This is the first deep-field image from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)
(By clicking on this button, you can also listen to this post.)
July 12, 2022, was a historic day in Astronomy, and Space Science in general. NASA released the first set of images taken by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). This image-reveal can be considered an inaugural note on presenting what JWST can mean for humanity. If we truly understand what these images mean and what they represent, we may transition to a place where we stop being just humans; we become more than that. We become a species. This takes us way beyond the conventional, small-worldly, just-one-planet-existence worldview that we often are embroiled in.
You can know in detail about these images and the endeavour that scientists and astronomers of the world have taken up through the JWST, through some of the articles listed at the end of this post.
The reason to pick up this event as the subject of the post is to draw our focus towards the insights that one can get from the following line of questions.
- How many of us know what happened on July 12, 2022?
- How many of those who knew truly understood what the images meant?
- How many of those who understood truly cared for what it meant for the world?
Anyone reading this post can use these questions as a survey tool to get answers from the people they come across in real life or over the internet (specifically, on social media).
It wouldn’t be much of a surprise if one finds the following answers to the above-posed questions.
- Very few people may know what conspired on July 12, 2022.
- From those who know, fewer people may truly understand what the images mean.
- And, barely some may truly care for this.
This may appear as speculation, but, anyone can choose to browse the internet and track the falling social media interest in these findings after the image-reveal event. One may also find that those people, who truly care about this scientific revelation of a journey that JWST has pushed humanity into, are still rallying and campaigning around this phenomenon. In conclusion, it would be very evident that there is a general disinterest in scientific revelations of such kind in today’s world.
One of the reasons we can derive is an overall lack of interest among the general population in science-oriented announcements. These kinds of announcements are often perceived to be meant for people in the field of science, as it is often misconstrued that these discoveries or revelations would barely have an impact on human life in the present. A relatively familiar comment on such matter is — this is all science fiction stuff; with an implication that such announcements or revelations have rarely anything to do with reality. Such conclusions are often derived, when the context of the future is not taken into consideration.
The field of Education can play a big role in building intrigue of the general population for such scientific achievements.
One may even argue by asking questions like — why should we be even worried about this mumbo-jumbo about space?
Some, who are politically inclined and even educated within that domain, may say — Why should we care about this $10 billion-extravaganza of a telescope, after splurging billions into the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in the past?
What world-problems will this solve? Will it solve the problem of hunger?
Will it solve the problem of depleting resources of the planet?
Will it create more employment opportunities for the future generations of the world?
Will it solve any of these problems?
The answer is yes.
Yes, space exploration and space tech have the potential to solve the majority of the critical subsistence-related problems of our world, unless the politics surrounding science take hold of the steering wheel of this ever-evolving vehicle of progress.
But, first of all, we need to acknowledge the importance of Space as the frontier of Human Progress. This is the 21st Century; so, in context, this should not be a big surprise of a realisation to get onto.
To do that, let us take note of some statistics to build context.
There are more than 10000 space tech companies in the world. It’s not just Space X, or Blue Origin, or Boeing anymore.*^
These companies together have already exceeded USD $4 Trillion in value *
More than 50% of the companies are based in the US.^
More than 360 spacetech companies function within India, and atleast 50 of them are registered as space tech startups with the Indian Space Research Organisation as well. (This piece of information is specifically targeted at the Indian audience, as this information may have fairly flown under the radar of common awareness. Also, in comparison, our neighbouring country, China, has approximately 288 companies in the space tech scene, as per a Spacetech Industry Report of 2021 ^)
What do we conclude from this truth?
The people in the Space Industry are invested for life, tapping into the socio-economic potential and possibilities of this domain in the years to come. The governments of the world had to let in the Private sector to expand the scope of this industry; because, the future of humanity is going to be critically driven by this industry.
The 21st Century is going to be a pioneering era in the Space Industry. Millions of jobs are going to be created within this industry. These jobs will span across disciplines catering to Transportation, Communication, Human Factors, Supply Chain, and Energy # @. The job profiles are expected to include specialisations such as Food Engineering, Mining, Additive Manufacturing, Space Medicine, Space Architects and Construction Experts, and so on, to name a few # @.
Pulling back to the context of the image-reveal by JWST, it would be a fair enough supposition that many of our children will be employed in the Space Industry in their adulthood. This is an example of one of the impacts JWST is going to have in the future of 21st Century kids.
But, as educators or educationists, are we preparing them for that future?
Many still believe that a world driven by progress in industries such as Space is stuff that science fiction is made of. JWST’s image-reveal acts as a wake-up call for all those who thought so.
JWST is going to roll out such revelations every week; now that its functional scope has been fully tested, approved, and realised. JWST is going to change the world of science, and, believe it or not, our world as well. It is going to either expand our small-world bubbles into big ones, or burst our small-world bubbles altogether.
In retrospect, what can we do to amend the sorry state of affairs when it comes to atleast knowing about what’s happening in terms of cutting-edge science such as in the case of Space?
We, the fellows of the Education sector, can bring about a much-needed infusion of Space, Physics, Evolutionary Biology, and many such domain-related information across Curriculum; and, such infusions to deeper extents. Information from such domains would drive the dreams of the 21st Century Kids, if we succeed in making this happen. This would mean a much-needed leap in the scientific literacy of the student population in the modern world. As a consequence, logical reasoning and a deeper understanding of facts (and not just surface skimming of disciplines) would drive the collective citizenship of the future. This is a dream of a better future. A beautiful dream, where existence as a species takes the centre stage, and progressing humanity across stars would get a new meaning. Educators and educationists can lay the foundation for this dream for future generations. But, the efforts have to begin today.
Neil deGrasse Tyson has often said, “The good thing about science is that it’s true whether or not you believe in it.”
Educators and Educationists, worldwide, need to acknowledge the need for a paradigm shift in focus in terms of realising the possibilities and potential of the future. And, Space is right there at the top with the maximum potential to drive the dreams of the 21st Century Kids.
As an ending note, we can refer to what a very beloved astronomer of our world, Carl Sagan once said — “Every kid starts out as a natural-born scientist, and then we beat it out of them. A few trickle through the system with their wonder and enthusiasm for science intact.” Let us ensure that more students flourish with their interest in science. We can learn from our mistakes.
So, let us appreciate JWST, building on a newer perspective, and try to take a deeper dive into what those history-making images can mean for all of us. For us, humans. For us, who can be more than just Humans.
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As this was a post talking about broadening one’s knowledge horizons and appreciating the marvels of the Universe, a few articles are listed here for anyone to refer to. These articles can provide further information (many a time, quite technical, but, something that is manageable) on JWST’s feats. This post and these articles can be shared with fellow educators, teachers, students, parents, and all those who are eager to have their minds blown away.
If you have more suggestions on how to infuse more Space Science, and other cutting-edge domains, into the Curriculum, write to us at connections@ed-equity.org.
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