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Doesn't it bother you that you won't be the one doing the exploring? I'm insanely envious of these people and sometimes I wish manned spaceflight would end. Sta

by kmm 14y ago

Doesn't it bother you that you won't be the one doing the exploring? I'm insanely envious of these people and sometimes I wish manned spaceflight would end. Standing on the Moon sounds like the most amazing experience I can imagine and it pains me that I won't ever get there and even if I would, I would just be the umpteenth tourist, littering up the place.

StevenRayOrr 14y ago
I would absolutely love to stand on the surface of Mars or see Alpha Centauri with my own eyes, but I also know that such things are outside of my grasp. Poets and philosophers make for lousy explorers. It is enough for me that we, as a species, are reaching upward. It is enough for me that we, as a people, are overcoming chains that were not even imagined by our ancestors -- tasks so difficult, so alien that they would only describe it as touching the face of god. This is about more than the whimsical realized dream of an individual; it is the progression of the entire species. This is how human beings are made great.
CamperBob2 14y ago
It's almost a cliche on the Intarwebs, but it might help you to read some Dawkins, specifically The Selfish Gene. The progress of a species does not happen for the benefit of individual members, and that's true for us as humans as well. In that sense, as long as someone makes it, we all make it. (Which is why it bothers me that so much is apparently riding on this one mission. The job of carrying human spaceflight forward is too much responsibility for one man, one company, or even one government, and Musk might do well to remind everyone of that before the launch.)
zem 14y ago
anne passovoy wrote a beautiful song about this, "harbors". you can see the lyrics here[1], though sadly it's hard to find a recording. [1] http://www.stonekettle.com/2011/07/next-step-americas-future-in-space.html?showComment=1311746514874#c914237225396313867 http://www.stonekettle.com/2011/07/next-step-americas-future...

by kmm 14y ago

StevenRayOrr 14y ago

I would absolutely love to stand on the surface of Mars or see Alpha Centauri with my own eyes, but I also know that such things are outside of my grasp. Poets and philosophers make for lousy explorers. It is enough for me that we, as a species, are reaching upward. It is enough for me that we, as a people, are overcoming chains that were not even imagined by our ancestors -- tasks so difficult, so alien that they would only describe it as touching the face of god. This is about more than the whimsical realized dream of an individual; it is the progression of the entire species. This is how human beings are made great.

CamperBob2 14y ago

It's almost a cliche on the Intarwebs, but it might help you to read some Dawkins, specifically The Selfish Gene. The progress of a species does not happen for the benefit of individual members, and that's true for us as humans as well. In that sense, as long as someone makes it, we all make it. (Which is why it bothers me that so much is apparently riding on this one mission. The job of carrying human spaceflight forward is too much responsibility for one man, one company, or even one government, and Musk might do well to remind everyone of that before the launch.)

zem 14y ago

anne passovoy wrote a beautiful song about this, "harbors". you can see the lyrics here[1], though sadly it's hard to find a recording. [1] http://www.stonekettle.com/2011/07/next-step-americas-future-in-space.html?showComment=1311746514874#c914237225396313867 http://www.stonekettle.com/2011/07/next-step-americas-future...