Today, 40 years ago, man first walked on the moon.  Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped out of the lunar lander and became the first men to walk on a stellar body while Mike Collins, the third astronaut in the Apollo 11 mission orbited the moon in the command module.  They were a little lucky, despite fabulous courage and engineering.  The scope of what they were attempting and the pressure to achieve it before the Russians meant that the moon landing was no sure thing.  In fact 2 other crews were training to make further attempts later in 1969 in case Apollo 11 failed.  These three men have gone into history, along with all the other astronauts and cosomonauts of the US and Soviet space programmes, and we owe them - along with the engineers and scientists that supported them - a great deal of gratitude.  While I wax lyrical I do not exaggerate at all.  The benefit of the space programme and the remarkable achievements of the 1960's are not really about technological advancement, new alloys, new engineering designs, and the swath of inventions that have lead to progress in various areas around the world in factories, businesses, and residential homes.

The real debt we owe is in the firing of human imagination, human ingenuity and human achievement. 

The capacity of our species to dream is extraordinary, and the space programme has captured the imaginations of many who see it not as an expensive cost of resources, but as an essential if misunderstood component of the future of humanity.  Sound like a bold statement from a science-fiction fan?  Probably, but there's a good dose of reality in there.  Recent decades have highlighted that nothing is beyond us if we apply ourselves to a goal - be it for ill or good.  Recent decades have also made us aware that by the second half of this century our climate will have changed, possibly beyond repair, and possibly not to the extent we cannot fix some of the damage we have caused and maintain a healthy biosphere in which to live and prosper.  How is this related to the space programme?  Simple, energy and resources.

We have reached the stage where our principle means of generating energy is harmful and not sustainable, and therefore research into exploring alternative forms of generating energy is critical to both species and economic survival.  Civilisation is an energy-hungry beast, and always will be.  Secondly, what is the maximum sustainable population level our planet can manage?  By the year 2050 global population is forecast to reach 10 billion people.  That's about half AGAIN as many people on the planet now.  Baring a major global conflict or plague let's face it, it's gonna happen.  Most of the growth will be in developing countries.  What is clear is that economic growth and development does reduce population growth but that same economic growth requires energy.  So, two conclusions come to mind. 

One, the planetary biosphere probably has a maximum number of human beings it can support before we start to implode (some will say we have already, but they're just being alarmist), therefore the future of our species does not lie on planet Earth.  Two, the key to getting off planet Earth is ENERGY, and especially developing a new way of producing and using it.  It takes a huge amount of energy to get out of the Earth's gravity well - just look at the rockets that are used now to achieve that.  So, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of landing on the moon I'll put my stake in the ground - we need to get off this rock and no other research, industrial, or economic endeavour matches that reality in terms of importance.  Call me a romantic but I believe the case is clear.  I'm just a realist at heart.  Book me a ticket!