Spaceship Earth

INTERNATIONAL SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE SPATIUM Published by the Association Pro ISSI No. 26, May 2011 Editorial

If the rate of reproduction is taken Basically, this is all well known. as the measure of a species’ fitness Much lesser known, however, is Impressum for survival, then the human species what might be required to prevent turns out to be outstandingly fit: the environmental collapse to which While in the year 1900 the world the actual trends tend to lead us. population amounted to some Clearly, stopping the explosive pop- 1.8 billion, it is now soon reaching ulation growth is a key measure that SPATIUM 7 billion. Today, a mere 11 years are is to be implemented the sooner the Published by the needed to add another billion of better. Yet, this is by far not enough. Association Pro ISSI capita. Rather, a holistic approach is needed that might comprise the establish- Obviously, such rapid growth of one ment of some kind of a suprana- species can not be supported by the tional ecological management of Earth’s limited resources for a long the Earth’s resources. Association Pro ISSI time as it goes at the expense of the Hallerstrasse 6, CH-3012 Bern rest of the biosphere, which needs Interestingly, space programmes Phone +41 (0)31 631 48 96 diversity for safeguarding ecologi- provide a showcase of how such a see cal stability. Now, in the Earth’s his- management authority could be www.issibern.ch/pro-issi.html tory a series of cataclystic events set up. It is precisely here that the for the whole Spatium series caused mass extinctions, wiping out author of the present issue of Spa- uncountable numbers of genera and tium, Professor Roger M. Bonnet, President species that had successfully devel- Executive Director of ISSI, starts Prof. Nicolas Thomas, oped during millions of years afore. developing concepts that might University of Bern Life could always recover again not help humans to further survive on least thanks to the diversity of spe- Spaceship Earth. As the former Layout and Publisher cies. While those catastrophes are Director of the European Space Dr. Hansjörg Schlaepfer thought to have been caused by Agency’s Science Programme, he CH-6614 Brissago cosmic events, such as, asteroid im- has ample experience in successfully pacts, the rapid proliferation of the establishing management schemes Printing hungry human species is provoking for complex space missions. We are Stämpfli Publikationen AG the next and possibly most thor- very grateful to Prof. Bonnet grant- CH-3001 Bern ough mass extinction in the Earth’s ing us his most valuable support for history so far. Pollution of the at- reporting herewith on his talk to mosphere by huge amounts of car- the Pro ISSI association on 10 June bon dioxide stemming from the 2010. May the present issue of burning of fossil fuel, the damage to Spatium help enhancing our read- land and sea by nuclear radiation ers’ awareness of the responsibility emanating from disrupted power with respect to our future plants, pollution of the sea by tre- generations! mendous oil spills, and the like, ex- ert additional stresses on an ecosys- Hansjörg Schlaepfer tem that is already pushed to its Brissago limits. May 2011

SPATIUM 26 2 Spaceship Earth1

with its differences with the real arbitrarily selected the European Introduction Earth, it will help us discovering Space Agency’s Mars Express scien- some essential features of the place tific spacecraft that was launched in where we all live, assessing its June 2003 and whose aim was to The Earth is the largest and most current status and deriving some conduct research of our neighbour elaborate self-sustainable, bio-di- conclusions on our survivability as planet, its geological history, its past verse, international space station at inhabitants of that spaceship for as climate and to prepare future mis- the disposal of mankind. It is the long as possible. I will use two sions in view of possibly finding fos- only one capable of carrying more spaceship models: one of a simple sil forms of, or even active, life on than 7 billions of astronauts or “ter- automatic, unmanned spacecraft, Mars (Fig. 1). ranauts”. How was that station de- and the manned International Space veloped? How did it evolve over the Station (ISS). Typically, a spacecraft like Mars Ex- 4.5 billion years of its existence and press consists of a mission-specific its travel around the Sun? How and payload and the necessary service when did it become habitable and The Mars Express Space- elements. The payload of Mars Ex- inhabited? How and when did it fail craft Model press comprises a suite of scientific to sustain life, and what may alter instruments (see text box “The Pay- its capability to sustain an increas- For the sake of simplification, I start load of Mars Express”). It also in- ing number of inhabitants? Of with a classical model of an auto- cludes service subsystems and aux- course, comparing the third planet matic unmanned satellite, and I have iliary equipments that should secure of the Solar System to a Space Sta- tion might look audacious. There is, however, some relevance and merit in the use of that model for the Earth.

Theoretical models may combine physical equations and observations to characterize the conditions of an object or of a complex system. They are useful for interpreting its char- acteristics and sometimes forecast its evolution. As a scientist, I like to use models for describing the Sun, predicting the weather, understanding the climate and its evolution, knowing perfectly well however that they are vastly imperfect, often providing a coarse representation of reality. Here we adopt the “spaceship” model to characterize our Fig. 1: The Mars Express spacecraft in a blown up sketch of the spacecraft’s planet. With its similarities, but also essential elements.

1 The present issue of Spatium reports on a lecture given by Prof. Roger-Maurice Bonnet, Executive Director, International Space Science Institute, Bern for the Pro ISSI association on 10 June 2010. For exhaustive further information on the subject, the reader is referred to (1); see the references and notes at the end of the text.

SPATIUM 26 3 the proper functioning of the space- dium size room. Astronauts that payload and subsystems remain craft during its entire lifetime and would fly beyond the orbit of Ju- within their operational temper- provide communication links be- piter would only survive with ature range. It consists of several tween the spacecraft and ground non-solar energy! elements, the main one being the control, and vice versa. Multi-Layer Insulation (MLI), a • The thermal control subsystem that set of multiple layers of plastic These subsystems include: ensures that the spacecraft, its sheets onto which thin coatings of silver or gold are deposited. • The structure to which all other The MLI reflects most of the in- elements are attached and that The Payload of coming solar radiation back to shelters the various pieces of Mars Express space, thereby avoiding over- equipment, heating, while keeping the heat – High Resolution Stereo generated within the spacecraft • The power subsystem, very prom- Camera (HRSC) – High res- to avoid excessive cooling. Some inent on the figure, made of two olution surface imaging internal sources of heating might large solar panels covered with – Energetic Neutron Atoms sometimes be necessary to pro- numerous photovoltaic cells, Analyzer (ASPERA) – How vide specific temperatures in which convert solar radiation the solar wind erodes the various areas of the spacecraft. into electrical current. From an Martian atmosphere These are often using nuclear ecological point of view, this is energy but in relatively small an excellent energy supply sys- – Planetary Fourier Spectrom- amounts. tem, clean and non-polluting. eter (PFS) – Study of the at- All spacecraft in orbit around mospheric composition and • The payload is the noble part of the Sun are using solar energy! circulation the mission: its “raison d’être”. It When solar energy is not avail- – Visible and Infrared Mineral- justifies the existence of the able however, during long nights ogical Mapping Spectrometer spacecraft. It is described in the or eclipses, or when the space- (OMEGA) – Determination text box on the left. craft are at large distances to the of the surface composition Sun, one may also use nuclear and evolution processes The Mars Express model is, how- energy produced by Radioiso- ever, too simple: it does not include tope Thermal Generators. The – Sub-Surface Sounding Radar any of the subsystems necessary for size of the solar panels is adjusted Altimeter (MARSIS) – sustaining astronauts. The space sta- to the operational requirements, Search for water in the tion model, where the presence of and to the availability of solar ra- subsurface man is its supreme justification, is a diation on orbit. In the case of – The Radio Science Experi- better model, which I now describe Mars Express, as Mars circles the ment (MaRS) – Sounding of briefly. Sun on a much larger orbit of the internal structure, atmo some 225 million km than the sphere and environment Earth (150 million km), the solar radiation is less than half of – Ultraviolet and Infrared Mars that in the vicinity of Earth, and Atmospheric Spectrometer this requires the panels to be de- (SPICAM) – Determination signed accordingly larger. Actu- of the composition of the at- ally, the active area of the Mars mosphere of Mars 2 Express panels is roughly 12 m , – Lander (Beagle 2) – Geo- delivering some 650 W (2), suf- chemistry and exobiology ficient for illuminating a me-

