31 July 2009

Reasons for Human Space Exploration

Posted by Ryan Anderson

I posted my nine reasons for human space exploration a while back, but with all the discussion of human spaceflight lately, my friend Joe Shoer, “quantum mechanic and rocket scientist extraordinaire,” decided to do the same and posted his top five reasons for sending humans to space. His are quite a bit more detailed and well-written than mine. Here’s a teaser, but you should take a look at the full post, it’s worth reading.

[…] Second, and this can be corroborated from many sources, the spectacle of Apollo 11 mesmerized the entire world. This was perhaps the first and only (so far) event to do something like that.Several people at NASA have told me that, in their experience, foreign citizens view NASA as their space program as well! NASA serves as the single most effective program for uniting nations as human beings. Put the most contentious diplomats and statesmen in a room together, and then have an astronaut walk in; see how many of them argue with him or her!