Will Launching Very Wealthy People into Space Solve our Problems?

I live in New Mexico where the Spaceport is located, and site of the Virgin Galactica company. I’m happy for the people who have jobs in the space tourism industry, kind of. I wonder how much the employees are getting paid in their jobs?

So if you have $250.000 you can go into space for 90 minutes, and be spaceless for 4 minutes. Kind of like Disneyland for millionaires.

What is the hope for the outcome of colonizing space?

So once a spacecraft with millionaires lands on Mars, the moon, or another unknown planet, we can breathe a sigh of relief for the beginning of a new world.

This idea of a perfect world is a delusion, and has been going on for 2000 years. The delusion that we will suddenly be enlightened, and as a human colony on another planet, all our characteristics of anger, ego driven motivation, greed, inequality, racism, and any other negative, but embeded human thought, will suddenly disappear as we live a utopian society on another planet.

What if those billionaires, and the space tourists, could somehow realize that the money they spend on riding in a spaceship, and then telling their friends and families, could go in another direction here on earth?

What if?

Since our problems here on earth are immensely challenging, why not just leave it all behind, they certainly must believe.

Would disease (pandemics) wars, civil unrest, racism, and poverty dissolve on another planet.

Actually, there would be no poverty because one needs to be very, very wealthy to spend $250,000 for a 90 minute ride on a spaceship!

This is a colossal waste of money and time.

What would it be like if the billionaires and very wealthy space tourists could help others in our country?

There are many many charitable groups who could benefit from an infusion of cash, rather than the exorbitant amount going towards inflating the egos of billionaires, and thrill seekers.

Here on earth we have many caring and compassionate people working to solve and improve our lives. It would be far better to highlight, donate to, and acknowledge the groups and their well deserved recognition, which thankfully has happened in the pandemic. The health care workers are the true beacons of light in our country. In addition to the health care workers, are the hundreds and thousands of essential workers; transportation workers, grocery clerks, delivery people, garbage collectors, chefs, wait people, postal workers, and others who basically risked their lives during the pandemic. It was through their willingness to show up to do their jobs, that got us through.

We need to bring it back down to earth first, and start time again and again with a consistent and committed determination to work on our shared challenges on earth.

We need to help one another by caring for one another.

We need to clean up the oceans, and have robust plastic recycling programs in every town and city in the US

We need to foster creative solutions to our societal problems.

We need an educational system based on awareness of others, and how to benefit them.

We need to realize together our shared humanity, and our care for Mother Earth here and now.

And not on Mars.