Whose Space is it Anyway?
Past Present Future
00:00
The Sagan-Ostro Paradox
In the 1990s, Carl Sagan and Stephen Oster pointed out that just developing the ability to deflect asteroids counterintuitively might actually increase the chance of an asteroid striking the earth. The argument for skepticism of deflection technology presents as a paradox. It demonstrates how different thinking about space technology was in the recent past. There was a much more pervasive skepticism towards the proximity between the space and military technology. And there was also a very different sensibility on whether or not we should use it at all.
Transcript
Play full episode