SPATIUM 26 4 The ISS Model systems necessary to ensure its hab- tion of ISS) provided by the differ- itability and to make it a comfort- ent partners involved in the station The International Space Station is friendly shelter providing a pleasant (USA, Russia, Europe-ESA, Italy, shown on Fig. 2. Here also the environment for its astronauts. Canada, Japan). An immediate com prominent presence of the large so- These include in particular the wa- parison with the Earth would as- lar arrays evidences the essential role ter recycling system and life support similate these modules with the var- of solar power. They are feeding the equipment including oxygen pro- ious continents of the respective astronauts to supply their vital en- ducing system, toilets, medical, ex- nations involved. The total popula- ergy needs as well as their support ercising devises, etc. The picture also tion of the ISS is an average of 6 as- equipment and the experiments. evidences the various cylindrical tronauts, i.e., less than 1 billionth of The ISS also possesses all the vital modules (16 overall at the comple- the present Earth population!

Fig. 2: The International Space Station. That real image was taken from Space Shuttle Discovery after the STS-133 mission (March 2011). The prominent solar arrays are the most visible elements. Their total area is 2,500 m2. The total power available for all uses is 110 kW. After life support, battery charging and other power management uses, 46 kW of continuous electric power are left over for research work and science experiments. – Mass: 417.3 tons, overall length and width: 51 m × 109 m. – Pressurized volume: 837 m3 (21 March 2011), atmospheric pressure: 101 kPa. – Perigee: 325 km, apogee: 355 km. – Days in orbit (as of 15 April 2011): 4,529, days occupied: 3,816.

SPATIUM 26 5 Spaceship Earth lion years later, it went through a The Earth’s “Payload” period of frequent collisions with massive cosmic bodies culminating In our spacecraft model, it is the in what is commonly called the Late payload which gives its raison d’être Equipped with the insights gained Heavy Bombardment (LHB). While to the spacecraft. From an anthro- from these two models, we are now on Earth tectonic processes and pocentric point of view, we may say prepared to address Spaceship Earth. weathering by water and wind have that (human) life is the scope of While Mars Express and the ISS erased all the traces of the LHB, the planet Earth, thereby playing the came into being as the result of a Moon’s cratered surface still bears role of the Earth’s payload. While complex and arduous set of politi- witness of those dramatic events. As the payload of Mars Express consti- cal decisions, as well as of a targeted catastrophic as those may have been, tuted an integral part of the space- planning, and manufacturing pro- they might also have provided the craft right from the beginning of its cesses made by numerous human energy enabling matter to build-up mission, the Earth received its “pay- actors, Spaceship Earth apparently more complex molecules, from load”, life, after “commissioning” evolved on its own, just controlled which, millions of years later, a fun- only. Moreover, in contrast to the by the laws of physics, in a cosmic damentally new feature evolved, spacecraft model, the Earth’s pay- environment characterized by vio- called “life” (4). The first evidence load strongly influenced the evolu- lent collision-rich processes. Simi- of life can indeed be traced back to tion of the physical and chemical larly to Mars Express, though at dif- 3.5 billion years, coincident with conditions on Spaceship Earth. ferent time scales, the emergence of the apparition of the Earth’s mag- Earth was an outstandingly rapid netic field. The period of the LHB In any case, life evolved when the process; it took a mere 30 million was the last of its kind; the strong Earth became liveable after the years from the collapse of the proto- gravity fields of Jupiter, and to a LHB. That evolution was extremely solar nebula 4.5 billion years ago to lesser extent of Mars, cleaned the slow for the subsequent say 3,000 deliver the raw material that gave Earth’s orbit from the cosmic debris million years, as if the initial forms its appearance to the planet. But in originally circling the Sun. Never- of life had first to modify the con- contrast to Mars Express, however, theless, during eons the Earth was ditions on Earth appropriately in which reached its final shape well hit several times again by the re- order to allow for more complex before launch, but very much alike mains of asteroids. Such impact organisms to evolve. Some 540 mil- the ISS, which continues to evolve events caused sudden changes of the lion years before present, life rami- in orbit as new hardware is added physical conditions on Earth, most fied, rapidly producing a wealth of continuously, the Earth kept evolv- likely including at least one massive new genera and species, in a sense ing since its formation, as the brief life extinction 65 million years ago the blueprint for higher and more history below tells us. (see textbox: “Life Extinctions on elaborate organisms, within a rela- Earth”). tively short period of time. This was the Cambrian explosion. While the A Brief History of rate of emergence and extinction of Spaceship Earth species is approximately in equilibrium over millions of years, it is es- The Earth experienced an ex- timated that at that time, the rate of tremely hectic beginning: some 50 origination of new species out- million years after its formation, a weighed the rate of extinction by a Mars-size body hit it heavily (3). factor of about 10. This Giant Impact caused parts of the Earth’s outer shell to be blown This outstandingly prolific period off to space, from which the Moon was abruptly ended by the first of a formed later. Then, about 700 mil- series of mass extinctions. Caused

SPATIUM 26 6 Life Extinctions on Earth

There are usually 5 major life extinctions identified in the last 500 million years:

– The Ordovician-Silurian extinction (450 million years – The Triassic–Jurassic extinction event (205 million ago), killed off 27% of all families and 57% of all years ago) killed off about 23% of all families and genera, 48% of all genera. Most of the large amphibians were eliminated, leaving dinosaurs with little terrestrial – The late Devonian extinction (360–375 million years competition, ago) was indeed a prolonged series of extinctions. It may have lasted as long as 20 million years and elim- – The Cretaceous–Tertiary (K-T) extinction event inated about 19% of all families, 50% of all genera (65 million years ago) wiped out about 17% of all and 70% of all species, families, 50% of all genera and 75% of species. The K-T extinction was rather uneven – some groups – The Permian–Triassic extinction event (251 million of organisms became extinct, some suffered heavy years ago) was to be Earth’s largest extinction. It losses and some appear to have been only minimally killed 57% of all families and 83% of all genera in- affected. cluding vertebrates, insects and plants,

