Asia's Got Talent...in Space Too!

Putting space into context

Late JFK used the Apollo mission to spark the imagination of the entire American nation by challenging themselves to reach the Moon. Within a decade, they accomplished a goal that was once considered impossible. It was a success not only from a political point of view but also from a philosophical and scientific standpoint. It inevitably ushered the development of technologies, from most sensitive light detectors to fastest supercomputers and the internet, which altogether expanded our horizon and vastly improved the quality of human life. After more than half a century, who could have perceived that space would play an integral role in our daily lives? The key to this success lies in the efficient implementation of space programs headed by NASA in the US and Roscosmos in Russia. Now, many nations have also caught up taking the challenge. How about in Asia? What is the current state of the Asian “space program”?

Actors in the Asian Space Sector

Several Asian countries have active space programs and many have made strides on it. China leads the Asian space sector for having an independent human spaceflight capability. In 2003, China’s manned spacecraft entered orbit making them the first in Asia (and third in the world) to send humans into space. Earlier in 1970, Japan became the first Asian country to successfully send a satellite into orbit and thereafter invested the most in planetary exploration missions. Since 1992, Japan has completed 15 manned missions to the ISS aboard American and Russian vehicles. Unlike China, however, Japan does not have a program yet for developing its own manned spacecraft. India, a recent Asian space power, has been successful in building, launching, and operating spacecrafts for military, research, and commercial purposes. In 2014, India entered the world stage with its historic unmanned Mars Orbiter Mission—the first country in Asia to successfully place a satellite into Mars’ orbit and also first in the world to do so in its maiden attempt.

In addition, Iran, Israel, and North and South Korea are the emerging Asian space players which can also independently launch their own indigenously-built satellites. While the majority of developed countries have well-established space programs, it is notable that even some developing Asian countries have intentions of exploiting space too. For instance, Bangladesh’s space agency is one of the first to locally operate a communication satellite purchased abroad. Sri Lanka meanwhile, has proposed a space agency whose goal is to construct and launch two satellites by 2015 through a partnership with China. Some of the remaining Asian countries operate its own satellite with external help, but more than 50% of Asia still doesn’t own a satellite or have a space program yet.

Benefits of space: specific examples cited

Establishing a space program has many benefits for the nation, particularly the acquisition of knowledge and skills to solve national and global problems. A common challenge faced by Asia and the world is mitigation of the effects of climate change. Japan, China, and India put dedicated satellites to collect climate data and implement policies borne out of this research. China and India have taken the initiative to cut emissions at least 20% by 2020.

According to Natural Disasters Data Book 2013, Asia is the most affected region by floods, droughts, and storms. Asia ranks first among all regions in all the categories of disaster occurrence (45%), the number of killed (85%) and affected people (87%) and economic damage (49%). For instance, the Philippines suffers from about 20 tropical storms in a typical year. In 2013, the Philippines held the top spot in the worst disasters in Asia by ratio of economic damage to GDP, which is 5% combined due to storm and flood. Typhoon Haiyan, which stuck Philippines in November 2013, caused casualties at least US$2.86B and about 7000 fatalities. NASA came up with a solution. It revealed a proxy map to quickly assess the location and severity of affected regions. Similarly, a spin-off of space technology developed by NASA that uses microwave-radar to detect heartbeats of human was used to rescue trapped victims under as much as 10 feet of rubble during the recent Nepal Earthquake. This improved the efficiency of post-disaster relief and recovery, which saved the lives of many people.

Asia also faces a serious problem related to sustainability of forests, fisheries and water resources. Using real-time imaging, more than 3000 forest fires across Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia were detected in 2013 alone. A similar monitoring method was used to study the depletion of the Aral Sea in Central Asia. The Aral Sea was the fourth largest lake in the world until the 1960s, when the Soviet Union diverted water from the rivers so crops could be grown in the arid plains of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Moreover, space capability can also address more fragile problems related to nuclear security. Current nuclear activities in North Korea and Middle East can be monitored non-invasively from space to ensure arms control. These are just a few of the cases that show how space capabilities are important in tackling problems in the national and international level.

The Unpopularity of space

Even with its big potential, why does space remain unpopular among Asian countries? It’s probably due to the wrong notion that access to space remains risky and costly. While this argument is evident from past experiences, the trend nowadays is leaned towards cheaper and more reliable space technologies. According to the OECD* report, national investments represent only a very small percentage relative to GDP in all member countries in the world. In the US and Japan, which have the largest programs in the world and in Asia, space represents only 0.3% and 0.2% of GDP, respectively, in FY 2013. All of the existing social programs vastly outspend space. In fact, if the budget of the top three Asian space agencies were averaged over their total population, it would equal to about US$2 or the price of only a cinema ticket for each representative Asian per year.

This is the reason why Sri Lanka, Philippines, and all developing countries deserve their own space programs. The Asian space program should not be viewed as a monopoly of developed countries. Even if space remains locally expensive (budget per mission) but globally cheap (budget vs. GDP), it cannot be weighed against the innumerable benefits that society nowadays takes for granted, much more for its long-term economic returns. Aside from being a source of national pride, it stands more as a trademark of a government, whether rich of poor, which has big dreams for its people. Although we live in a world faced with the many immediate problems of hunger, poverty, energy, and global warming, investing in space has long term benefits that are equally as important to a civilized society. It is not a bandwagon to jump into because it is cool, but because it is mandatory for Asia’s future as a space faring civilization.

Tailoring space to national constraints

Having a space program doesn’t necessarily require building rockets and sending people into space. To make space accessible to developing countries, the solution is to prioritize programs that are economically viable for now. For example, small satellites (i.e. cubesat, cansat, nanosat) which are less expensive, but nonetheless perform basic practical functions of a satellite can be implemented. These satellites are attainable due to their less sophisticated technical requirements and thus possible to manufacture indigenously within a few years. Several universities and high schools predominantly in the West have initiated cansat program as early as high school to serve as training ground for future scientists, engineers, and policy makers. This is a viable way to encourage Asian students too.

Turning point: disadvantage to opportunities

It is undeniable that the Asian space program as a whole is way behind the western programs. The first satellite, Sputnik, was launched in 1957 while the first Japanese satellite in 1970 (13 year gap); the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, reached space in 1961 while the first Chinese man in 2003 (42 year gap); US landed on the moon in 1969 while still a goal for China 46 years later. Indeed, Asian space programs have a long way to go, but Asians are naturally predisposed to be optimists. As the astronomer Carl Sagan put it, "national boundaries are not evident when we view the Earth from space." The ideal model of an encompassing Asian space program is ESA. ESA builds on the cooperation among 20 member states. Space cooperation has proved vital for the European economy to achieve mutual goals. Instead of reinventing the wheel, the scientific goals of each nation must complement each other. With the establishment of coalitions like the Asia Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum, the advent of a new era of space cooperation in Asia will undoubtedly materialize in the coming years. It is not a matter of if but when.

*Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

Image: https://d508l827lzpfo.cloudfront.net/content/dailybeast/articles/2015/01/17/why-china-will-win-the-next-space-race/jcr:content/image.crop.800.500.jpg/47383665.cached.jpg

#spacerace #Asianspacerace #spaceagency #importanceofspace #spacesector #spaceprogram