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We’re only a few days into 2019, and we seem to be in the grips of a new Space Age. Following the NASA fly-by of Ultima Thule, which we now know looks rather like a snowman, China has gone where no-one apart from Pink Floyd has dared to explore before, namely the dark side of the Moon. The close up image sent by the probe Chang’e 4 is awe inspiring in its other-worldliness. Humankind has been fascinated with what lies beyond our own existence for millennia. It’s that sense of hope, of aspiration, and of discovery that keeps us gazing up at the skies and imagining how things must be elsewhere in the cosmos. Space exploration allows us to understand the universe much better, as well as our own origins as a species, but it also plays an important role in the mundane. It’s given us GPS and memory foam, and it has led to us having mobile phones more powerful than the computers that landed Apollo 11 on the Moon almost 50 years ago. The technology developed during the original Space Race continues to impact our lives today. It reminds me of the words of Oscar Wilde, that “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars”. The idea that we want to better ourselves, despite our own beginnings. However, the quote also makes me think of the complacent attitudes that many of us have about our own planet, and how we’re dealing with it as something as dispensable as a takeaway carton. In the eyes of some, we are literally treating our own world as a gutter. The Sikh scriptures, the Guru Granth Sahib, emphasise the importance of the natural world with the words “Air is the Guru, Water is the Father, and Earth is the Great Mother of all.” Humanity does not live in a vacuum, hermetically sealed from everything around us. It’s about living a lifestyle where one is aware of our environment, and not just taking it for granted. Without these essential building blocks, life simply would not exist, and it’s our responsibility to protect what we have. This is likely to be an important year when it comes to the environment, be it by managing the impact of climate change, increasing the use of renewable energies, or reducing our reliance on single use plastics. We have a short window of opportunity to change our own direction of travel when it comes to how we treat the world, and we should make the most of it whilst we still can. As we enter this new Space Age with wonder and excitement, I believe that we would do well to keep at the front of our minds the precious and unique world we live on. After all, it’s still the only one we truly know.