It's time we came back to earth

The excitement over space travel is overblown, says the (terrestrial) explorer Robin Hanbury-Tenison. Instead of reaching for the stars, we should be marvelling at and caring for what we already have on our own planet

- Robin Hanbury-Tenison

THE tale of the emperor's new clothes, as everyone over the age of 40 knows, is an allegory of Man believing the impossible. In Hans Christian Andersen's story, two swindlers persuade the king to have a wonderful suit made, which can only be seen by people of virtue. Everyone goes along with this illusion as the king parades through the streets of his city, until a child cries out that he is naked and, suddenly, everyone realises they can admit the truth. I believe we are witnessing something similar with the likes of Elon Musk's obsession with space travel. It is time the scales fell from our eyes.

Of course, it was exciting when man first stepped on the moon and, of course, satellites have changed the world, mostly for the better, but why would anyone want to spend unimaginable resources to go into outer space? It's a terrible place, sterile and lifeless; living there would involve spending one's life in considerable discomfort at unimaginable expense. How can people even consider doing that?