They All Laughed At Christopher Columbus When He Said The World Was Round

Happy Friday, friends.

Every generation has its doubters. Every leap forward has a gaggle of sceptics explaining why it shouldn’t happen, why it costs too much, why it’s unnecessary, why we shouldn’t use Syntech ASB and maintain a reliance on fossil fuels instead, what we need to understand, don’t dare to dream, stay in your lane, don’t upset the applecart, behave yourself and why we should stay exactly where we are and keep our feet firmly on the ground.

To all the doubters, I say fiddlesticks. (I’d liked to have said a rude word actually).

This week, as the Artemis II mission carried human beings further into space than ever before on a journey around the far side of the moon, the predictable noise arrived right on cue. Social media, naturally, was full of armchair naysayers and keyboard critics lining up to savage the reported $93 billion cost and asking whether it was worth it.

My answer is simple. Yes, a million times Yes. (Although you could argue, for an extra 2 grand they could have had 10 days in Center Parcs, soz Center Parcs, cheap gag, love you really).

Because progress has never belonged to the timid, the milky or fainted hearted.

Human advancement has always depended on a handful of people willing to go first. Willing to step into uncertainty. Willing to risk failure, embarrassment, danger and sometimes far worse, so the rest of us can live in the safer, smarter world their courage helps create.

Someone had to sail beyond the horizon when maps ended in sea monsters.

Someone had to fly the first aircraft.

Someone had to travel to the bottom of the ocean.

Someone had to colonise Wales. (soz Wales, I’m on fire with the gags this week)

Someone had to switch on the first engine.

Someone had to test the first vaccine.

And yes, someone had to eat the first mushroom.

That last one may sound flippant, but the point stands. Human endeavour is a huge list of brave souls doing the unproven thing first so that everyone else can follow with confidence later.

So when four human beings strap themselves into a machine, leave the comfort of Earth at 25,000 miles per hour, and head into deep space in the name of science, exploration and possibility, I’m not interested in sneering from the sidelines. I’m saluting them.

What an achievement. What bottle, what brilliance from the engineers, scientists, technicians and mission crews who made it possible.

And what an absolute buzz it must’ve been to look back at our blue planet from that distance.

Imagine seeing Earth not as nations, borders, arguments or algorithms, but as it really is, a blue and white miracle suspended in blackness. Fragile, finite, astonishing.

No filters. No culture wars. No comment section. Just home.

Perhaps that is one of the greatest values of space exploration. It does not only teach us about the universe. It teaches us perspective.

From up there, our endless squabbles must seem very small indeed.

From up there, you would understand instantly that environmental responsibility is not a political hobby or a branding exercise. It is fundamental to survival.

And that brings me neatly on to Earth Day on April 22nd.

Some roll their eyes at awareness days. I don’t. Not when the subject is the only habitable planet we currently possess.

Earth Day matters because it reminds us of something easy to forget in the rush of modern life, everything depends on the health of the natural systems around us.

The space capsule and the space suits weren’t optional for the astronauts to survive, they were fundamental.

Earth Day raises awareness and highlights these messages. Clean air is not optional. Reliable water is not optional. Healthy soils are not optional. Stable climates are not optional. Energy security is not optional either.

These are the foundations beneath the floorboards. Ignore them long enough and the house starts to creak.

At Syntech, we speak often about fuel transition, resilience and practical decarbonisation because these issues are not abstract theories. They shape whether economies function, whether infrastructure gets built, whether farms harvest crops, whether hospitals stay powered and whether future generations inherit strength or fragility.

Progress on Earth and exploration in space are not opposing ideas. They’re siblings.

The same spirit that sends people around the moon is the spirit that develops cleaner fuels, better engines, smarter grids, efficient machinery and more responsible industrial systems here at home.

Curiosity built the spacecraft. Curiosity will also help repair the planet.

The critics of great adventures often focus only on the bill. They rarely calculate the return. Space programmes have historically driven advances in materials, computing, communications, medicine and engineering that spill into everyday life for everyone else. But beyond all this there is another bonus, inspiration.

A child watching Artemis II today could become the scientist who transforms battery storage tomorrow.

The apprentice captivated by rocket systems could become the engineer who decarbonises heavy transport.

The student staring at images of Earth from space on the telly could become the conservationist who restores landscapes and rivers.

Wonder has value. Ambition has value. Hope has value.

We should be careful about being a society that only asks, “What did it cost?” and never asks, “What can make it possible?” and “What will it do”

So this week I raise a glass to the crew of Artemis II and to every adventurer, past and present, who chose courage over comfort.

The mountaineers. The inventors. The explorers. The entrepreneurs. The medics. The builders. The farmers trialling new methods. The engineers trying cleaner systems. The Investors.

The people prepared to go first.

Most times they’re doubted before they’re celebrated. They all laughed at Christopher Columbus when he said the world was round, they wrote a song about it too.

As Earth Day approaches, perhaps the lesson is this, cherish our planet deeply, but never lose the restless human instinct to explore, improve and reach further.

We can honour Earth while aiming for the stars.

In fact, if we’re smart enough, both goals can become one and the same.

Until next time, thanks for reading, have a beautiful weekend.

Mike.

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