The power of astronomy to unite humanity must be harnessed through education, says Nobel Laureate Brian Schmidt

Astronomy has the power to unite humanity, and accessing the tools required to educate the next generation of space mission designers and aerospace engineers has never been easier, Professor Brian Schmidt, 2011 Nobel Laureate for Physics, told the Space Business Forum at Expo 2020 Dubai.

Giving examples from Australian Aboriginal dreamtime legends, Greek mythology and prehistoric cave paintings Prof Schmidt, who is also Vice-Chancellor and President of the Australian National University, told the forum that astronomy is universal and something that has always united humanity.

Prof Schmidt said: “The stories of the stars are everyone’s stories and indeed they are a common story of humanity that go back to beginnings of our time as a species, and it reminds us that we do indeed all come from the same space.”

To illustrate how advances in technology are revolutionising the dissemination of scientific knowledge, Prof Schmidt noted that when Copernicus first published his findings about the Sun, rather than the Earth, being at the centre of the Solar System, only 276 people could read his findings. Today, teachers using massive open online courses can reach millions of people. 

Prof Schmidt said: “On Edex and [other] platforms, you can learn how to do space-mission design, no matter where you are in the world, get an introduction into aerospace engineering and astronautics, and it goes on and on. Almost everything imaginable is available out there.

“Technology gives us the ability to teach and to reach out to the entirety of the Earth’s 7.8 billion people. Learning astronomy has been absolutely critical to our understanding of science and the development of science. Learning is at the key of being able to use space.

“Ultimately if we are going to thrive as a species on our planet, we must use all of our resources with great efficiency. So that’s not just the Earth, it’s space and the added ability to do new things, and of course our most important resource – our people. So if we are going to able live and prosper on Earth, we are going have to use as much of it as we can efficiently – and that means giving as many people as possible the tools through education to understand space and astronomy, physics, maths and all the things that underpin our modern technology.”

Astronomy education is important because ultimately there is no plan B, he added. “The pale blue dot that we live in is not infinite – it is finite. And it’s the only thing in the solar system that we are going to easily be able to live. So we need to make sure we use what we have well, and that means, ultimately, making sure that every citizen of planet Earth has the education that they deserve. And what a great place to start with astronomy, with space and with physics. This empowering discipline has been with humanity since the dawning of time.”  

The Space Business Forum is part of Space Week, one of 10 Thematic Weeks that form part of Expo 2020 Dubai’s mission to catalyse finding solutions to some of the most pressing challenges of our time.

Text, photos and video: Expo Dubai 2020.