When asked, “Why are you spending a lot of money on space because you don’t have enough money to support the poor?”

“There is a multiplier effect in scientific research, including space.”

Ann Druyan, CEO of Cosmos Studio, the wife of 20th century astronomer Carl Sagan, and his ‘eternal colleague’, said in an interview with Maeil Economic Daily prior to the 30th Vision Korea National Reporting Contest, “There are many, but I am asked why I spend a lot of money on space, but the return of science investment to society is enormous,” he said.

The National Reporting Contest, which is held under the theme of’Beyond Gravity, an emergency for an aerospace powerhouse’, will be held at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul on the morning of the 17th. I can.

The book’Cosmos,’ written by Carl Sagan, is considered one of the most read science books in the world since its publication in 1980. The producer and writer of the TV documentary’Cosmos’, which was produced based on a book and gained worldwide popularity, is CEO Druyan.

He has a philosophy that the core of space research is to maintain human humility and curiosity in front of the universe, and to allow the earth to be passed on to future generations. His recognition is that investment in science not only helps to achieve this goal, but also has a positive ripple effect in unexpected fields.

“The space exploration activity not only helps us better know and preserve humanity and the planet, but unintentionally, numerous by-products bring us benefits.” “We have to accept it and pursue scientific inquiry opportunities,” he stressed.

Not only in the United States, but also in Korea, the ‘Cosmos’ of Carl Sagan and Druyan is well known. In particular, the Cosmos documentary series was watched by over 700 million people in 60 countries in 1980, and aired until Season 2 in 2014 and Season 3 in 2019. Last year, the sequel, Cosmos: Possible Worlds, was published by Anne Druyan after 40 years of publishing the book, Cosmos.

Anne Druyan first met Carl Sagan on the Voyager Interstellar Message Project and even married. It was a project to create a’Golden Record’ that introduces human civilization to intelligent alien creatures that may encounter Voyager 1 and 2 probes that have gone out of the solar system. Carl Sagan suggested to NASA to take a picture of the Earth from a distance using the Voyager probe’s camera, although it is useless for scientific research. Finally, the Voyager 1 succeeds in taking a picture of the Earth near Neptune’s orbit. As a result, the remaining photographs are the Earth’s appearance as’pale blue dots’. After the’Pale Blue Dot’ photo, Carl Sagan said, “This photo emphasizes our responsibility to be more considerate of each other and to preserve and preserve that pale blue dot, the only place we know of.” did.

CEO Druyan, as one of the most representative figures who inherited Carl Sagan’s will, emphasizes that even Koreans should be able to gain insights to better take care of ourselves and our planet through space. “The cosmic perspective reminds us of the truth that we are all riding on a pale blue dot,” he warned. “The human nature, which has been hunting and gathering for nearly a million years, is under threat of self-destruction of civilization and the earth.” They were very worried about the situation in which various environmental destruction such as climate change is unfolding to an irreversible and irreversible level. Because of this, he stressed, “The only hope left is the way we protect the planet and keep it clean for the next life.”

To better preserve the planet, space exploration is of great value, says Druyan. This is because robots are sent to space as much as possible to get to know the Earth better in the process of exploration activities, and unintended ripple effects can benefit humans. “We are all citizens of the Earth with a history of 5 billion years,” he said. “We must break down the inner walls of each of us, such as selfishness and nationalism, with the power of science, and become mature global citizens who value ourselves, other life, and the earth.” He asked.

However, he was cautious about manned space exploration, especially manned Mars exploration led by private companies such as SpaceX. “Once manned space exploration is dangerous to humans, he is not entitled to cry out for manned space exploration until it returns the planet to a safe state from climate catastrophe,” said Drujan. “It should not be decided by unchecked powers like the robber baron, but it should be done for all of humanity,” he added. It is explained that the motivation of private companies to create profits can produce more creative and positive results, but it is because there are many cases on the planet that demand sacrifices and suffering from other humans and living things.

Carl Sagan worked his whole life for the popularization of science, contrary to the noble genius scientist. Even CEO Druyan sees the importance of spreading scientific thinking to the public. “The goal of Cosmos was not for people to memorize multiple facts, but to inform them of scientific thinking and approaches,” he said. “If we can discover and understand pleasant stories, we can communicate with as many people as possible through science.”

As advice for Korea to become a space powerhouse, he suggested technology, international cooperation, basic education, and a mature scientific ecosystem. “The technological achievements achieved by Korea will allow us to play an important role in robotic space exploration and to achieve good results through international cooperation,” said Dr. Druyan. “With basic education, young students are interested in science and at the same time, It is desirable to secure a scientific community through active communication and open attitudes between governments,” he said.

Interview videos that were not included in the article can be found on the Beyond Gravity webpage and in the’Knowledge Stream’ section of the World Knowledge Forum’s YouTube channel.

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