To Boldly Go

The Space Shuttle has returned to flight after being grounded for a couple of years. Now follows a twelve-day mission and then we can all breathe easier when the crew has been brought safely home. 

Space exploration is of paramount importance for science and for the spirit of humanity. It is frequently criticized as being costly in a world with lots of down-to-earth problems. This criticism is unfair. As long as the world can afford to spend $950 billion on the military I cannot imagine why anyone would consider peaceful space exploration costly and unnecessary. 

We need to boldly go where Discovery just went. That’s what humanity is all about.