Progress might be the greatest benchmark by which we measure our civilization. Milestones in our development are inevitably linked to some great achievement or leap in knowledge that drastically altered what we considered to be an acceptable standard for living. Fire, antibiotics, and the invention of everyday tools like eyeglasses have likely had impacts that we may never fully comprehend. Still, humanity’s progress has been relatively steady until quite recently.
Technology is evolving exponentially. Gordon E. Moore (Intel’s co-founder) noted this in 1965 when he published “Moore’s Law” stating that the number of transistors on microchips doubles every two years. The effect is exponential technological growth where our computers become faster and more powerful, our ability to process and synthesize data accelerates, and our capacity for sharing ideas in real time with global audiences becomes increasingly simple. The promise of tech-booms, like the one we are currently experiencing, is an advanced civilization that lives up to the expectation of the most imaginative of science fiction writers.
Societally we might never truly mature to this point, but we at least have potential to do so in a technological sense. However, developing the tools and knowledge necessary for achieving the advanced society that so many of us dream of will take time, of which we have very little. The scientific community agrees that we only have about 10 years before the more serious impacts of climate change become irreversible. As the UN General Assembly President Garces of Ecuador put it, “We are the last generation that can prevent irreparable damage to our planet.” Fortunately, much of the technologies that can save are planet are the same ones that can get us off it. Solar energy is one such technology.
This week marked the 60-year anniversary of humans officially getting off of this rock, even if only temporarily. On April 12, 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first human to ever be launched into space. The story itself is curious, somewhat tragic, and entirely worth a read. While not our first foray into that great unknown, the achievement is monumental and absolutely worth our acknowledgement.
The first thing of earthly origins to ever actually make it into space was Sputnik 1, another Soviet Union success that predated Cosmonaut Gagarin’s trip by about four years. Sputnik 1 was launched on October 4th, 1957. It weighed 83.6 kg and “the satellite transmitters operated for three weeks, until the on-board chemical batteries failed.” This was a global event with broad political, social, and of course scientific implications, but what is of particular interest to this discussion is how quickly this non-renewable power source was abandoned.
Sputnik 1’s short lived life made it clear that the need for a renewable power source, like the Bell Solar Battery, was essential to space travel. Silicon solar cells could theoretically provide limitless potential energy production making them ideal for satellite mission longevity. Additionally, solar panels display an efficient mass to energy ratio, meaning that they are cheaper to launch because they weigh less than other power options. These other options include the afore mentioned chemical batteries, radioisotope thermoelectric generators, and just good ol’ fashioned fuel. However, given the abundance of solar energy in our inner solar system, none of these can surpass solar power in this setting.
The first satellite to utilize solar energy was Vanguard 1, which was launched by the US in 1958. It would be 15 years until solar panels saw legitimate terrestrial use with “Solar One” at the University of Delaware. The main reason being that without the constant and undisturbed solar energy offered by space, terrestrial applications were cost prohibitive. Grants and tax incentives offered by the Solar Energy Research, Development and Demonstration Act of 1974 allowed for steady development of the technology until the Solar Investment Tax Credit of 2006 paved the way for a solar energy boom.
Today the technology is increasingly available and out-performs traditional energy sources in almost every way, which is good because cutting emissions is a crucial step to securing the future of our species on this planet. The real exciting thing about technologies like solar is that they don’t only ensure our survival but also our future among the stars.
Right now, the world is facing a legitimate existential crisis in climate change. While new technologies aren’t going to solve all of our problems, they can synergize with policy change and behavior modification to produce a future where humans can achieve their true potential. Some of these technologies will come from unexpected places and others will be the result of a clear progression from their origin. Solar panels are the latter. Technologies that we develop to save ourselves from climate change today are likely the technologies that will carry us in our pursuit of the next frontier. Perhaps, when developing technologies meant for space travel we should consider their terrestrial uses, and when developing technologies for sustainability we should consider their extra-terrestrial potential.