Earth can be a daunting place: with all the war, oppression, starvation and environmental degradation, among other absurd human decisions.
They say ignorance is bliss, but at some point it seems we must become aware of the irrational and either take part, abstain, fight against it … or … get on a space shuttle and move to Mars.
Perhaps pioneering the red planet is not the most practical solution. Maybe a more feasible option would be a trip to a permanent base on the Moon?
Although both these solutions to the problems associated with escaping the issues of Earth are not realistic at this very moment, the push to explore further and deeper into the dark abyss that is space, eventually sending humans to Mars and colonizing the Moon, is gaining the type of hype that occurred in America and the Soviet Union around their respective space programs in the 1950s and 60s.
The second millennium has brought a renewed energy around space travel, with Canadians taking an extra-keen interest, as one of the most popular modern-day astronauts, Chris Hadfield, who was born and raised in Canada, recently spent time commanding the International Space Station, performing valued research and sending spectacular photos back to Earth via his personal Twitter account.
Though Canada's rise to prominence among national space programs has been remarkable, starting with the invention of the STEM Antenna and the Canadarm and culminating with Hadfield's command of the ISS, it will not be Canada or any other individual nation to make the next great leaps in space.
Progression to new frontiers in space will come with collaboration between humans from all over the world – humans with vast knowledge and understanding in a variety of fields, which will better suit the unpredictable nature of something we do not yet understand.
It's time to stop fighting over arbitrary borders and the limited resources we have here on Earth and time to re-start our urge to explore and pioneer brand new horizons.
Who knows what working together can do? Space travel this decade, time travel the next?
