"This would reignite the flames of innovation that I think we, at least in the US, at one time took for granted," Tyson told Fairfax Media from New York. And while Tyson offers his plan for Mars with tongue firmly planted in cheek, the issue of growing an economy through more science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) is no joke. Mars landing: Getting there would be like an ancient sea voyage. Credit:NASA Education in those fields has become a bit of an obsession in the US, while in Australia there are efforts under way to spur science study as a path forward in the post-mining boom period. But in an ideal future filled with astronauts landing on Mars, Tyson says, "you wouldn't need special programs" to boost STEM skills because everyone would want to pursue them anyway. In fact, the dazzling feats of humans in space would change the broader culture of a country.

"You would transform a sleepy country into an innovation nation and you'd do it practically overnight. And that transformation has huge economic implications," he says. Tyson knows something about the effect of science and space on the human imagination. As a child, he grew up in an America enthralled by watching the moon landings on TV. The nation's expanding frontier of space spurred an interest in astronomy and set him on a course to become the best known astrophysicist in the US today. Now, as director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York, Tyson is famous for his historic demotion of Pluto from planet to "dwarf planet" status. Tyson most recently has hosted the successful program Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey. He has also both advised the US government on space policy and commands a following of 3.7 million on Twitter. Few are better positioned to comment on the nexus between space, science and the broader culture. While Tyson does not advocate finding "another enemy" for a space race, the connection between extending the frontiers of space and raising a nation's overall scientific ability is clear. Pushing at the boundaries of space requires sciences as diverse as biology, chemistry, geology, not to mention physics, propulsion, computer science, astronomy - the same disciplines that yield technological breakthroughs.

What's also clear is that nearly half a century since the first moon landing, Western economies have been "coasting" on investment in innovation and in science that had followed World War II, he says. The fear is that the "coasting" becomes a standstill in the sort of meaningful technological innovation that increases productivity and spurs new industries. Rekindling Australia's innovative capacity is a topic politicians, economists and educators are spending more time focusing on, in part because of fears of slumping future standards of living if new industries aren't fostered. The business lobby the Australian Industry Group, staring out at a horizon of economic growth challenges, has declared that "now is the time for action" in building the nation's STEM skills. Australia's chief scientist Ian Chubb says the country should align its scientific effort "to the national interest". Tyson sees a virtuous cycle in extending the frontiers of science. If people are capable in science and technology, they think differently about the world, Tyson believes. In Australia's case, people "won't think, 'Oh, I wonder what new invention will come from the US or Europe that will make my life better.' [Instead,] someone will be empowered to actually do something [about the future]".

"The creativity that derives from the kind of culture is the kind of creativity that builds your tomorrows," Tyson says. "But without being STEM literate, you're not even in a position to think that way." Tyson is coming to Australia as a guest of science-focused initiative Think Inc in August, for a tour of east coast cities to talk about science culture. But he is not alone in worrying about a kind of innovation stagnation in Western societies, epitomised by the US's retreat from human space exploration. Figures as diverse as sci-fi author Neal Stephenson, PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, and anthropologist David Graeber have all addressed the issue in their own ways. While investors like Thiel put emphasis on the value of planning for a specific future, Tyson places more weight on the notion that the biggest advances in technology are rarely foreseen. "The most transforming things in society," Tyson says, "are those things you never saw coming."

The smartphone, for example, employs a "stunning array of research pathways" related to solid state memory, touch screens, global position systems and the internet. While it's true, China and the US already view each other with suspicion in space, a voyage to Mars would likely be billions, if not trillions of dollars away for whichever government would be willing to foot the bill. In the meantime, the viability of economies has a geopolitical dimension. After all, the outlook for an economy's success feeds into perceptions of a nation's power. Perhaps for this reason the bigger question on innovation is whether a nation's aversion to economic stagnation in the 21st century can do for science, technology, and space what the Cold War did for those pursuits in the last century? "We all know if we're threatened, particularly technologically threatened, that can lead to technological innovation in the interest of your defence," says Tyson.