Wednesday, January 14, 2004

Excelsior! We’re Going to Mars! Excelsior!

Well, no. Not really. Not now. Maybe not at all. But the idea is there and, if we do it for the right reasons, I’ll be excited. I’ll also be excited if we go for the wrong reasons, but I’ll make snide comments.

What’s the right reason? Science and understanding. Discovery, observation and learning. Oh, I don’t know, learning a little bit about or little cosmic neighborhood?

Wrong reasons? Politics, hubris and stupidity. Or to satisfy some need to prove that we simply can.

That being said, my little Gertrude has already begun training. She should get her Ph.D. in physics by 2030, hopefully a little before. So she’ll be perfect to go. Though I may convince her to switch to geology for practical purposes. She already likes rocks. Well, at least their destructive properties when introduced to large panes of glass.

Just last night, in preparation for the announcement, I put her through a minor zero-gee experiment and she giggled with glee, exclaiming, “Do it agin! Do it agin!” Tonight I’m tying a rope around her ankles and doing an experiment with centripetal forces.

Just kidding honey! (My wife is reading.) We’ll use bungee cords.

I just hope we can get the world excited about space exploration again. Are there good reasons to go? Hell yeah. Here are ten just involving the moon.

Hey, the whole universe is out there waiting to be looked at and questioned. Let’s do it. In fact, why don’t we put more effort there and less behind showing commercials before movies?

Surely I’m not the only one who looks up in the sky and wonders, “Just what the hell happens out there? And why? When can I go?”

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