With all the excitement over the Mars rovers, the cries for a
visionary manned exploration program are back with earnest. If you are a
romantic, then maybe you are moved. But if you are a student of history, the
fundamental question of purpose needs to be asked. What is the point of sending
living beings to distant planets, when our own earth is a confused mess? The
analogy of criticism for a Columbus voyage doesn’t wash. The age of discovery
involved expansion and exploration that increased commerce and offered hope for
a new future. Long space journeys only gratify the egos of
governments.
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