REPRINT PREPARED STATEMENT ON THE SPACE PROGRAM* M. Schwarzschild Princeton University Observatory The Space Program, and particularly the manned flight to the Moon has, I feel, a character fundamentally different from all other endeavors of this nation at this time. The idea of man leaving his earth, traveling to another celestial body, landing there and walking upon it, has unique fascination for man s mind any man s mind and possesses a power to stir his imagination and to drive him to new levels of ambition and energy to a degree that does not seem to be even remotely approached by any other endeavor now underway or being planned. POSSIBLE JUSTIFICATIONS OF MOON FLIGHT PROGRAM However unique in character, a national undertaking requiring as enormous an effort as does the Moon flight, demands a convincing and responsible justification; in that we all agree. The justifications generally discussed thus far may perhaps be classified in the following four groups. 1. Study of the Moon as possible key to the story of our solar system. A manned landing on the Moon will undoubtedly in one single action increase our knowledge of this celestial body enormously, and may well provide us with some decisive keys for the unravelment of that fascinating puzzle of the origin and history of the planetary system in which we live. Nevertheless, in spite of my obvious active enthusiasm for such a gigantic scientific step, I would not be honest if I did not admit that I consider the effort necessary for the manned flight to the Moon far too large to be justified by this specific scientific research. As a matter of fact, I believe there exists * For the hearings of the Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences of the United States Senate, June 11, 1963. Reprinted from the Congressional Record. 527
528 REPRINT no single scientific problem of any kind that, in itself, can justify an effort of this magnitude. 2. Broad research in Geophysics and Astronomy. It is obvious that the technical developments necessary for the manned flight to the Moon are providing magnificent new tools for a broad array of scientific experiments particularly in geophysics and astronomy which permit us to attack many fundamental scientific research problems which previously were inaccessible. As I am an Astronomer by profession, you will not suspect me of under-rating the fundamental value of this glorious array of scientific experiments made possible by the national space program. I would like nothing more than to describe to you the fascination and the steadily increasing insight given us by these space experiments (executed in close conjunction with experiments on the ground which they never replace but which they compliment in a decisive manner). But this is not the topic of this session. Though you may suspect me of professional prejudice, I think I am entirely justified in maintaining that the national Space Program would be hollow indeed if it did not contain this substantial effort toward scientific experiments which are far wider in scope than the direct investigation of the Moon alone. Nevertheless, for honesty s sake I again have to say that at least a very large portion of these scientific space experiments could be executed with lesser tools and hence lesser efforts than are needed for the Moon flight. 3. Technological progress with wide applications. A technical development of the magnitude required for the Moon flight obviously increases our engineering art and capability to a profound degree. We all have already seen convincing examples of this effect. But I, myself, am not sufficiently experienced in this field to really judge the magnitude to which these broadly applicable technological gains may grow. 4. National prestige. The achievement of goals as fascinating as the manned landing on the Moon increases the prestige of a country, we
REPRINT 529 now know, far beyond what we would have expected before the first Sputnik. There are magnificent examples in history of the fact that the standing of a nation in the eyes of its competitor nations can be gloriously enhanced by successful endeavors in non-materialistic directions. But at the same time I would guess that the admiration and respect gained for this nation in the eyes of all other nations through the successful accomplishment of a manned landing on the Moon might be rather limited in effective duration if the Moon flight program is carried out too much as an aim in itself and too unconnected with all the other great endeavors which we must want to undertake at the same time. If these four groups of possible justifications for the Moon flight program were in fact the total justification, I think I would feel close to agreeing with some of the critics of this program. In my judgment, however, these justifications leave out the one consideration which, to my mind, is decisive. SPEARHEAD FOR RENAISSANCE OF PIONEERING SPIRIT The staggering effort required for the flight to the Moon is worthwhile only if the fascination and historic uniqueness of this undertaking fire the energies of all of us in this country back to those heights that were characteristic of the great periods in the past of this country. After the enormous exertions of the Second World War we went I think we now all agree into a mental slump to such an extent that a description by the simple word complacency seems to me now rather too mild. To judge the spirit and value of the period in which one lives, the attitudes and ambitions of the youngsters in the high-school and college agegroups may often provide the most valuable gauges. And certainly we must admit that in the decade after the Second World War the lack of ambition on the average among the youngsters was frightening and the attitude among them, of considering students who enjoyed excelling in intellectual activities as queer, was not rare. And then in 1957, Sputnik happened with a psychological reaction within this country of a size not predicted by even the wisest among us. Many described this violent reaction as fear. I cannot understand this interpretation at all; it seems to me
