The future over our head
When it comes to the future, people tend to look forward. in some cases, however, it may be good to look upward! Regardless of what we might like to think, the earth ultimately only has finite resources, which is a reason why economics studies scarcity. Yet in the expanse that is beyond us, there continues to be an area where potential growth could be explored. in this sense, we talk about outer space. With the recent landing of the Mars rover called Perseverance, perhaps it is high time to think a bit more about what the universe may offer!
Where there is a lack, there is also potential opportunity for the brave entrepreneur of the so-called final frontier. It will come with its own challenges, but what was once science fiction may indeed become a reality. It might be a good time to think about investing in more than just a cloud, so to speak, and think even bigger. Or in this case, higher!
The Philippines does, in fact, have policies regarding the use of outer space. The Philippine Space Act, and the creation of the Philippine Space Agency through it, highlights a commitment of the country toward this end, even if public knowledge is often limited to the occasional news feature about the Filipino-made MAYA-1, DIWATA-1, and DIWATA-2 cube satellites. Space initiatives in this country actually have a billionpeso-heavy government budget on that front as well.
The Philippines, like many other countries, is represented at the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs in Vienna, Austria. A digital copy of the most recent technical presentation of the Philippines to this UN office is publicly available online at the time of this writing. It highlights some of the key initiatives the nation pursues through the Advanced Science and Technology Institute of the Department of Science and Technology.
Space technologies have a variety of useful applications that can help in development and foster economic growth. For example, satellites can and are being used to monitor agriculture, to look into rehabilitation efforts, and to assess the effects of typhoons and landslides. These applications show us that there are concrete and desirable benefits to be gained from the wonders of such scientific innovations.
That said, progress in these technological advancements, while impressive in the context of the Philippine sphere, still has room for improvement, especially when looked at in a global sense. It is truly still a feat that Filipino graduate students were able to develop MAYA-1, proving the capabilities of brilliant young minds. At the same time, however, other nations also have similar programs where students can be trained to build and develop cube satellites.
In the 1950s the global superpowers began looking to outer space during the so-called Space Race, but in the 2020s we can now see how, over a few decades, these technologies passed into the capabilities of developing countries like the Philippines. This may sound futuristic, but it is amusing to imagine that there may someday come a time where building and launching satellites become as mundane as a grade school science project!
In the present though, we could also be doing more to tap other applications of these technologies. If anything, the global pandemic also highlighted the importance of space technologies often taken for granted, and companies and individuals alike depend on them. The Internet is a prime example: our ability to connect with people around the world in the time of Covid-19 uses space technologies, even as much of the technology and infrastructure that run it remain mostly on the ground.
While there may be a danger in the Tragedy of the Commons, these commons being usage of outer space, it is undeniable that billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are looking upward as well as forward in their earthly investments. Outer space is generally considered a public good, and one has to also consider the role of the private sector in developing these technologies, in the same way we now think of the need for efficient or alternative energy sources in the economy.
Indeed, the Philippines is still a long way away from grander outer space projects—a Pinoy landing on the moon on a Filipino-made rocket would be a pipe dream— and will likely continue to rely on other countries, such as Japan, for technical help on these matters in the foreseeable future.
However, developing further capabilities in these initiatives to become internationally competitive is something that could theoretically be assisted and done through enthusiastic investments, and by encouraging science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines in schools for a new generation of Filipino space scientists.
Where there is a lack, there is also potential opportunity for the brave entrepreneur of the so-called final frontier. It will come with its own challenges, but what was once science fiction may indeed become a reality. It might be a good time to think about investing in more than just a cloud, so to speak, and think even bigger. Or in this case, higher!