Astronomy saviour or a devil to our environment?

Canadians, citizens of a North American nation surrounded by three oceans and a sea, on a floating planet called Earth located in the outer spiral arm of the Milky Way Galaxy.

Ancient civilizations have recorded data of their naked-eye observations of the stars in the night’s sky which contributed to our understanding of the solar system and the Earth today. Going back to the start when the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) says Babylonian astronomers in the first and second millennia BCE tracked five points of light in the night sky that moved differently than the other stars did. They concluded that something different than normal stars existed. Historians and astronomers now believe the Babylonians were among the first to recognize the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, which become visible to the naked eye at different times of the year. 

Following the Babylonian tracks, others like Greek philosophers documented evidence that the Earth was round. The philosophers noticed the night sky looking different when seen from various vantage points. They also observed the round shadow of the Earth on the Moon during lunar eclipses.

Most astronomical observations and understanding started with what was seen with the naked eye until the year 1781 when William Herschel opened new areas of research by discovering infrared radiation – a type of light that is not visible to the human eye.

With each technological advancement, more astronomers and space enthusiasts took advantage of rapid progress in the fields of optics and imaging. In 1923, Edwin Hubble, an American astronomer, fundamentally changed the scientific understanding of the universe when he used a special telescope that proved galaxies beyond the Milky Way Galaxy.

Contrary to all technological advancements, sky observations made by the human eye is the first introduction to astronomy many scientists have had. Including Parshati Papel, an Astrophysicist with a PhD In Astronomy and planetary science and space exploration, who first took interest in astronomy by learning about the night sky through observations in a planetarium. 

Papel says after her first encounter at the planetarium she became curious and wanted to read more books. But she didn't decide that this is what she is going to do until she received a gift. “I remember my aunt had gifted me a telescope and using the telescope on my own, looking at different planets,” she says.

Papel adds that as a teenager she remembers distinctly saying “Oh, this would be such a cool job.” 

What started as humble observations of the sky recently became a fast growing technologically-advanced industry. We started with shooting for the Moon and now we’re shooting for Mars. 

Satellites, rockets, telescopes and robots are in the works today preparing to launch towards a new beginning; to support new projects like the Lunar Gateway and the Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program (LEAP). 

LEAP’s objectives are to enable the Canadian space sector to develop and conduct science experiments designed for lunar conditions, to help prepare for robotic and human missions, advance and demonstrate innovative technologies in lunar orbit, on the Moon's surface, and beyond as well as begin to develop technologies that will be required as part of future deep-space missions like Mars.

Canada’s part recently is going to be focused on the Lunar gateway and LEAP project and the research that goes with it. There are also efforts to keep working with WildFireSat which is there to monitor wildfires in Canada, the carbon emissions from it and to keep it under control. CSA will maintain the operation of the Canadian atmospheric science mission, SCISAT. 

SCISAT is used internationally for monitoring stratospheric ozone and ozone-depleting substances. 

The curiosity and the determination of scientists is what pushes for innovative ideas which end up also benefiting people in their everyday life. Papel says some of these ideas include cameras on cell phones and non-scratch glass.

“A lot of people are not aware of these kinds of technologies that we use in our everyday life. And, interestingly they come from the challenges that we face, when we're trying to explore other planets,” she says.

Curiosity as Papel says, drives scientists to push the limits and boundaries of technologies and the earth. But how much are scientists pushing the boundaries? And how does that affect the growing fragility of the environment on Earth? 

Every rocket launch has an impact on the climate, primarily through the effects of emissions of black carbon and other particulates in the highest reaches of the atmosphere. According to a 2020 study on The environmental impact of emissions from space launches These emissions have an ozone depleting effect and could impact the ozone on high atmosphere chemistry in other damaging ways. 

Carbon dioxide emissions from launches cannot be ignored when looking at the harmful environmental impact of rocket launches. But they make up a smaller part of the carbon footprint compared to other emissions.

David Santillo, a marine and freshwater biologist and a senior scientist with the Greenpeace Research Laboratories says where we stand now, there are only around 100 rocket launches which is why they have a smaller impact on the carbon footprint than commercial flights. 

New projects like the Lunar Gateway and LEAP which are stepping stones to the long term goal of reaching Mars might mean an increase in rocket launches. Santillo says if the frequency of launches increases as expected in the coming years, perhaps reaching more than 1000 launches per year then “the impact is expected to grow markedly, such that launches could feature as a significant additional burden on the climate, as well as on atmospheric pollution and depletion of the vital ozone which protects us from harmful UV radiation.”

Steve Iris, head of Earth Observation and Utilization at the Canadian Space Agency agrees with Santillo saying that space launches will inevitably increase with time. Iris argues the spaceships and rockets launched, are loaded with as many satellites and equipment to reduce the cost and the frequency of launches.

It is without a doubt, Santillo says, that the reason we know this much about climate change is because of the satellites that were launched into space. 

Last year, CSA launched three new Canadian satellites called the RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM). 

The RCM includes a trio of Earth observation satellites, capable of scanning Earth day or night and in any weather conditions. The three-satellite configuration allows for daily revisits of Canada's vast territory and maritime as well as daily access to 90 per cent of the world's surface and the Arctic up to four times a day. 

The RCM is designed to provide solutions in three main areas: maritime surveillance; disaster management; and ecosystem monitoring, says Iris.

“Because we have now three satellites instead of a single one, we can monitor more quickly,” he says. 

The RCM is a third generation satellite so it’s more modern and more precise. Iris says  “We can have a full compass view of Canada’s not only land but also ocean, which we did not have before with our own satellites.”

Santillo agrees with the effectiveness of observing and monitoring the earth from space. He says this will help in showing the extent of loss of sea ice, ice shelves, and glaciers with great accuracy. “In a sense, space science and technology have enabled us to track with ever greater accuracy and resolution the consequences of human-induced climate change,” he says.

On Earth projects like mining for gold take up a lot of resources and can cause harm to the environment. Astrophysicist Papel says in the process of getting small amounts of these minerals we are destroying the Earth. Meanwhile because of space exploration programs, they have found that instead of destroying Earth we can find these resources in the solar system, like in asteroids.

“Asteroids contain things like platinum and gold and iron and nickel, things that - if we were to be able to harness that- could be very useful rather than having to mine our grounds for gold,” says Papel. 

Space mining to Papel seems like a reasonable solution to support the reduction of harm on the environment. Vice president of environment and Regulatory Affairs at the Mining association of Canada, Justyna Laurie-Lean disagrees “There are many opportunities for reducing the footprint for decoupling material consumption from GDP growth, and improving our welfare. But the idea that, oh, we're going to solve the Earth's environmental problems by mining asteroids, is just someone who isn't thinking clearly.” 

Laurie-Lean says she thinks space mining would be useful and make sense when it is for establishing bases on Mars or the moon.  

“You won't want to carry material from Earth. You're going to rely on extracting some of it on the spot,” she says. 

Astronomical projects and space exploration have opened up new opportunities to develop and advance in different areas but as Santillo from Greenpeace says “What is critical, of course, is that we use those unprecedented levels of information and understanding in order to advocate for and inform far stronger policies and actions by governments and corporations.” 

Santillo stresses the importance of tackling the problem at source, to cut emissions of greenhouse gases urgently and steeply. “As otherwise we will simply have become better and better at tracking our own demise and that of the living systems of our planet.”