The K-T extinction was most one such catastrophic event. In fact, tinction ended the reign of dino- probably caused by the impact of at the time of the asteroid impact saurs and opened the way for a 10 km large asteroid hurtling to in the western hemisphere there mammals and birds to become the what today is the Gulf of Mexico. seems to have been strongly in- dominant land vertebrates. The The hypothesis is supported by a creased volcanic activity in the human species ultimately owes its centimetre thick layer of clay ob- eastern hemisphere as well. Such a existence to the K-T mass served all over the Earth in which coupling of events may have been extinction. the rare element iridium is much caused by seismic waves generated more abundant than elsewhere in by the asteroid impact. The waves the crust. Such overabundances are would have culminated in stresses found in meteorites and should ap- on the Earth crust on the opposite ply also to asteroids. It is assumed side of the planet leading to the that the impact ejected so much eruption of large volcanoes. The dust into the atmosphere that tem- Deccan Plateau in central India perature on Earth fell some de- hosts one of the largest volcanic grees and remained there for sev- features on Earth. They consist of eral months or even years. This multiple layers of solidified basalt prevented the plants to produce totalling a volume of some 500,000 enough biomass to feed the entire km3. During eruption, the Deccan herbivorous fauna that partly died volcanoes released enormous out together with those predators amounts of toxic gases, particularly that depended directly on their sulphur dioxide that were distrib- existence. uted by winds all over the globe. This may have exacerbated the Still, the K-T extinction might load on the already heavily stressed have been caused by more than just biosphere. Anyway, the K-T ex-

SPATIUM 26 7 mostly by volcanic eruptions, with possible global climate change consequences, or by asteroid impacts, mass extinctions led to the loss of uncountable numbers of genera and species (see textbox “Life Extinc- tions on Earth”). Yet, under the weakened competition, the remaining species could evolve rapidly, and occupy the emptied niches. The phases subsequent to mass extinctions may have been of a similar cre- ative impact on the evolution of life as the Cambrian explosion.

The Earth’s Structure

The structure of Spaceship Earth was slowly built up! Its nearly spher- ical shape is the result of its initial liquid state, and of the laws of grav- Fig. 3: The Earth’s inner core. It consists of a solid ball of iron and nickel of about ity. Heated by the accretion of plan- 2,500 km diameter. Further up follows a shell of liquid iron some 2,200 km thick. It 2 is topped by a shell of ductile silicate rock, called the Earth mantle, and by the thin etesimals , by the friction due to the solid crust of silicates. migration of iron and nickel to the centre through the molten core, and by gravitational compression and day, the Earth consists of a solid in- in concentrations of one gram in radioactive decay processes (the ner core of iron and nickel, a liquid 1,000 tons of rock only. Such a rich most efficient heat production of all outer core made mainly of iron, and cocktail is in fact needed for life to these processes), the very young a solid mantle covered by a crust emerge, as a diversity of chemical Earth had an internal temperature (Fig. 3). elements is required to implement of several thousand degrees and was the full range of biological functions mostly liquid. This caused the heav- Unlike a spacecraft, which is com- of living cells. Some 22 elements are ier components to sink down to- posed of limited variety of raw ma- essential constituents of our body. wards the centre while the lighter terials, Spaceship Earth offers more elements rose up to the surface cre- than 90 chemical elements listed in Contrary to our two spacecraft ating some gigantic bubbles of the periodic system at different models, the crust is not a fixed molten matter like in a pan of boil- abundances (5). Some are ubiqui- “piece of hardware”: it possesses ing water. After losing heat to space, tous like silicon, which makes up moving parts called tectonic plates! parts of the Earth’s surface solidified some ¾ of the crust, while others Ten such plates of different size have making up the first continents. To- are rare such as gold, which is found been identified, which are moving

2 precursors of planets

SPATIUM 26 8 relative to each other (6). Stimulated The Earth’s Dynamo The Earth’s magnetic field can be by the observation of the coastline thought of as a magnet with a south of America matching the coastline On the ISS, several of the machines and a north pole. This bar magnet of Africa and Europe, Alfred We- used by astronauts for physical ex- is not at rest, though: in the past, the gener3, and long before him Abra- ercising are energy self-sufficient. magnetic field swapped polarity on ham Ortelius4, postulated that all of They are producing their own elec- average every 500,000 years. Cur- today’s continents originally stem tricity with dynamo generators ac- rently, the magnetic north pole is from one single super-continent, tivated by the astronauts. rushing from Canada to Siberia at which he called Pangaea. Accord- a velocity of 50 km per year, and ing to his idea, this initial continent Rotation of the early Earth’s liquid the overall magnetic field strength broke into pieces that started drift- outer core gave rise to a dynamo is in decline, suggesting the possible ing individually over the Earth’s effect, causing electric currents to occurrence of an imminent mag- sphere. The idea was judged impos- flow within its bulk, which in turn netic field reversal. The subsequent sible (to say the least) by Wegener’s generate the Earth’s magnetic field change in the configuration of the contemporaries, but when similar at about 3,000 km below the sur- magnetosphere featuring different rocks, plants and fossils on both sides face. This field must have been vital shielding properties may possibly of the Atlantic, and the mechanisms for the emergence and subsistence have dangerous consequences for pushing the continents forward of life as it has the ability of deviat- life on Earth. were found, it became the generally ing particles from the solar wind accepted foundation of plate tec- and solar eruptions preventing them tonics. The drift continues; the In- from reaching the surface, thereby dian plate for example is currently constituting an efficient shield rushing at an incredible 2–4 cm per against the most lethal of these. That year against the Eurasian plate, shield is called the magnetosphere, where they collide and continue without which life on the planet building-up the Himalayan moun- may not have developed. That is an- tain range. other difference from our two models; usually, a spacecraft does not Besides the continents, an impor- have any magnetic shield. Maybe for tant constituent of the Earth’s sur- long-range manned space stations face is the large water cover, which orbiting outside the magnetosphere is the most important ingredient for to Lagrange point L2 located at sustaining life, as well as a key ele- 1.5 million km from Earth in the ment for controlling the Earth ther- direction opposite to the Sun – mal status as discussed below. Where where several big telescopes are lo- the water comes from is still an cated such as the Herschel and unresolved question. Most likely the Planck satellites of ESA – or be- early bombardment by meteorites yond, some kind of a magnetic has deposited about 80 to 90% of shield would be vital. In fact, solar the water, the rest coming from particles are estimated to be the big- comets. gest danger for astronauts during a manned mission to Mars.

