Remember the phrase "Space, the final frontier...to go where no man has gone before." Yeah cheesey I know, and also from the Star Trek movies, but still it meant something. I can recall the days when the Space program had everyones attention. how many of you know that today the shuttle landed and did so safely, does anyone care? I can recall as a child growing up in the 1980's whenever the shuttle launched we saw it on television. It didn't matter if you were in school or at home each channel broadcast its launch. When is the last time you saw its glorious take off and understood what you were witnessing. Just as I figured, most only remember when tradgedy happens. All are watching then and focus only on the failures of the space program.
I remember being home watching the space shuttle Challenger when it launched and seeing a horrific sight. For most of us we can recall trying to grasp what had happened and with the world mourning the loss of lives that day one will never forget. Was it becomeing to conventional that we stopped caring. Maybe the focus towards the stars became more like a movie, we could catch it whenever and didn't really have to see it to believe it. I as a child was very passionate about our solar system, knowing that there are things to discover and explore so far off that it would take light years to get to if just fascinating. Are you not compelled as well as I to know more about our past and our space future as those brave men and women of NASA who go where no man has gone before? Its more than just landing on the Moon, its about what those pioneers never thought possible. One day to travel from the Earth to say Mars is a feat that will truely happen, can you not imagine what lies before us at this time. It may not happen tommorrow, it might not for decades to come. But when it does will you be watching, or will you wait for dispare. I recently watched the movie Apollo 13 again and that is a prime example of how nobody cares until something newsworthy happens. Were it not for near tradgedy then America would have just considered another voyage to space and nothing more. however it became nail biting drama when lives were at stake, sound familiar?
Look I know it is a very costly journey, and like most other governmental agencies the cost is over inflated. That cost could go towards the research for vaious diseases, and other more engaging needs. But we must not deter from learning more about the heavens and the safe return of our Astronuats. The solar system is a vast array of planets and stars we may never be able to reach, never be able to comprehend the how and the why they exist. But only in the exploration of this system will we be able to know more of its affect on our own planet, and the possible solutions plagued over centuries that still haven't been identified.
So the next time a shuttle is launched please take the time to appreciate where its going and where its been. Allow yourself to feel the amazment as they space walk outside with the blackness of space as their background. Allow yourself the sense of pride in knowing how far man has come and how dangerous this feat actually is. And finally, find out the next time a shuttle will launch and land, the view from above must be inspiring and the grace at which it descends to Earth is as beautiful as the colors of the rings of Saturn......it really does mean something when you open your minds to the universe.
I remember being home watching the space shuttle Challenger when it launched and seeing a horrific sight. For most of us we can recall trying to grasp what had happened and with the world mourning the loss of lives that day one will never forget. Was it becomeing to conventional that we stopped caring. Maybe the focus towards the stars became more like a movie, we could catch it whenever and didn't really have to see it to believe it. I as a child was very passionate about our solar system, knowing that there are things to discover and explore so far off that it would take light years to get to if just fascinating. Are you not compelled as well as I to know more about our past and our space future as those brave men and women of NASA who go where no man has gone before? Its more than just landing on the Moon, its about what those pioneers never thought possible. One day to travel from the Earth to say Mars is a feat that will truely happen, can you not imagine what lies before us at this time. It may not happen tommorrow, it might not for decades to come. But when it does will you be watching, or will you wait for dispare. I recently watched the movie Apollo 13 again and that is a prime example of how nobody cares until something newsworthy happens. Were it not for near tradgedy then America would have just considered another voyage to space and nothing more. however it became nail biting drama when lives were at stake, sound familiar?
Look I know it is a very costly journey, and like most other governmental agencies the cost is over inflated. That cost could go towards the research for vaious diseases, and other more engaging needs. But we must not deter from learning more about the heavens and the safe return of our Astronuats. The solar system is a vast array of planets and stars we may never be able to reach, never be able to comprehend the how and the why they exist. But only in the exploration of this system will we be able to know more of its affect on our own planet, and the possible solutions plagued over centuries that still haven't been identified.
So the next time a shuttle is launched please take the time to appreciate where its going and where its been. Allow yourself to feel the amazment as they space walk outside with the blackness of space as their background. Allow yourself the sense of pride in knowing how far man has come and how dangerous this feat actually is. And finally, find out the next time a shuttle will launch and land, the view from above must be inspiring and the grace at which it descends to Earth is as beautiful as the colors of the rings of Saturn......it really does mean something when you open your minds to the universe.
1 comment:
Good point!!! I to as a child and young adult recall watching the space shuttles. As time goes on, I have allowed other events and the everyday matters in life to take the place of something I found truly amazing. In the future, I will take the time to appreciate this amazing journey.
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