What If NASA Explored Earth Instead? | Unveiled

What If NASA Explored Earth Instead?

Today, NASA has sent a probe to every planet in the solar system. It’s led dozens of missions to the moon and Mars, it’s flown cutting edge machines around the gas giants of Jupiter and Saturn, and has even paid a visit as far out as Neptune, and to the former planet (now dwarf planet) Pluto. There’s no doubt that NASA’s journey in space until now has been incredible and inspiring… but how might the world be if NASA had developed differently and kept its sights a little closer to home?

This is Unveiled, and today we’re answering the extraordinary question; What if NASA explored Earth instead?

Everyone knows that NASA is a space organization, first and foremost. The acronym itself stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration… but it’s goal perhaps isn’t solely off-Earth endeavors. The official vision of NASA is to “boldly expand frontiers in air and space”, which is hardly surprising… but also “to inspire and serve America and to benefit the quality of life on Earth”. At the heart of it all, then, there’s already a drive to advance the scientific knowledge and understanding of our own planet… it’s just that NASA has traditionally sought to do that by studying it from space.

As such, NASA already claims to have explored Earth more than any other planet, and so in some ways our title question is perhaps a little unfair. However, so much of NASA’s Earth study is conducted from afar, taking in such natural phenomena as the climate and the evolution of weather, as seen from above. For the most part, NASA doesn’t physically send a great many probes to unexplored regions of Earth, in the same way as it does to Mars, for example. NASA’s work on the ground (on Earth) just isn’t comparable to the major strides it has made in the skies.

When we think of how much of Earth remains unstudied in general, it’s impossible not to start with the ocean. Up to eighty percent of it is still considered unexplored, while only around twenty percent of the seafloor has ever been mapped out. We may be surrounded by it, but the ocean is largely still a mystery to us… and some estimates claim that there could yet be thousands of ocean lifeforms alive right now, that we haven’t even encountered yet. It’s been variously reported that there are some regions of the oceans - thousands of miles across - that are still wholly unvisited by humans. Our impact is likely still felt there thanks to pollution, but these are places that we’ve truly never seen for ourselves.

It's not as though America doesn’t have an arm of government tasked with studying the ocean, though… it does! The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (or NOAA) has achieved a great deal, but it’s also never had anywhere close to the level of funding that NASA has. If NASA explored Earth instead, then, we might reasonably expect the ocean to be tamed and fully cataloged. We might logically imagine, too, an International Sea (or Ocean) Station, much as we have an International Space Station now. Underwater bases (more so than the few we already have) and perhaps we’d even be well on our way toward underwater cities. Much of the technology needed to build underwater habitats does already exist… but there’s little by way of funding or enthusiasm to make it happen. With NASA’s budget turned to the water, though, that wouldn’t likely be the case for long. Swap astronauts for aquanauts, and that’s at least one major change we’d see!

There are other areas of the planet that aren’t yet fully explored besides the oceans, however. So many of Earth’s underground spaces are unknown, for example. Thousands of natural caves are discovered every year, and some could be leading to vast cave systems. But, while studying and cataloguing caves in recent times has led to various scientific breakthroughs, there could be so much more done in the field. And were NASA to turn their focus to it, then no doubt there would be massive strides made! It could all help with NASA’s broader mission to investigate Earth’s climate, as well… seeing as some rock formations in caves can hold millions of years’ worth of history within themselves. Including hints toward the climatic conditions of the past.

Scientists already know that deep caves can offer some of the best-preserved windows into natural history. These usually enclosed areas are largely protected from outside influences and erosion. They’re often untouched for thousands of years, or else they bear the signs of an ancient human group that had once used them for shelter. In either case, their value is immense. However, caves are also notoriously difficult to explore, and while there are some co-ordinated groups - including the National Speleological Society in the US - adding an organization the size of NASA into the equation would certainly change things.

With a NASA-size initiative leading the charge, the tools and technology for caving would likely be greatly improved and much more widespread. Caving suits on par with astronaut suits, and a fleet of purpose-built drones and robots to reach into spaces that are otherwise impossible for humans. In some cases, this kind of tech is already available… but with NASA-level funding and influence, it would soon be commonplace. The underground world would be much less a mystery, enabling exploration which could lead to untold advances in geology, biology, mineralogy, archaeology, and more. Again, it would perhaps tie in with some of NASA’s current goals, too, as one idea for living on foreign planets such as Mars is to inhabit them using underground lava tubes.

Another, more specific region that would surely be more explored were NASA to fully turn its attention there… is Antarctica. Now, NASA does already (famously) lead various studies on Earth’s southernmost continent, but these are often more geared toward better understanding space and particle physics. Antarctica itself remains something of an enigma. What makes it special are the freezing temperatures, and the way in which the ice can perfectly preserve history. There are likely thousands of secrets still buried in Antarctica, considering it was once - in Earth’s ancient past - a green and lush land, even hosting dinosaurs at one stage. But these might be secrets that something the size of NASA could more quickly uncover.

Yet again, it’s not as though the study would be adrift from space, either. In exploring Antarctica, rovers would need to be developed that are capable of plunging into icy depths and fissures. And that’s potentially helpful not just on Earth… but on other planets and moons, too. Among the top candidates for life in the solar system is the icy moon Enceladus, and the closest environment we have to Enceladus on Earth is Antarctica… which is why many are already questioning why NASA hasn’t better explored Antarctica by now. It might’ve been something of a practice ground for space exploration. Although, of course, there are also many benefits to us having kept it as pristine as possible.

But finally, to an aspect of Earth that unfortunately hasn’t been kept pristine - the rainforests. In a world where an organization the size of NASA had studied the rainforests rather than space, might they have been better preserved? Perhaps… which would likely have slowed extinction rates. That said, there are still rare occasions even now when new, untouched forest is discovered… such as in 2005, when researchers reportedly found for the first time the Mount Mabu Rainforest in Mozambique, after noticing it on Google Earth. An area that had been seemingly missed by all except local people, it was soon realized that it was packed full with new plants and animals.

Were NASA to redirect its efforts toward them, however, breakthroughs like this would perhaps be treated more like missions to distant planets are today. There’d likely be more fanfare toward rainforest preservation and new species discoveries… and, with the clout of something like NASA behind it, perhaps more enthusiasm than over recent decades to save these green spaces. One criticism often leveled at space missions is that the money required could be better spent solving issues on Earth rather than away from it. And the idea that we’re currently searching for alien life all while undiscovered life-forms on this planet go extinct… is certainly one argument toward that.

Nevertheless, there are plenty of arguments for NASA operating as it is, as well. Existing, as it does, on the frontline of space travel, it has inspired countless scientific breakthroughs over the years. And it remains true to its mission goal to “benefit the quality of life on Earth” because so much of what we do know about the environment, the atmosphere, the past, the future, and even the origins of existence… has come about thanks to the work of NASA.

This video isn’t to suggest that NASA should change, only to imagine what might be achieved if it did. And, while it’s impossible to foretell the precise technologies that would emerge, it’s a good bet that we’d have a better grasp on the oceans… that we’d have more knowledge of our cave systems… that we’d be far more acquainted with Antarctica… and with the rainforests, too. The world would be a very different place if NASA decided to look inward at our own planet instead of outward to others… and that’s what would happen if NASA explored Earth instead.