3 Alfred Lothar Wegener, 1880, Berlin – 1930, Greenland, German meteorologist and geoscientist. 4 Abraham Ortelius, 1527, Antwerp – 1598, Antwerp, Flemish geographer and cartographer.

SPATIUM 26 9 The Earth’s major waterways: Mesopotamia was heating” system. The early Russian Thermal Control situated between the rivers Tigris spacecraft, just to come back a sec- and Euphrates; the ancient society ond to our models, similarly had a Spaceship Earth possesses a com- of the Egyptians depended entirely thermal control system using fluids plex thermal control system, of upon the Nile. Today’s large me- and a complex set of pipes. In the which the oceans and the atmos- tropolises like Rotterdam, London, oceans, global currents transport phere are the two most important New York, etc; owe their growth in heat from low latitudes towards the parts. part to the availability of water and poles (Fig. 4). to their easy accessibility via water- Water covers 71% of the Earth’s sur- ways supporting the expansion of Some of the seawater is also vapor- face and is vital for all known forms trade. ized by the Sun. The vapour rises of life, humans in particular. Water up to the troposphere and eventu- played a central role for the evolu- Water plays also a crucial role in the ally condenses to form clouds that tion of human civilizations that his- thermal balance of the spaceship, are distributed over the globe by air torically flourished along rivers and equivalent to an Earth “central- currents. Water from the clouds

Fig. 4: The role of oceanic water currents in the Earth’s the southern Atlantic, where it meets the Antarctic circumpo- thermal control system. The great ocean conveyor belt, a lar current, which brings it to the Indian and the Pacific Ocean. global ocean current system, is driven by the heat of the Sun Heated by the Sun at low latitudes, the water rises to the sur- and by the differences in water temperature and salinity. It is face, flows along the coast of Indonesia to South Africa, north- mainly initiated by the sinking of cold and salty ocean water in wards to Central America and finally as the Gulf Stream back the northern Atlantic. On the sea floor, the water flows towards to the North Atlantic. (Credit: UNEP/Arendal)

SPATIUM 26 10 then returns to the surface in the form of precipitations. Eventually its run-off reaches the ocean, from where it can start a new cycle again (see Fig. 5).

For comparison, Fig. 6 describes the water cycle on the ISS offering an interesting parallel. It shows that on board the ISS the astronauts are in for a steady diet, using water dis- tilled from – among other sources – their crewmates’ breath, and, even worse, their urine. Exactly like on spaceship Earth!

The other key element of the thermal control subsystem is the Earth’s Fig. 5: The Earth’s water cycle. The Sun evaporates large amounts of seawater. The atmosphere, which is in fact very major part of it falls back as precipitation over the oceans, while the rest is transported similar to the spacecraft’s Multi to the continents, where it reaches the surface in the form of rain, snow or hail. Some water is evaporated from the continental surfaces, closing a small continental cycle. Layer Insulation described above. It The surface run-off is collected in rivers, and transported to the ocean while part of consists indeed of several layers the precipitation reaches the oceans in the underground. The figures indicate the (Fig. 7). The lowest is called the estimated global annual volume in 103 km3 per year. (Credit: Baumgartner and Reichel troposphere. It is the region which 1975) conditions the weather. Further up is the stratosphere, separated by the tropopause at about 18 km above ground. The upper stratosphere contains the ozone layer formed by the absorption of the Sun’s ultra violet radiation, which is conse- quently prevented from reaching the ground. The stratosphere is topped by the mesosphere, where most meteors burn up upon entering the atmosphere. It is confined by the ionosphere where the energy-rich part of solar radiation causes the nitrogen and oxygen atoms to be ionized.

Without its “multi-layer” atmo sphere, the Earth’s mean surface temperature would be –18 °C as a result of the balance between solar radiation illumination on the day- Fig. 6: The regenerative environmental control and life support system on time side and of the heat lost by board the ISS. (Credit: NASA)

SPATIUM 26 11 thermal emission from surface to space (7). The atmosphere scatters parts of the incoming solar radiation back to space, preventing over- heating of Spaceship Earth, like the MLI of our spacecraft model does, and reducing the heat lost to space, this time preventing excessive cooling. The percentage of thermal energy kept within the system is – amongst others – controlled by the concentration of a handful of gases in the atmosphere, such as, water vapour, carbon dioxide and methane. They act like a greenhouse, and are therefore called greenhouse gases (see textbox: “Greenhouse gases”, Fig. 8). Fig. 7: The Earth’s atmosphere. The multilayer stratification shows the troposphere, stratosphere, ozone layer, mesosphere and ionosphere, with their respective extension in altitude.

Greenhouse gases By their percentage contribution to the greenhouse effect on Earth the four major gases are: – water vapor, 36–70% – carbon dioxide, 9–26% – methane, 4–9% – ozone, 3–7% The major non-gas contributor to the Earth’s greenhouse effect, the clouds, also absorb and emit infrared radiation and thus have an effect on radiative properties of the atmosphere.

Fig. 8: The greenhouse effect. The incoming radiation from the Sun is partly absorbed by the atmosphere and partly passed down to the surface. The heated surface emits infrared radiation to the atmosphere. Controlled by the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, part of this radiation is absorbed and re-emitted back to the surface, causing its further heating, while the rest is lost to space. Therefore, the surface temperature depends on the concentration of the atmospheric greenhouse gases. (Credit: GRID Arendal established by the Norwegian government, a collabo- rating centre of the United Nations Environment Programme)

SPATIUM 26 12 The Earth’s Power Supply production. As seen, carbon dioxide Houston, We Have is an efficient greenhouse gas, and a Problem! Similar to a spacecraft, which, when its rising concentration in the at- deprived of its energy source, is a mosphere is held responsible for the While travelling 320,000 km away useless piece of cosmic debris, the currently observed global warming from the Earth, the Apollo 13 crew Earth would be a dead planet with- of the planet, a critical problem for was alarmed by the explosion of an out the energy continuously re- Spaceship Earth. oxygen tank causing the immediate ceived from the Sun, feeding its loss of normal supply of electricity, “payload”. The Sun is the ultimate light, and water. Astronaut Jack source of energy on Earth and is to- Swigert radioed to ground control: tally renewable as long as the Sun “Houston, we’ve had a problem here.” shines. The Sun drives all kinds of Thanks to an excellent co-opera- physical, chemical and biological tion between the Apollo crew and processes. The entire biosphere de- the flight control centre, the three pends on the energy received from ill-fated astronauts could be saved the Sun. Our early ancestors lived prompting NASA to declare the from what their environment pro- mission “a successful failure”. That vided them. In the early 1700s, the sentence will remain in history of industrial revolution began requir- space, as will the first images of ing increasing amounts of energy N. Armstrong’s steps on the lunar for driving all the wonderful ma- surface. I will widely refer to it be- chines invented then. When wood, low because it helps me illustrating being the traditional energy carrier the preoccupying absence of a for heating, became scarce, the need “Houston” for Spaceship Earth. But for alternatives arose: fossil energy let us first assess Spaceship Earth’s carriers such as coal and later petro- current operational status, before leum and natural gas became in- trying to identify the measures creasingly important. needed to safeguard the success of its mission, and discover where The power captured by the Earth “Houston” is for Spaceship Earth. disk sums up to an unimaginable 1.75*1017 W ± 3.5%. By comparison, the global power used by hu- The Spaceship Is Full mans adds up to some 1.6*1013 W (in 2006) corresponding to about The Apollo capsules were carefully 10,000 nuclear power plants and to designed for a three-men crew 1 /2,200 of the exploitable solar power (women were not eligible yet for (assuming that 30% of solar radia- astronauts at that time). The space- tion is reflected back into space and craft’s design, the provisions, and considering only the part that falls the energy budget were accurately on land, and an efficiency of some matched to the size of the crew. 20% for the photovoltaic cells). Similarly, the space station, once completely assembled, would not However, today, humans are mostly accommodate an infinite number using oil and carbon. These fossil of astronauts. Maybe twice a hand- energy carriers account for about ful! Limited space and limited re- 85% of the current global power sources prevent the astronauts to

