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| Living space may be cramped, but I'd love to visit. |
A viable, long-term space station promises numerous, valuable discoveries for the human race. But would anyone want to live on one? Up to the present day, space stations have been cramped, unromantic structures. Too small to be self-sustaining, they have thus been in constant need of resupply and repair. Astronauts travel to these remote outposts to endure lives of isolation and sacrifice; the aging structures are eventually abandoned, left to burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere. But what might life be like on a space station large enough to be self-sustaining? Dr. Gregory Benford offers us a more palatable vision of life on one in his novel Jupiter Project.
Most of us would never willingly leave our families behind, for years at a time, to undertake a job on a space station. On JABOL such sacrifice is unnecessary. By allowing station staff to bring their spouses and children with them, the Can not only ensures a low-turnover and a continuity in its work force, but benefits from staff who remain content and grounded. After a long workday, crew can relax at home with their families, or go out to eat or to take part in the numerous activities and entertainment the station offers. Family members also benefit from this “normal” interaction. While Matt enjoys watching old movies with his mom and dad, he also competes in various tournaments (such as for Chess and Zero-G Squash), plays guitar and acts in station-wide talent shows, and hangs out with his friends Zak, Jenny, and Ishi.
As to the family members of hired staff, their lives can provide as much meaning and satisfaction as any lived on Earth. There are always plenty of jobs on offer in the Can. While the father of protagonist Matt Bowles works in Monitoring, his mother spends each day working in Hydroponics. Who wouldn’t enjoy gardening in space, and gain satisfaction from growing necessary food for your community? Teens can find part-time jobs more interesting than flipping burgers or waitressing. Matt works in Monitoring, Yuri in Atmospheric Studies, Zak with computers, while Ishi and Jenny work in Shuttle Maintenance, which also involves taking these vehicles outside the station to perform necessary repairs. Younger children might not perform such necessary tasks, but they also benefit from smaller class sizes and receiving one-on-one instruction from a computer personality in the Education center.
By remaining together, parents can reinforce cultural values and practice those traditions they regard as meaningful. At one point, Matt, Zak and Jenny spend an evening of conversation with their friend Ishi, whose parents’ idea of throwing a party consists of having the teens sit together on Tatami mats, eating rice and fish and drinking tea. Yet, later in the novel, eighteen-year-old Matt and Jenny go out together for alcoholic drinks, so clearly the community is anything but puritanical. When Matt is confused by the various fads and trends he reads about in magazines from Earth, Zak argues that fads don’t stand a chance of catching on there: residents don’t need to search for artificial ways to build up their ego and or boost their self-image. Clearly, this small-town mentality offers all the Can’s residents a sense of belonging and purpose superior to that they would find on Earth.
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| Let's go for high Earth orbit! |
Mankind has lived in space, for periods of short duration, from the early 1970s. In addition to the United States’ Skylab, the Russians launched nine stations into orbit previous to Mir. Today we have the International Space Station, but how many of us will ever visit it? How many of us would even opt to live there long-term, were we lucky enough to be granted such a select opportunity? In their respective novels Downstation Below and Lightpaths, last year’s Guest of Honor C. J. Cherryh and frequent Condor guest Howard Hendrix offered us glimpses of how full and meaningful a life lived on a self-supporting space station could be. With JABOL in Jupiter Project, Dr. Gregory Benford offers us another. Not only would life there be a wonderful experiment, but every day could be full of meaning, purpose, and wonder. Imagine that: living out each day, filled with a sense of wonder.
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