Donald Trump’s second inauguration fell on January 20, 2025, and as he stood at the podium, he made many promises. From the expected to the unexpected, he was clear and direct about his intentions for the future, including his statement that, “We will pursue our Manifest Destiny into the stars.”
As not all of us are stuck in the middle of a US History class, a little reminder of what Manifest Destiny exactly is, was needed. According to the Smithsonian Institution’s article on Manifest Destiny, it is “defined as ‘the concept of American exceptionalism, that is, the belief that America occupies a special place among the countries of the world.’”
This term was first used in 1845. The United States had existed for a mere 69 years, when the Western world was still tasting the newfound effects of white colonization. That association leaves the term “Manifest Destiny” with a bad aftertaste. The movement westward had detrimental effects to the Native American population, and according to the Library of Congress, had all been pushed to reservations by the 1880s.
Now how does Manifest Destiny and space exploration relate to one another, and how do they relate to the current political and economic climate of today? Well, according to NASA, they are “advancing many technologies to send astronauts to Mars as early as the 2030s,” so it appears that Mars is the first stop on the United States’ tour of space colonization, and it may not take too long to get there.
There is a natural fascination with space, an expanse untouchable to the everyday man. Burning balls of gas millions of miles away from each other, seen from Earth as pictures in the sky. But, even with the beauty of a world unknown, why do we need to go to space? Elon Musk seems to think that we do, NPR quotes him saying, “I mean, can you imagine how awesome it will be to have American astronauts plant the flag on another planet for the first time? How inspiring would that be.”
Even with the fascination, and Musk’s dream for the world, there are incredibly intense problems that need to be solved before we can make it to Mars. NASA continues to say that the trip will be “over 1 billion miles there and back, which puts both strain on vessels and astronauts.” There is also the fact that there is so much to discover at home, too. Not that space should wait, but according to NOAA, only 5% of Earth’s oceans have been explored, and maybe that leaves more to be questioned now than the entirety of outer space… (Ocean aliens, anybody?)
Space travel issues and the oceans at home don’t seem to be an issue, and the 2030s aren’t too far away. So maybe a Star Wars style universe is not in a “galaxy far, far away” at all, but it is right on our doorstep.
As of now, the modern world of science and technology does not know of the existence of aliens, and NASA says, “We have not yet discovered life on any other planet, and we have not seen any scientifically supported evidence for extraterrestrial life.” However, there may be life out there, even in the form of microbes and bacteria. So who’s to say our cosmic developments won’t be affecting other, stranger life forms in the universe? And with aliens on the horizon, other forms of galactic possibilities are just waiting to be explored.
Venturing to Mars, to the moon, to space at all, brings society as a whole closer to a civilization among the stars. How long will it be until hyperspace travel? Can I eat dinner with a Wookie at the White House? Will Elon Musk personally train me in the ways of the force?
But from those wonderful events, heroism and liberty, won’t a darker section arise? A young Darth Vader? Maybe some sort of republic, run on both sides by one figurehead… turning into a galactic empire… No. That would be insane.
Perhaps, with all that is said and done in the Presidential arena, it can remind us of another time. Maybe, a worse time. Just as crowds stand and roar to the speeches of uneducated politicians, Padme Amidala’s quote will ring truer, “this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause.”
