Space.com published a beautiful brief reflection about the new space pioneers, how they are perceived in the incoming post covid ideological climate, and how the space community should anticipate and reverse such a possible misfelt methaphysics.A summary of the contents: Opposite of Elysium’s elite, the so called Space Barons have goals of the highest order: saving the planet and opening space to future generations. Yet these visionaries are often portrayed as rich boys with fancy toys. In the incoming anti-waste mood the space revolution-naries will be seen as stereo-typical of the wealth and power that has driven the Earth to the brink of disaster.

However, opening the High Frontier is very urgent, and overdue, to take the pressure off our home world. It really is critical that these space revolutionaries not only be allowed to, but are supported in their quests. The New Space is not spending tax payers money. And they are making space less expensive. The Space Barons are not spending their money for themselves: they created tens of thousands of high tech jobs. Many startups are taking off around them.Democratization of space is the roadmap, to allow “regular” people to travel in space. There should be more paths to enable the non-wealthy to invest in space, so more regular people’s IRAs and retirement funds share in the equity of the frontier. A narration to inspire young generations, not to abandon a wounded world, but to make sure this world survives.

All of the above themes are very relevant for the incoming congress of Space Renaissance (the 3rd SRI World Congress), to be celebrated in June 2021.

We uploaded the Rick’s paper to the page of Space Humanism Fragments & Papers. And we will be happy if Rick will like to present it to the Congress (a call for papers wil be issued soon).

btw: in the featured image, Elon Musk indicates the sky with his finger, like in many paintings by Leonardo Da Vinci: thanks, Elon, this meaningful reference to Renaissance!

Read it also on Space.com

In the featured image: SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk celebrates the successful launch of the SpaceX Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on May 30, 2020. (Image: © Saul Martinez/Getty Images)