Sunday, January 18, 2009

Uplifting the human spirit

I had just started my teenage years when Armstrong landed on the moon (you do the math). I've always been fascinated by space, including being a fan of Science Fiction -- a rather geeky gay. That's why it is good to see that as our country faces an economic mess there are still reasons for humans going into space.

1. Humans can do things machines can't. The capacity and ability of probes is limited.
2. Manned capability (especially the new Ares rockets) can launch much more than just humans.
3. The spinoffs from manned space projects have improved practically every facet of technology and has done so more rapidly and with wider scope than anything since WWII and did it with much less human cost.
4. We are a species that needs to roam.
5. Human exploration of space uplifts the human spirit.

The cost? Peanuts compared to bailing out AIG. And we'll have a lot more to show for it along the way.

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