As an advocate for our own precious planet’s environment, and all of its unique and prized ecosystems- some of which have yet to be fully explored, one can sometimes question the millions of dollars being spent on technology to go ever-farther from our home-base. Here we are in the twenty-first century and we still have hungry children to feed, we know little about the medicinal value of many plants in the rainforest, and there is so much to gain from studying the deep, blue seas of earth. Through NASA’s amazing encounters with the heavenly bodies in our solar system, I am paradoxically, inclined to cheer on the opening of the space frontier. The beauty and multiplicity of the depths of space is as sacred and wondrous as the daily dramas of miniature lives played out in a cattail pond, the miracle of butterfly migration, or the frail sweetness of spring leaves unfurling on schedule, year after year.

What do I make of the beauty of the universe? When observed under a microscope, our moon’s rock samples sparkle and glitter- they beckon you to an in-depth study. Holding a piece of our moon in my hand was as humbling and awe-inspiring an experience as gazing upon a beautiful Pomo Indian basket. Both have stories of times past to impart- the moon’s igneous anorthosite and Highland soil, rocks that are rich in chemical elements found on earth, and the willow vessel that is a proud symbol of a culture defying a past of inhuman and uncivil treatment.

Who can deny that the planet Mars’ volcano, Olympus Mons, which juts some fifteen miles above the surface of the planet, making it the largest volcano in the solar system, is not impressive, nor its polar icy regions, or intriguing canyons? The unsolved nature of these places implores us to explore them further. Mars missions such as the Pathfinder, and the on-going Mars Global Surveyor, as well as the 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter continue to help resolve important questions about the red planet, and give rise to even more inquiries. And what of the amazing discoveries of the Galileo Mission to Jupiter? Galileo arrived at Jupiter in 1995. It has surpassed all of NASA’s expectations and continues to teach us about the huge planet (over eleven times earth’s size), its atmosphere, and its moons- which are now numbered to be at twenty-eight! The Cassini Mission, on its way to study the sixth planet from the sun, Saturn, and its moon system (now found to number thirty!), made space history through the Millennium Flyby. This was the first time that two spacecraft were in orbit around the same planet at the same time, allowing for double-duty science and calibrations of instruments to take place. NASA’s Stardust Mission, on its way to capture a piece of the tail of Comet Wild-2 may answer questions scientists have been pondering for decades. It’s believed that comets, the dirty-ice remains from the solar system’s formation about 4.5 billion years ago, are some of the most unchanged objects in the solar system; in eons past comets may have been the foremost source of Earth’s volatiles, like water and sodium. Millions of comets orbiting the sun hail from the Oort Cloud, far beyond Pluto. Enigmatic Comet Wild-2 may surrender its long-held secrets to the Stardust Mission.

Since NASA’s inception in 1958 and its tremendous technological capabilities, it has produced thousands of “spinoffs”- technology that is not only important in a global economic environment (Let’s face it, we need to produce superior products for a global marketplace), but important for the health of our bodies and environment as well. One of hundreds of human health-related spinoffs is a procedure to replace surgical breast biopsy. Then, there is Earthscan- an environmental management remote sensing tool that can detect pollution points in water basins, as well as loss of vegetation through redevelopment and timber harvest. Other important spinoffs include storm-warning systems, ice buildup protection on aircraft, and technology for oil-spill cleanup utilizing beeswax with hollow centers which is impenetrable to water, but allows oil to become encapsulated by osmosis, then breaks it down.

It can’t be denied that the missions sent out to explore space and our solar system are made at tremendous cost. The tragic loss of the astronauts of Space Shuttle Columbia, William McCool, Mike Anderson, Dave Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark, and Ilan Ramon underscored that fact. They gave their lives to broaden our knowledge of science. The impact of educating the public and politicians against destruction of viable earth resources mustn’t be minimized either. It’s a difficult job, no doubt about it, but through working together with humanitarian and environmental organizations- both national and local- great gains can, and are being made. Ethically speaking, can efforts such as those spoken of, be weighed against the value of exploring the evolution and formation of the solar system- our earth included? We are at the edge of discovering the origin of the forces that formed earth and the other planets! We now have the ability to use these exotic places as natural science laboratories to further our knowledge about the sources of water and the building blocks of life itself.