SPATIUM 26 13 raise a family and force a very strict at about 7,000 years ago, (Fig. 9). At ported given the Earth’s limited re- birth control. In contrast, Space Sta- that time, humans learned using sources. Houston! We have a seri- tion Earth is faced with the explo- bronze to create metal objects ous problem! sive proliferation of its “crew” be- which were much better than was cause there is no global birth control previously possible. From this point Such ominous growth of one sin- regulation for the whole planet. onward, the human species began gle species is not without implica- Only China has implemented a proliferating exponentially, and the tions on the environment. While one-child per family limitation, growth rate increased continuously over millions of years the rates of which helps stabilizing the country’s further. Today, another billion cap- extinction and formation of new population to about 1.35 billion. ita is added within a mere 11 years species were in an approximate bal- and the number of “terranauts” ance, it becomes increasingly clear The equilibrium between the pop- reaches 7 billions! It was 1.8 billion that homo is triggering the sixth ulation of the Earth and the re- in 1900! Most obviously, in the long mass extinction as a consequence of sources available was most likely lost run, this growth rate cannot be sup- this rapid proliferation, which, partly

Fig. 9: The world population during the last 12,000 years. ously increased since. The acceleration was more marked in The global population was fairly constant on a level of some Europe, due to scientific progress resulting in the lowering of 5 million over thousands of years. A first sharp bend upwards the childbirth mortality rate. European population reached a occurred 7,000 years ago, possibly as a result of improved hunt- peak growth rate of 10 per thousand per year in the second half ing technologies based on bronze, which allowed producing of the 19th century, which in the 20th century, fell down, and much better tools than the previously used techniques in stone. was overtaken by a rapid acceleration in the growth rate in other The result was an exponential growth at a rate which continu- continents. (8)

SPATIUM 26 14 by predation and partly by remov- of extinction has grown by an esti- Vanishing Resources ing ecological space, degrades the mated factor of hundred to thou- biodiversity on Earth. sand within a very short period of Minerals on Earth have been mined time. for thousands of years. All these That new mass extinction may have reserves are limited, and the current loomed at the end of the last ice age The time span considered here is waste of the most critical ones with- with the gradual disappearance of extremely small in geological scales out systematic recycling will sooner large mammals. Those had survived as compared to earlier mass extinc- or later put an end to the present the past glacial phases, but the ar- tions, which may have lasted thou- style of consumption. rival of early human hunters led to sands or even millions of years. It is estimated that essential raw ma- their extinction. The loss of the This is why it might turn out that terials will be in short supply in the mammoths 13,000 years ago for in- the current mass extinction is the not too distant future: silver, anti- stance is attributed to overhunting. Earth’s most exhaustive so far. mony, indium will potentially be off In fact, at that time, humans became by 2050 and maybe even earlier. more practiced in the use of hunt- Within one hundred years, most of ing tools, thereby slightly shifting the present resources of copper, tin, the balance between prey and platinum will be exhausted. The es- hunter to their favour. This was a timated remaining ground reserves turning point in Earth’s history; for of gold are smaller than the 127,000 the first time, one species outpaced tons currently deposited in banks the rules of evolution and specifi- worldwide. Phosphates are impor- cally its rate of change. Random ge- tant fertilizers enhancing harvest netic mutation and selection by the efficiency. Thus, they are critical for environment were replaced by a generating the food needed by the systematic and targeted develop- growing world population. With ment of tools and technologies to current demand and growth rates, secure homo’s survival. The conse- phosphates will be exhausted by quences are obvious: while genera- about 2140. tions are required by the natural evolution to produce and fix signif- icant changes, the new paradigm, supported by the emerging capability to impart knowledge by communication, allows for revolutions within one single generation. And the trend continues: progress made since has become much faster and more efficient, thereby further shifting the balance in favour of homo at the expense of the rest of the biosphere. Whether this novelty will finally shape up as an advantage for life on Earth, may not be judged yet; we need another couple of million years to come to a sound conclusion. Yet, for the time being, we have to face the fact that the current rate

SPATIUM 26 15 Concerns on the snow cover. What is possibly going lion years, which is relatively slow. Thermal Control System wrong? Either the interior of the Incidentally, when it will be 10% Earth is warming because of an in- brighter, in a billion years, the Earth Fig. 10 describes our concern: the creasing rate of natural radioactive will be in the same situation as Ve- global mean temperature of Space- decay! This is very unlikely! Why nus at the beginning of the Solar ship Earth is continuously increas- should it have accelerated in 1975? System. In other words, Space Sta- ing, evidencing acceleration since tion Earth would be definitely a 1975. That is paralleled by an in- Or the Sun itself is warming? In- dead piece of debris in space because crease in global sea level and a de- deed, the Sun’s brightness is increas- all its water would have evaporated. crease of the northern hemisphere’s ing at a rate of 1% every 100 mil- However, the Sun’s luminosity does not vary uniformly across all wave- lengths. It is well known that the ultraviolet X-ray spectrum varies by more than 10–20% with the number of dark sunspots on the surface of the Sun, which goes through a maximum every 11 years. It hap- pens that ultraviolet light follows the same cycle. It is absorbed by the gases in the upper troposphere and the stratosphere and heats these layers of the Earth’s MLI. Indeed, the 11 years cycle modulation is also observed in the temperature of these layers and in the concentration of ozone, which is the result of the dissociation of molecular oxygen by solar UV radiation. This heating is more efficient at tropical latitudes than at the poles, resulting in the formation of high altitude stratospheric currents and jets, which may induce variations of temperatures, in particular in northern Europe. But these phenomena are local and not global! Therefore, another phenomenon must be in- voked to explain global warming! And that is the greenhouse effect! Starting with industrialization some 150 years ago, the burning of fossil

