In 1941, Isaac Asimov wrote Reason, a short story that narrated the tale of Powell and Donovan, who worked in a space station generating energy from sunlight and sending it to Earth via microwave beams. What was then a science fiction story is now an increasingly close reality. It has been one of the theories underlying space-based solar power (SBSP), which many countries are working on.
As early as 1960, Peter Glaser proposed this idea, but the main obstacle to its development is its high cost. However, the fall of objects from space to Earth has nothing to do with the transmission of sunlight. Not only do we receive natural space dust, but we also have pieces of satellites or entire satellites falling, metal particles in the stratosphere (as detected by a NOAA mission), and meteorites. To this day, NASA continues to formulate theories but often does not know how to explain the reason for the fall of these unknown objects.
Reason, Isaac Asimov
Published in 1941 in the April issue of Astounding Science Fiction, Reason is a science fiction short story written by Isaac Asimov. It tells the story of a robot named QT-1 (Cutie), and his human supervisors, Powell and Donovan. The most relevant part that could reflect current space theories is the fact that they worked in a remote space station that was capable of generating energy from sunlight in space and transmitting it to Earth via microwave beams.
Space-based solar power (SBSP)
With the intention of being a clean energy source, space solar power responds to the idea of developing technology that would allow capturing solar energy in space using satellites and wirelessly transmitting it to Earth to serve as a source of electricity. This technology is being valued by many countries, such as Japan and China, but its main setback is the high implementation cost.
What do SBSP and Reason have in common?
Actually, the common denominator is the idea that there are things that fall from space to Earth, whether they are unknown objects or sunlight. It is believed that this story opened the door to thinking about these theories, which was already proposed by Peter Glaser in 1960.
What is falling from the sky to the Earth?
We are not only receivers of natural cosmic dust, but other objects also fall, such as:
- Remains and burned satellites. Parts that detach from rockets are falling into the Earth’s atmosphere.
- Particular metals in the stratosphere. Traces of metals embedded in stratospheric aerosols, belonging to the alloys used in spacecraft and satellites, have been detected by an emission from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
- Meteoroids. Fragments of meteoroids have been found on the Earth’s surface.
What does it imply that these objects continue to fall from the sky onto our planet?
The fall of these objects poses an evident risk. On one hand, it affects the environment, as both the ozone layer and atmospheric chemistry are impacted by the metals and alloys. On the other hand, it poses a risk to the integrity of people and property. It seems that the gap between what was once science fiction and what is becoming an increasingly close reality is closing more and more every day. While we on Earth learn to deal with these advancements and the fall of unknown objects from space, researchers are working hard to provide an explanation for this event that, to this day, even NASA has not solved.