Earth does too? I would like to keep you thinking about that, and I would now take my leave. But don't forget that the question which you were asked a little while ago would not take very long to become a reality. In fact, I would say the time has become rather close. So all we can do now is wait (just like I am still doing) and watch...

So, that concludes our first chapter. Let me know in the comments how you think this one is and don't forget to tell me if you liked this one better than the first one. I have compiled the topic of space into 2 chapters because, as I had said before, it is a vast topic. But I can assure you that, if you enjoyed this one, Chapter 2 is going to be even better. And the topic for that one is going to be a surprise...