Fig. 10: Global warming. Three indicators of the global warming concern as meas- fuel led to enhance the CO2 con- ured since the mid 19th century. Upper panel: the global mean temperature of the centration in the atmosphere. As 1 Earth. Middle panel: the average sea level rising now 3.3 mm per year ( /3 comes from 1 1 outlined above, the greenhouse glaciers melting, /3 from polar caps melting and /3 from water thermal expansion). Lower panel: the extent of the Northern hemisphere snow cover. (Credit: Intergov- gases contribute to retaining energy ernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC, 2007, see also (7)). within the climate system. This is

SPATIUM 26 16 why increased concentrations of gions have to rapidly settle else- those gases contribute to global where in safer places already warming (6). Fig. 11 shows the dra- occupied. matic increase in CO2 concentration measured since 1960 at the Homo faber might try to resort to Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, technical remedies for curing the from about 313 ppm to about observed symptoms by removing 389 ppm in 2010. The current ob- atmospheric carbon dioxide in served amount of CO2 exceeds the some way or reduce the solar input geological record maxima (~300 in the hope of stabilizing the global ppm) from ice core data. climate system. Some of such ideas are depicted in Fig. 12. As promis- According to the latest Assessment ing as they all might seem, they suf- Report from the Intergovernmental fer the risks associated with any in- Panel on Climate Change, “most of the tervention in ecological processes, observed increase in globally averaged as those are mostly far too complex temperatures since the mid-20th century to be understood thoroughly. Po- is very likely due to the observed increase tential collateral damages might eas- in anthropogenic greenhouse gas ily outweigh their anticipated gains. concentrations”.

Global warming may have several severe consequences, among which is the rise in sea level at a velocity never observed in nature before (Fig. 10), resulting in local unrest, as populations living near costal re-

Fig. 11: Atmospheric CO2 concentrations as measured at shows the detailed monthly results since 2007 together with the Mauna Loa Observatory by the US National Oceanic and the data after correction for seasonal variations. (Credit: US Atmospheric Administration since 1960. The panel on the right National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

SPATIUM 26 17 Concerns on the needs of Spaceship Earth is to equip Power Supply System it with solar panels!

Unfortunately, Spaceship Earth has At this point, contrary to the Apol- no solar panels, or so few that it is lo 13 astronauts, we, the “terranauts” dependent to a proportion of 83% of Spaceship Earth, do not have just of its energy needs on fossil fuel as one problem, but rather several ma- just said. According to the U.S. jor ones. We must call “Houston”! Geological Survey predictions, the But what is the telephone number? peak of oil production has already What and where is Houston for been reached, and in 30 years from Spaceship Earth? now only 50% of the world reserves will be left. Furthermore, all easy- to-exploit resources have been tapped, and it will be more and more difficult to exploit the remaining resources deep underground. Hence, we may see more and more accidents, such as the one that affected the BP exploration platform that was digging deep under water in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The “terranauts” born in the 21st century may see the end of the oil era and those of the 22nd century may see the exhaustion of carbon reserves, which are estimated to be available for another 150 years! Spaceship Earth has therefore to rapidly invest in the utilization of renewable energy, and the sooner the better because the needs are increasing, and oil production is decreasing.

Nuclear fusion, the process through which the Sun shines by transform- ing hydrogen into helium in its core, would offer another infinite source of energy on top of solar radiation, but its energy production has not yet been demonstrated, and it may Fig 12: Some technical concepts to counter global warming. Excessive CO2 take several decades before the pro- might be buried in subsurface ground stocks, or be bound by fostering the develop- cess succeeds in producing more ment of plants in the sea or by changing deserts into green land. One might try also energy than it consumes. Hence, to reduce the flux of incoming solar radiation by inserting artificial aerosols in the stratosphere. This would reduce the amount of solar radiation entering the Earth’s cli- like on Mars Express and on the ISS, mate system. One might also envisage deploying massive reflectors on an Earth orbit the best solution for covering the to scatter incoming radiation back to space.

SPATIUM 26 18 Where is Houston? each nation on Earth to adopt. This “Our hopes for the future state of the is another wonderful text that es- human species can be reduced to three Managing Spaceship Earth tablishes the conditions sine qua non important points: the destruction of the or Collapse! to survive on problematic Spaceship inequality between the nations; the pro- Earth and possibly make it a “suc- gress of the equality within one people; Can we imagine the Apollo 13 as- cessful failure”. finally the real perfection of mankind … tronauts or the crew of the ISS at- where the stupidity and the misery will tempting to solve individually their be only accidental and not the usual state problems that the telephone-less of a part of society.” (Esquisse d’un Houston cannot solve for them be- tableau historique des progrès de cause Houston does not exist as a l’esprit humain) control centre? They are totally in- terdependent and they must work together: they need a global gov- ISS Crew Members Code of Conduct Earth Nations’ Code of Conduct ernance, an “awful term but a vital ISS Crew Members’ conduct shall be Earth Nations’ conduct shall be such as concept” (10). To the question, such as to maintain a harmonious and to maintain a harmonious and cohesive where is Houston? the answer is cohesive relationship among the ISS relationship among the Earth Nations trivial: Houston is on the spaceship Crew Members and an appropriate level and an appropriate level of mutual con- itself but probably not in Houston, of mutual confidence and respect fidence and respect through an interac- Texas! through an interactive, participative and tive, participative and relationship-ori- relationship-oriented approach, which ented approach, which duly takes into duly takes into account the international account the international and multicul- and multicultural nature of the crew and tural nature of the Nations and their role The Way Forward mission. on Earth.

Remarkably, those clever persons No ISS Crew Member shall, by his or No Nation shall, by his or her conducts, who invented and implemented the her conducts, act in a manner which re- act in a manner which results in or cre- ISS have established a Code of sults in or creates the appearance of: ates the appearance of: Conduct for every crewmember to (1) Giving undue preferential treatment (1) Giving undue preferential treatment individually accept and adhere to. to any person or entity in the perfor- to any other Nation or entity in the per- We reproduce the best-adapted and mance of ISS activities; and/or formance of Planet Earth; and/or most relevant general rules of this Code in the text box on the right. (2) Adversely affecting the confidence (2) Adversely affecting the confidence of the public in the integrity of, or re- of the People of the Earth in the integ- These are simple and generous flecting unfavorably in a public forum rity of, or reflecting unfavorably in a on, any ISS Partner, Partner State or Co- public forum on, any Nation, Partner words reproduced in a marvellous operating Agency. State or Cooperating Agency. text as shown in the left hand part of the box. But how can we trans- fer it to the governance of Space- ship Earth? The simplest is just to use the same text as the Code and It is both refreshing and sad to be- It is refreshing because it was writ- replace the two words “crew mem- come aware that a very similar text ten some 230 years ago. It is sad be- bers” by “Earth nations”. The result was published in the 18th century cause not much of these nice hopes is the text reproduced in the right by the French Marie-Jean-An- has been accomplished. Probably hand side of the text box “Earth na- toine-Nicolas de Caritat, better because the “problems” of Space- tions’ Code of Conduct”. By doing known as “Marquis de Condorcet” ship Earth in the 18th century were so, we have simply established a (1743–1794), who wrote: not severe enough to make a call to Universal Code and set of duties for “Houston”.

