URANOS: The Club Manifesto

Why the URANOS Club was founded,
or what it is all about:

We believe that the survival of our civilization, as well as the human species generally, depends on the possibility of accumulating enough knowledge, technical resources, and the will necessary to pursue our further advancement and expansion outside the confines of Earth, and on coping with various possible crises. Science, technology, and space exploration are, thus, those activities that we should now develop in the first place. We are convinced that the alternative to expansion is extinction. As it was stated succinctly by Carl Sagan:

"All civilizations become either spacefaring or extinct".

We believe that the fundamental constituent of our further advancement must be space exploration which will finally make it possible for significant numbers of people to live outside Earth. It will not only bring a substantial increase in our knowledge, but also will help us avoid global crises threatening humanity. One also cannot forget the possibility of contacting other intelligent extraterrestrial beings, whose existence seems quite probable, though not confirmed, as yet.

We are sure that neglecting science, in general, and space research and exploration, in particular, is the exceptionally shortsighted and dangerous course of action, putting at risk the very future of humanity. In the best case, it leads to a waste of time; in the worst, it may end in extinction.

There are many threats to mankind, which only expansion into space can fend off.

The most spectacular of them is the possible collision of Earth with some celestial body - comet or asteroid. Depending on the size of such a body, the consequences may be different, including extinction of humanity as a species, as well. Astronomical observations and current space research clearly confirm that such cosmic collisions are not rare exceptions within geological timescale; on the contrary, they are a norm. It suffices to look through ordinary binoculars at the surface of the Moon, pockmarked with thousands of impact craters. Many such collisions happened also on Earth in the past; one of them caused the extinction of dinosaurs and many more species of plants and animals. It is also certain that similar collisions will happen in the future. Only, we do not know when - possibly after thousands of years - possibly just next year. Therefore, every year of delay may turn out to be the critical one.

Earth also becomes overpopulated. Nothing indicates that the number of its inhabitants may undergo any significant decrease - except as a result of some severe war or global cataclysm, which could endanger the whole Earth's biosphere. Expansion into space offers here a possibility for a peaceful and gentle unburdening of the natural environment, while, at the same time, making survival of our species and civilization possible, even if the damage turns out to be irreversible.

The civilization which crosses the space barrier and makes its existence independent of the fate of a particular planet will survive. Others are doomed.

Unfortunately, in recent times, the understanding of that fact by people diminishes. Yet, it suffices to look at the night sky full of stars to become aware that our native planet is only an almost imperceptible speck of dust within the vast world - a world which does not at all end at the border of Earth's atmosphere. Lately, people seem not to look at the sky, and even when looking, they do that mindlessly. Our civilization, with its attention turned only toward mundane everyday affairs and without broader perspective in its actions, suffers from shortsighted self-absorption and lacks bold visions and brave experimenters. The people fond of taking risks waste their time bungee-jumping with a rubber rope tied to their leg, instead of following the example of people like Columbus, Amundsen, or the Apollo astronauts to discover and conquer new worlds for Mankind. There is a growing lack of comprehension that one cannot stop in midcourse.

The lack of that comprehension affects most of all the scientific and technological disciplines connected with space exploration, which puts into disuse the existing technological capabilities and slows down the development of new ones.

Infrequent space projects are still ventured thanks to enthusiasm and determination of people engaged in space research and astronautics. But this is by all means too little as compared both with possibilities - so forcibly shown long ago by human landings on the Moon - and with needs. The world suffers from the lack of social support for space exploration.

And the time runs out...

But then, if the humanity is going to survive and get a chance of further development, its expansion into space is inevitable. Over the next few centuries the human civilization must spread throughout the Solar System.

The opening of space to humanity and the ensuing creation of a new branch of human civilization should be done by all of humanity, but in fact it only will be done by those nations who actively choose to participate. If we think that our nation should not consign itself to the sidelines of history; if we think that our people should have accomplishments celebrated in newspapers and not just museums; if we feel that our country and culture holds things that are precious and should be passed on as part of the heritage of humanity's New World, then it is our responsibility to do whatever we can to get our country involved in space exploration, either on its own or teamed with others.

The greatest emigration ever is about to begin. Let us be in the vanguard of the greatest enterprise mankind has ever undertaken!

[AKB, ZK, SW, JBO]

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