A View from the Outside

Abstract

I like to think of myself as a “big-telescope man”— ground-based, of course—but I have to admit that getting outside the atmosphere for a better look, and bringing home samples of astronomical bodies, beats anything the Falomar telescope now can offer. In addition, space exploration is influencing a shift in world public opinion toward recognizing other abilities than military power as an index of a nation’s prestige. Concern about sizes of standing armies, or numbers of battleships or squadrons of bombers has waned, and missions to the moon now somewhat outshine the (related) ability to fire ICBMs and ABMs. Surely it is significant that world-wide interest in the Apollo lunar landing cut across political and religious boundaries, so that more people were concerned with it than have ever been concerned with one activity in the whole history of mankind.