It's debatable, I know, but I don't think Tolkien would have been very interested in space exploration.
I would guess that he would have believed that humanity's real quest is an inner one, and that our future is innately tied to this particular world and to its particular mythic beings.
I believe he would have seen colonizing rocks out in the vacuum of space as -- at best -- a distraction from our real purpose and nature. His universe wasn't so much about space and time as about connections and fellowship. To Tolkien, a star wasn't an astronomical object, it was a sign of hope.
What do you guys think? 
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An interesting thought, Ptero. I agree that Tolkien seemed to be all about conquering inner demons...but at the same time he seemed to use external conflict as a context for those inner battles, so perhaps he had it in him!
He certainly lived and wrote in a time when it was a hot topic, so I guess if he had a bent towards that way of thinking he might have explored it, and clearly he didn't (at least on paper).
Dying is easy. Comedy is hard.
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Tolkien was a big scifi fan; since at least 75% of that genre relates to space travel, exploration, etc., I'll bet he was interested in the subject. His good friend C. S. Lewis certainly was. Tolkien undoubtedly had some creative involvement with Lewis' space trilogy, if only as critic and beta reader.
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Ptero-valley
(Sun Jul 13 17:15:56)
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 UPDATED Sun Jul 13 18:09:26 |
I think Tolkien would have interested in the science-fiction of writers like H.G. Wells and George Orwell.
I don't think he would have much interest in what space exploration is today, basically a huge techno-bureaucracy that's mostly concerned with weaponizing space.
I was a big fan of space exploration when I was a kid, but now I see it more as a gravy train for defense contractors, and very dangerous to humankind's future.
I don't think Tolkien would see anything romantic or spiritual about putting TV satellites or laser beams in space. It would probably just freak him out! 
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But we're not talking about what space exploration's become, we're talking about what it was in Tolkien's day. Back then the concept was quite romantic and exciting. There were endless possibilities, wonders and adventures waiting for us, with limits set only by our own imaginations and shortcomings. Humanity, with all its grime and glory, was walking in the realm of the gods. What would we find there? What would it tell us about ourselves? That's the kind of speculation Lewis was drawn to, and Tolkien as well, I think. Jules Verne and Gene Roddenberry rather than Wells and Orwell.
BTW, I am a professional astronomer and I must disagree with your views on what NASA and space exploration have become. But I'm going to leave it there - that's not a topic for this board.
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Tar, I'd be extremely interested to hear that modern space exploration is not about weaponization, spy satellites and other "star wars" types of military applications. I'm all for the Jules Verne vision.
Why not send pioneers to Mars? Or back to the moon? Why not put up a space station that people can visit, a la 2001?
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I am amazed that there has been so little outcry against the so called Star Wars missile defense system. There was very little said when Reagan first proposed this system, and very little when Bush Jr dragged it out again recently. What amazes me is that the technology to do what was proposed didn't exist in Reagan's time, and still doesn't exist. What they want to do simply cannot be done with current technology. Why has that never been discussed in the media?
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Dobby's a *beep* fag.
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It's not, Ptero. That type of stuff has nothing to do with modern space exploration. We ARE working on sending pioneers to Mars (sometime in the two thousand teens hopefully), building a space station (the ISS), and colonizing the moon (that's one reason we have spacecraft searching for water near the poles). We're also out there looking at asteroids partly to see if they contain useful resources for "settlers." Then there are all the missions to Mars, Titan, and Europa looking for signs of life; all the astronomers searching for Earth-like planets around other stars; all the cosmologists and theoreticians exploring how the universe began, how it works now and how it will end. This IS space exploration as far as I'm concerned, and the military has nothing to do with it. They're just concerned with Earth and the itty bitty bit of space in its immediate vicinity.
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When I saw your topic on the board, I thought, "NO!" And, as it turns out, you explained my exact reasoning.
 You are a daughter of kings. A shieldmaiden of Rohan.
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Thinking in terms of how attached Tolien was to nature, I'd have to say he wouldn't be in favor of space exploration. Sure, it seemed romantic at the time, but I think Tolkien would be one to look ahead to all the possibilities of the future. After watching the destruction of the industrial revolution in England, I'm sure he wouldn't have been too happy about the prospect of humans going into space to wreak that kind of havoc on the rest of the galaxy.
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When I saw your topic on the board, I thought, "Huh?" 
As it tursn out that is actually an interesting question. Very well thought out and reasonaed.
"Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop to look around once in a while, you could miss it."
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Thanks, Damian!
Does that mean I can put you down as a solid "maybe?"
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I don't think so, Tolkien thought that technology was one of the worst things ever. Notice how both Sauron and Saruman are all about industrialization while the Shire is all simple country life without the complications of technology.
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athene-5
1 day ago (Sun Aug 3 18:04:40)
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"I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew..."
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