On October 4th, 1957, the United Soviet Socialist Republic took mankind’s exploration of our environment into a brand-new phase. For millennia we had looked up into the night sky and wondered. For the past half a century, the moon, planets, and stars have seemed much closer to us than they ever had before. Fantastical stories of interplanetary and interstellar travel seemed much more plausible, more reasonable. It is my firm belief that active space exploration is one of the most optimistic, noble endeavors we have set our collective minds to. The innovations and inspiration we draw from this effort, as young people take interest in the sciences and technology is turned to purposes other than wanton destruction or sloth, far outweigh the costs in labor, material, capital, and even the lives that have been lost.
Man has his eyes in the front of his head so that he may always look forward. Let’s keep moving forward.
Hells yeah! Otherwise, how will the Whedon-esque future of humanity become reality?!
Seriously. Think of how many of our favorite cultural references we can thank Sputnik for. It’s nutty.
Well put, and my view as well. And to all those who claim that scientific exploration is purposeless and hollows out man’s soul, I say to them: how can you not view photographs of the edge of the known universe, speculate the amazing possibilities of advanced theoretical physics, lay on your back in the desert and behold the shimmering spectacle of our own galaxy without experiencing total awe, or upon hearing Neil Armstrong’s remarks after alighting the surface of the moon not choke up with pride. There is every bit of wonder and meaning in these endeavors as any passage of scripture, any work of philosophy.
Not to diminish the treasure trove of pop culture references, of course.
The treasure trove of pop culture references cannot be diminished! How long have we strived to stretch our glorious empire to the stars, only to be driven back?
In all seriousness, manned exploration of Mars is one of the handful of things I agree with our current president regarding. It’s important that we strive for progress, even if it’s just incremental. It is in the face of such monumental challenges that our best qualities shine through. When our creative impulses have a positive outlet, everyone benefits. Why do we tolerate having our best and brightest shuffle off to develop new video games, weapons, and exciting new ways to distribute pornography when they could be doing so much more?