530 REPRINT in contradiction with such facts as the lack of any mass movement out of the New York area (clearly a most dangerous area to live in), as well as the persistent disinterest in Civil Defense throughout the country. On the contrary, it appears to me that the violent reaction to the first Sputnik in this country is much more correctly described as one of deeply hurt pride, the reaction of a man who is beaten in a competition very close to his heart. It is just wrong to describe the so-called average American as being solely interested in material comfort and security. This description disagrees, I feel, with the actions and reactions of the people in this country both in the past and in the present. Not that the average American is disinterested in material comfort and security, but at the same time he is to an unusual degree characterized by imaginativeness, a fascination with daring pioneering acts and, most of all perhaps, with a naive faith that the apparent impossible can be made possible, a faith that can be the source of unusual strength. Specifically, in view of the past predilection of the people in this country for imaginative technical exploits, the strong and positive reaction to the onset of the space age seems to me entirely natural and quite in character with the other great pioneering phases of our past. The space competition, which was initially more of Russian making than of ours, but which we joined with energy and broadly based enthusiasm, has already had remarkable effects far beyond those areas mentioned under the usual justifications for the Moon flight. Of all these effects, I think overwhelmingly the most important is that on the quality of education in our schools. I do not want to imply that what has happened in this field since 1957 is already a large portion of all that needs to be accomplished; but the rate of improvement is astounding indeed. An insufficient standard of education throughout a nation is like a national financial debt. The financial debt we make has to be paid back by the next generation. In exactly the same sense, the insufficient education we give our children now has to be paid back by them manyfold, because of their deficient capability of achievement caused by this poor education. I am convinced that compared to our present national financial debt, the debt we have incurred in terms of a deficient ability of achievement because of poor school-
REPRINT 531 ing in the decade after the last world war is immensely higher. Accordingly, it seems to me a phenomenon of fundamental importance that the onset of the space competition has given us the stimulus and energy towards a determined upgrading of our educational systems. Initially this upgrading was naturally concentrated in the sciences, but now apparently is spreading over much broader fields (as indicated for example, by the rapid increase of language knowledge among the youngsters), a development which in time should re-establish a more balanced emphasis on all the fields of learning. I have the suspicion, though I know of no proof, that the indirect effects of the beginning of the space competition (in addition to the obvious direct effects on science and technology) are not restricted to the field of education alone. Does it not seem entirely plausible that the remarkable upsurge of interest among our youngsters in social problems as well as the unprecedented increase in active interest in modern arts and architecture have part of their roots in the spirit of daring confidence and ambition that flight into space has given us? However unsafe these interpretations of the developments in this country during the past six years may be and however doubly unsafe their extrapolation into the future is, I sincerely believe that the space program with its manned landing on the Moon, if wisely executed, will become the spearhead for a broad front of courageous and energetic activities in all the fields of endeavor of the human mind, activities which could not be carried out except in a mental climate of ambition and confidence which such a spearhead can give. The space critics have presented us with a whole list of valuable endeavors as an alternative application of the effort being put into the space program. This alternative is simply not a realistic one because without the brilliance of man s flight into space the psychological atmosphere will not provide the motivation to attack the list of proposed endeavors with the necessary energy and confidence. Rather the real question in front of us appears to be: Do we choose more or less to drop out of the space race with the highly probable psychological consequence of relaxing back into the lethargic state of the early fifties or do we go with gaiety and vision ahead in the space competition and