SPATIUM 26 19 But What Is Houston? When it comes to safeguarding the world ecological governance, is re- habitability of Spaceship Earth, this quired. There is, however, much fear Houston for Spaceship Earth treaty may act as a showcase even involved in accepting governance (Fig. 13) is the place from where we though the problems encountered by supranational bodies: the large may get the analysis, diagnostics and in these days tend to be much more industrialized nations, especially the advice in order to overcome the complex. Is this to say that “Hou- USA, fear to lose leadership by the problems encountered, and it is nei- ston” most probably is the United environmental measures such insti- ther a temple nor a dream. It must be a real entity that has the willing- ness to repair the damaged spaceship. In fact, alarming news from a deteriorating environment is noth- ing new, so we might try to learn from history how to address our current problems.

In the late 1970s, the Antarctic ozone hole was discovered, and the mechanisms responsible for the de- pletion of ozone were found. This prompted the first worldwide environmental action leading to a ban of chlorofluorocarbons as refriger- ants recognized as being responsible for the destruction of ozone. The required measures were de- fined and approved in the frame of an international agreement under the United Nation. The Montreal Protocol on Substances that deplete the Ozone Layer is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone Fig. 13: Upper panel: Houston Apollo 13 Mission Control. The NASA engineers layer by phasing out the production are analyzing the measures to save the crew and the mission from disaster after the famous sentence “Houston we’ve had a problem here” was sent from space to the of the critical substances. The treaty centre. (Credit: NASA) Lower panel: Nations Security Council Room in New York. entered into force on 1 January (Credit: UN) 1989 and was revised thereafter several times. Ratified by 196 states the Montreal protocol is judged by its Nations? That organization is in- tutions might endorse; the emerg- former secretary-general Kofi Anan deed the world’s unique forum able ing nations, on the other hand, fear to be perhaps the single most successful to bring together all nations, as does to lose thrust of their economic international agreement to date. Based the real Houston for the ISS crew. evolution. on the measures adopted, it is be- Air and water pollution, global lieved that the ozone layer would warming, sea level rise are environ- Some, like Jacques Attali in France recover by 2050: a successful mental issues that do not stop at na- (11) say that the present problems failure! tional borders. Rather, these prob- are not severe enough to justify the lems have global dimensions and setting-up of this global governance, global impact. Hence, a kind of of a Houston for Spaceship Earth.

SPATIUM 26 20 What might that crisis be then? where on Spaceship Earth to install The first two requirements imply future nuclear power plants, with that the “crew” of Spaceship Earth The recent events that affected Ja- norms established in function of the must be scientifically and techni- pan on 11 March 2011 offer an il- estimated risks. And this leads me to cally competent. This requires a vol- lustration of what is going wrong the next point: the necessity to un- untary effort in that direction from with the “crew” of Spaceship Earth. derstand the proper functioning of all nations on Earth. Today, embryos It is well known that in Japan the spaceship Earth and forecast its of “Houston” might be found in structure of the spaceship has a “failure modes”. universities all around the world or problem, a weakness! That problem in technical high schools such as the exists also elsewhere: in Chile, in ETHZ or EPFL here in Switzer- China and Indonesia for example. Understanding Spaceship land, and also at ISSI …! However, the problem is exacer- Earth: Science – bated here by the fact that our Engineering – Politics “crew member” Japan decided by Spaceship Earth “Extra- its own to install nuclear power The capability of Houston to direct, Vehicular” Activities: generators in that crippled quarter repair and rescue the operations of the Crucial Role of Space of the “station”. When the Earth- Apollo 13’s astronauts can be sepa- quake of magnitude 9 struck, a nat- rated into three main factors: the After all, one might come to the ural event not unexpected, it trig- understanding of a critical situation, conclusion that mankind’s fate is to gered the most catastrophic tsunami inventing and engineering the nec- escape a potentially destroyed Earth (another not unexpected natural essary rescue measures, and leader- and to settle on other bodies of the event) ever observed by the whole ship for implementing them with Solar System. Mars would be the of humanity. Both catastrophes se- the cooperation of the crew. For res- prime target, as it resembles the verely damaged the Fukushima nu- cuing Spaceship Earth, the factors Earth in many respects. Some fan- clear power plant, which was built are nearly the same! We need sci- tastic ideas of “terraforming” the 40 years ago with specifications for ence to understand what goes or Red Planet have been put forward, resisting earthquakes 100 time less may go wrong and to forecast how which however depend on whether severe than that of 11 March 2011, the situation may evolve and over one can live with temperatures ex- and probably also under-dimen- how much time. We need to find a tremes as low as some –100 °C dur- sioned and wrongly located a few solution for engineering the fix ing the Martian night, and with an tens of meters from the Ocean, not measures and we must impose them extremely thin atmosphere devoid the best place to resist the effects of politically to all nations. In the case of oxygen. Anyhow, life would have a tsunami rising a wave 16 m high! of a space station deprived of a to settle underground, sheltered The result is what we see presently: ground-based control centre, the from the deadly solar ultraviolet ra- radioactive contamination on the astronauts themselves must process diation. We leave it up to our read- ground, in the atmosphere and in and master the capabilities of the ers to judge whether such condi- the sea, these last two of global po- missing Houston. Hence, on Space- tions eventually might make Mars tential harm. No “Houston” exists ship Earth, the nations must have more liveable than our Earth and that might have prevented that ac- the scientific capability to analyse for how long? cident, whose responsibility falls on and to understand the “problems”, the “Japanese crew” and that may to forecast their evolution, and to When something goes wrong on impact the entire spaceship! develop the engineering capabili- the outskirt of the ISS, astronauts ties to assess the corrective meas- get dressed in their space suits and That case offers another illustration ures, and finally control the politi- start an extravehicular activity for of the necessity of a global entity, cal system or the set of tools for inspecting the status of their space- responsible, with decisive power, implementing them and convinc- ship that they cannot satisfactorily like the real Houston has, to agree ing the nations to accept them. analyse from inside. Similarly, Earth

