Sydney Goggans, Staff Writer

Celestials, orbits and rockets occupy the dreams and fantasies of scientists and civilians all over the world. Space—a universe comprised of multiple wonders that is awaiting for us to uncover. It is no secret that the concept of space is a global, intriguing phenomenon through the news and pop culture. The box office hit of Star Wars proves the human’s fascination of what we call the unknown above us. And within the year of 2020, it is said that this will be a grand year for the space industry. SpaceX and Boeing are expected to launch astronauts into the universe. NASA is said to launch their rover on Mars. More scientists and astronomists from all over planet Earth are on the wave of launching their products into space. Yes, this is wonderful for not only the future of space exploration but for the advancement of technology.

However, has anyone stopped to pause the space exploration funding and place it towards ocean exploration? It is not too absurd of an idea, just hear me out.

Space is beautiful and yes there are so many more discoveries within the big vacuum above us. But… only 5 percent of the ocean has been explored… and that is a problem. We do not take the ocean seriously because it is simply here on Earth. Just because it is visible, and we can touch it does not mean it does not have discoveries of its own. The ocean covers 71 percent of the Earth’s surface yet there is a lack of enthusiasm from science of exploring it. If we can contribute millions of funding towards the space cause, why can’t we do the same for the ocean? There is an abundance of mysteries that lie within the ocean floor. The aliens that everyone is trying to find can be there. The mermaids. The monsters. The creatures. Real or not, my point is people—scientists and civilians alike – are potentially uncovering all of the mystery in the wrong place.

Humans are capable of creating rockets and other forms of technology that can help other humans navigate through a vacuum with significant amounts of pressure and lack of oxygen. Therefore, humans are capable of doing the same when it comes to ocean exploration. As climate change is escalating throughout the years, deep ocean exploration is a great opportunity to understand how the impact of heat is affecting the creatures on the ocean floor versus on the surface.

Maybe if pop culture contributed to a multitude of successful oceanic movies, besides the usual terror shark movie like Jaws, then the general public would be more fascinated with space. And maybe if this was actually voiced to our government, it would be taken seriously. However, unfortunately, this is not the reality and it is a shame. Just because we can see its surface does not mean there is not a treasure trove of beautiful wonders deep within.

It is our duty as civilians to propose this idea. And together, we can create an initiative to finally focus the perspective on oceans within our planet Earth.