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Recent Discussions |
Exploring Space: star gazing or history making?October 2012Fresh from the Battle of Ideas science strand, Craig Fairnington hosted this showing of For All Mankind (1989), followed by a discussion about our aspirations for exploring engineering solutions today
Interviewed in 1999, the late Neil Armstrong expressed the significance of the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing in terms of demonstrating 'that humanity is not forever chained to this planet, and our visions go rather further than that, and our opportunities are unlimited.’ While President Obama recently paid tribute to Armstrong's 'spirit of discovery', his belief in ‘unlimited opportunities’ runs counter to mainstream political thinking today - mostly premised upon the idea of an 'inconvenient truth' that there are natural limits which man cannot surpass.
The excitement generated by Curiosity‘s trip to Mars suggests that our yearning to reach beyond the limits of the present persists. But, believing that resources are limited and humanity is no longer capable of unchaining itself from the planet, what does it mean to gaze at the stars today? Are we truly searching for new horizons or contemplating our own insignificance?
link to the first 10 minutes of the film http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otvtMfEI_9w&feature=relmfu Some background readingsWhat on Earth is the UK Space Agency for? by Timandra Harkness, spiked 6 April 2010 EARTHQUAKES, NEUTRINOS AND THIS THING CALLED SCIENCE, by Kenan Malik 30 September 2011 We are not forever chained to this planet, by Tim Black, spiked 29 August 2012 Mission to the edge of space, Red Bull Stratos Felix Baumgartner on cancelled space jump: 'there's no way' he'll give up, by Paul, Guardian Harris 9 October 2012 Discussion Partners
The Manchester Salon is participating in the fabulous Manchester Science Festival for the third year running, where you can explore the wonder of science with nine days of events designed to highlight and explore the myriad ways that science touches our lives; enjoy beautiful installations, films on the big screen in a beautiful warehouse setting, immersive science experiences, intriguing evening events, inspiring talks and debates, hands-on workshops and more during 27 October - 4 November 2012. Manchester Science Festival is proudly produced by MOSI, see http://www.manchestersciencefestival.com for full details.
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