SPATIUM 26 21 observation satellites offer a unique “spaceship”. This agency would be but wrong assessment of his situa- tool for inspecting the status of the financed by all nations and would tion, with a “so far, so good” ap- Earth, in particular the climate sit- ensure the availability of the best praisal of his imminent death! uation, the resources and the whole scientific expertise in the world. It Hence, something else, new rules, environment. However, these are should be in a position also to iden- must be found! I should, at this not necessarily rapidly evolving fac- tify the necessary technologies and stage, leave the discussion of that tors. Furthermore, contrary to the to invest in areas concerning energy non-trivial issue for, maybe, another astronauts who can dress in a few sources, water management, agri- issue of Spatium, if the “spaceship” hours upon alert, spacecraft devel- culture and transport. It should se- is still liveable then! opment extend over several years. cure the permanence and uninter- The “tools” must be ready at any rupted presence of the monitoring time to respond to any alert. Space- and observation tools, be they lo- ship Earth therefore requires a per- cated at the surface of the planet or manently available set of satellites in space. It should have the capabil- ready to operate or, better, to con- ity of a politically independent as- tinuously monitoring the status of sessment of the evolution of the the Earth. planet’s physical situation, in which the evidence of certainties and the Europe has gained a leading posi- lack of those should be established tion regarding environmental and and accepted as normal and not as civil security. The European Global opportunities not to act. It should Monitoring for Environment and offer a continuous assessment of Security (GMES) programme, these prevision’s validity through a jointly sponsored by the European comparison between their antici- Commission and the European pated results with the real and meas- Space Agency, aims at coordinating ured values of critical parameters for existing Earth monitoring pro- the period considered. grammes and to complement them to create an optimum overall sys- Establishing such an agency should tem. Yet, a global organization is re- not be the most difficult first step quired to solve global problems and in the setting-up of the “Houston” their global impact. What is needed for Spaceship Earth. The question is a “global GMES” as no organiza- is, of course, to whom should it po- tion exists yet on Earth that has the litically respond? Again the United capability and the authority to en- Nations come to mind, and there, sure that all the means and all the the Security Council would have knowledge necessary to assess the the highest political authority. But situation of Spaceship Earth are at Spaceship Earth and its “crew” of hands for the “crew”. nations cannot accept procrastina- tion as its basic decision-making A World Global Monitoring Envi- rule; they cannot accept veto right ronmental Agency (WGMA) seems when the whole crew is in immi- to be a possible model that would nent threat! In fact, the crew may fund and orchestrate the develop- not necessarily feel that threat, like ment of all indispensable means, in- the man falling from the Empire cluding the space means, to prop- State Building reaching the second erly manage the running of the floor and expressing an optimistic

SPATIUM 26 22 Outlook References and Notes

Fortunately though, there is room for optimism: Earth and space sciences have already strongly contrib- (1) Bonnet, R. M. and Woltjer, uted to enhancing our understand- L., (2008), Surviving 1,000 ing of Spaceship Earth and its Centuries: Can We Do It? complex ecological interrelations. Springer Praxis Publishing, Space technology has woven tight 2008. This book is recom- communication networks around mended for further reading. the globe linking together even the (2) ESA (http://www.esa.int/ most distant people on Earth, SPECIALS/Mars_Express/ thereby fostering the awareness of SEMC785V9ED_0.html the interdependence of all human (3) Spatium 5: Earth, Moon and societies. The knowledge gained as Mars by Johannes Geiss, of now through scientific research June 2000 and its widespread dissemination do (4) Spatium 16: Astrobiology by allow us to identify our responsibil- Oliver Botta, July 2006 ity. Some means to achieve this (5) Spatium 13: Woher kommen common objective are already avail- Kohlenstoff, Eisen und Uran able, and the joint effort required by Rudolf von Steiger, will hopefully help overcoming the November 2003 fears inherently linked to any (6) Spatium 10: Satellite Naviga- change. And change is urgently re- tion Systems for Earth and quired as it becomes from day to Space Sciences by Gerhard day more obvious that Spaceship Beutler, June 2003 Earth is approaching the limits of (7) Spatium 25: Climate Change its sustainability. We, “terranauts”, by Thomas Stocker, July 2010 declare that our spaceship is at risk (8) www.census.gov/ipc/ and that we cannot wait any longer. www/worldhis.html Once our spaceship is in order and (“lower estimate”) we can declare it a “successful fail- (9) U.S . Geological Survey, ure”, it might be time to think of http://www.usgs.gov/ establishing our presence on other (10) Solana J., 2007, Countering spaceships like the Moon or Mars. Globalization’s Dark Side, I am afraid that this is not for an im- Europe’s World, 114-121 mediate future! (11) Attali, J., 2011, Demain, qui gouvernera le monde?, Fayard

SPATIUM 26 23 SPATIUM

The Author

when the Council of the European search (COSPAR), a position that Space Agency appointed him Di- he held until 2011. rector of the Science Programme. One of his most prominent achieve- R. M. Bonnet is a member of the ments of that time is the formula- Swedish Royal Academy, of the tion of the Horizon 2000 Plan. This Royal Society of Sciences of Liège, programme consists of four large and of the International Academy cornerstone missions and some of Astronautics (IAA), where he re- smaller missions, amongst which is ceived the von Karman Award in the European contribution to the 2009. He is Doctor Honoris Causa Hubble Space Telescope. The trans- of the Universities of London and parent long term planning philoso- Liège. In 2010 he was awarded the phy allowed the academic and the Gold Medal for International Co- industrial communities to timely operation of the Chinese Academy build up the required skills thereby of Sciences, as well as in 2011 the placing ESA at the second most National Award for International important space science agency in Cooperation on Science and Tech- the world after NASA. Later, nology from the Chinese Govern- R. M. Bonnet adopted the same ment. Roger Maurice Bonnet received his concept for the definition of the diploma in physics and astronomy new Earth observation programme He is the author of over 150 scien- in 1968 from the University of of ESA, known as the Living Planet tific papers and textbooks, in par- Paris. He dedicated his doctorate to Programme. ticular “Horizons Chimériques the imagery and spectroscopy of the (Dunod) and “Surviving 1000 Cen- Sun. He was involved in the de- After his departure from ESA in tures. Can we do it?” (Springer), and velopment of new telescopes and April 2001, he served as Directeur he holds the highest scientific and cameras that were flown on bal- General Adjoint Science at the public service awards like, for ex- loons, rockets and satellites. In 1969 French Centre National Etudes ample, the French Légion d’Honneur he founded the Laboratoire de Spatiales (CNES). There he was or the NASA Award for Public Physique Stellaire et Planetaire of asked by the French government to Service. CNRS. There he was engaged in chair a National Commission to the development of the telescope analyse and formulate the French for the Halley Multicolour Camera space policy. of the Giotto Mission under the responsibility of the Max Planck At the International Space Science Institute at Lindau (Germany), Institute R. M. Bonnet succeeded which took the first high-resolution Prof. J. Geiss as Executive Director images of a cometary nucleus. in 2003. In the same year he was R. M. Bonnet entered the field of appointed President of the Inter international science policy in 1983, national Committee on Space Re-