By Dr. Jyotika I. Virmani June 7, 2017

Both space and ocean exploration can boast world firsts, extreme risks, unknown challenges and mind-boggling discoveries that captivate our imagination and advance our understanding of our world and, fundamentally, of ourselves. So why does space exploration and research capture our collective attention and imagination more than ocean exploration and research?

The answer to this question has remained elusive for ocean professionals and enthusiasts alike. A case can be made that until the mid-20th century the oceans held an equal, if not a greater, fascination for the general public as compared to space. What changed? A frequently given reason for this shift in public interest is the 20th century space race, which triggered greater funding for space exploration and resulted in greater outreach. Added to this, space is generally considered to be more exciting and more visible; people need simply to look up into the night sky and see billions of stars and imagine the vast possibilities. Conversely, the oceans remain psychologically distant from the human mind (e.g. Schuldt et al., 2016), only directly visible to those who live along or visit a coast; even then, most people just see the sea surface the wonders that lie beneath remain hidden. But are these the only reasons?

For decades, the ocean community has worked to engage the public in ocean issues by, for example: highlighting the potential solutions for food security or pharmaceutical discoveries; raising the alarm over the damage we are causing and the long-term consequences to our own livelihoods; and making it more relatable by emphasizing the human connection. Some progress has been made but the fact still remains that space, although inaccessible for the majority, is more appealing to the general public than the oceans. Consequently, given the magnitude of discoveries waiting to be made, ocean exploration and research are generally underfunded. This can clearly be seen through a number of metrics including social media, which can be used as a proxy for the level of interest by the public. For example, search engines show at least four times as many hits on space exploration versus ocean exploration (e.g. Schubel, 2016) at any given time.

Lets take a deeper look at how weaving the human element into a narrative makes the story more appealing and relatable for people. In November 2011, NASA launched the Mars Curiosity Rover, a mission that successfully landed a robot 54.6 million kilometers from Earth, on Mars, in August 2012. This phenomenal achievement made front-page news globally and, with each new finding, continued to generate massive global interest. At approximately the same time, in March 2012, James Cameron, one of the worlds best known movie directors, personally embarked on an extremely dangerous mission to the bottom of the Mariana Trench (approximately 11 kilometers deep and approximately 300 kilometers from the nearest land). As the third person in human history to do this (Jacques Piccard and Capt. Don Walsh made this journey for the first time in 1960), it was an incredible testament to human achievement. In one example, we have a robot on a daring mission of exploration and discovery. In the other example, we have a very famous person on a daring mission of exploration and discovery. Both showcase the sense of adventure and human achievement. Yet the epic journey by Cameron is not as well-known (a Google search shows 251,000 hits for James Cameron reached Mariana Trench) compared to the Mars Curiosity journey (a Google search shows 446,000 hits for Mars Curiosity Rover landed). Clearly, the ingredients for a compelling and memorable story are more complex than the human element alone.

As an ocean community, we should continue to talk about the importance of issues such as conservation and protection, but to reach a broader audience there are lessons we can learn from the space community. We should take these to heart and turn the tide on ocean communication. And perhaps, as space becomes more commercialized and easier to access, the space community can take lessons from the recent experiences of the ocean community. By inspiring the public we shape public perception, which in turn influences policymakers and, more practically, changes funding levels. We need to embark on a Quest to Inspire the Public about the oceans for the sake of everyone.

The Author

Dr. Jyotika Virmani is Senior Director for Planet & Environment at XPRIZE and prize lead for the Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE. Dr. Virmani has over a decade of professional experience in oceanography. She has a Ph.D. in physical oceanography.

References

Schubel, J. R., 2016, Positioning Ocean Exploration in a Chaotic Sea of Changing Media. National Ocean Exploration Forum, October 20-21, 2016

Schuldt, J. P., K. A. McComas, and S. E. Byrne. 2016, Communicating about Ocean Health: Theoretical and Practical Considerations. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 371: 20150214. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2015.0214

Tversky, A., and D. Kahneman, 1981, The Framing of Decisions and the Psychology of Choice. Science, 211(4481): 453-458. doi: 10.1126/science.7455683

Weiss R. K., and A. Cochrane, 2010, Days of Future Past: Film Visions of Space Exploration, Commercialization and Tourism. IAC-10.E5.3

Woodman, J., 2016, Just Waiting to be Discovered: Finding Hope in Earthbound Mysteries, IEEE Earthzine

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Ocean vs Space: Exploration and the Quest to Inspire the Public - Marine Technology News