1.9 Human space exploration and European identity

Abstract

Human space exploration is frequently judged as being one of the boldest (technical) endeavours, on which humankind has embarked in its history. It is often described with very lofty terms, especially when looking for arguments, why humans engage in human space exploration in the first place. The desire and even the necessity to go beyond the known in order to be able to grow, the wish or even the imperative to expand life into the universe, are just two arguments, which are often brought forward when discussing human space exploration. From this and similar arguments one may conclude that the focus of space exploration is not only on the scientific discovery of today’s unknown worlds. It is not just about enhancing our knowledge and understanding of the universe — how it looks today, how it developed and which laws govern its evolution. One could argue that besides these scientific achievements the attempt of the human to leave Earth and to travel into space is a manifestation of the “undefined striving into the open” as the German theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg describes the seemingly untiring driving force, which motivates human action.²³⁹ Thus, human space exploration must not only be seen as an outward journey. It also needs to focus on the human being itself, as the human being appears to be at the centre of this activity. This raises the question of who the human being really is, which can be understood as a question regarding the identity of a human being.