532 REPRINT consciously use the stimulus derived from it on a broad front of activity? MANPOWER PROBLEM It is easy to say that we should carry out a vigorous space program and simultaneously do everything valuable that we consider ourselves capable of. Do we in fact have the capacity to do all of this at once? I am convinced that the answer to this question is yes. We in this country have not been working anywhere near the limit of our capability for achievement at any time since the end of the Second World War. As to employment of our hands, statistics tell us that we are approximately at the ninety-five percent level. On the other hand, as to employment of our brains and mental energies I know of no statistics, but I am ready to bet that we nowhere approach the thirty percent level. I am convinced that in the recent past, with the exception of a small minority of fortunate and ambitious men, the vast majority of us in this country has never in his whole professional life employed the full capability of his brain, either by lack of sufficient training or by lack of sufficient motivation. How do we manage to lose the use of such an enormous fraction of our innate brainpower? Here I would like to make three points of which the first by all odds is the most important. [The subject titles of these three points are Low level of training and inspiration, Loss of top engineers to management position, and NASA s use of outside top scientists. Following a suggestion by Dr. Schwarzschild, a detailed discussion of these three points has been omitted in this reprinting for brevity s sake.] My over-all reaction to the manpower problem then is this. Though the majority of us in this country are employed in the usual sense, we are by no means working as hard as we could if the majority of us were possessed by the ambition to achieve great things. We are employing of all our good brains only a modest fraction, and those in the key places we are employing not at all at optimum efficiency. If we should succeed in making an undertaking as sparkling as the manned flight to the Moon the catalyst which returns to us the pioneering energies and ambitions of the finest periods of the past of this country, we will have, I am convinced, the manpower sufficient to carry out the space program
REPRINT 533 essentially as proposed and at the same time undertake significant endeavors in the whole range of human activity. CONCLUSIONS If the main points of what I have said are at all right, I believe the following three conclusions can be drawn. 1. Optimum rate of Moon flight program. The proper speed at which the Moon flight program should be driven forward, has been considered from various points of view, including of course technical and financial ones. I feel that in these considerations much new emphasis should be given to the aim of proceeding as nearly as practicable at that speed which maximizes the effect which I consider the basic justification of this whole gigantic undertaking, that is the sparking of the nation as a whole to a new level of vitality. Six to eight years is already quite a long span of time for this basic purpose and I seriously feel that a noticeable slow-down of this program could dangerously reduce the wonderfully energizing effect that it has right now, particularly on the younger generation who will determine the spirit of this country a decade hence. 2. Worst possible mistake. By far the worst mistake that in this entire undertaking we could make is, I believe, to proceed with the Moon flight program but grudgingly and at a greatly slowed-down pace. This would have the consequence that eventually we will have paid the full price of the undertaking but will have gained nothing but some knowledge about the Moon which, however fascinating to us scientists, could not possibly be worth the price. Such an unspirited and slowed-down continuation of an undertaking that we have started in an energetically competitive and ambitious spirit would obviously remove all chance for this undertaking to act as a vital catalyst for the life of the nation. If we were to make this mistake, even the strongest present critics of the program would have turned out not critical enough.
534 REPRINT 3. Responsibility of broadening area of great endeavors. While the space program proceeds at its optimum rate and I feel confident that the reawakened pioneering spirit of the much maligned average American will not permit anything else to happen all of us involved have the responsibility to consciously strive to make the flight to the Moon not an end in itself but the spearhead for a whole set of undertakings over the entire front of positive human endeavors, be they in science or the arts, be they in social progress or the field of medicine. Only if we succeed in this will the flight to the Moon have been worth its price. In an attempt to prevent you from criticizing me that my conclusions, particularly my last one, are a little too abstract to be useful in the setting of this session, I hasten to add that an obvious and vitally important part of this last conclusion is I believe a major effort to continue at an increased rate the improvement of pre-college education in this country of which we have witnessed such an astoundingly energetic beginning during the past few years. A spirited program towards the flight to the Moon without a simultaneous energetic push in the field of education would seem to be indeed a contradiction in itself.