TechnoChitlins

A Little Bit of Mars

Keith Cowing's journal of his time at the Devon Island Mars Habitat project is up on Nasa Watch- follow the link and scroll down to "14 October 2003: Keith Cowing's Devon Island Journal - the missing entries". Here's a taste- bq. In the aftermath of Columbia, the fifth time humans have died preparing for, embarking upon, or returning from a space mission - and one of many, many more where lives were put at risk, we come again to the core tenet of why humans fly in space. Yes, robots can do a lot - but only so much. And yes, humans can do things that robot can't - but that is not the prime reason we have flown humans in space - nor should it be,. We fly humans in space because it is in our nature to go to improbable places, and some great risk to life and limb, to see the wonders that lie out there with our own eyes. In so doing, those explorers see things with eyes for all of us who must stay behind. bq. Last year I went to a marvelous place and was personally enraptured by the experience. This year, I did so again, yet the experience was somewhat routine. Last year I came home with personal experiences that I was bubbling to convey. This year I came home, chastened and inspired by the Columbia accident - and somewhat angry. bq. Angry at what we could have done, had we not walked away from human exploration of space after Apollo. To be certain, learning to live - permanently - in space is interesting. But it is only a means toward a greater end. I want to see that end re-established once again. We had such a beacon during Apollo and it shone so bright that we did things bold an improbable. bq. It is time we ventured forth to do bold and improbable things once again. RTWT, of course, and follow all the other links for this fascinating project. Real work is being done and real accomplishments are being made- it's just completely off the media's radar. Ad Astra Per Aspera! Posted by maestro at October 14, 2003 12:15 PM | TrackBack