Charitable Gift Giving

I remember in 1981 I was in sixth grade, and all the sixth graders gathered together in the school library to watch the launch of Columbia. The names John Young and Robert Crippen were seared into our brains.

I was too young to have seen the Apollo missions to the moon, and of course things like the Mercury and Gemini missions, as well as the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik, are history to me. So in a way, the shuttle was “my generation’s” space travel.

Today, sitting at my office desk I just watched the last shuttle launch on NASA-TV in beautiful high definition. It was a beautiful launch–watching the burn of the rockets, the impressive trail of smoke as the shuttle disappeared into the clouds, the shuttle getting through that horrible “go with throttle up” moment, the shuttle breaking the speed of sound, and the view of the rocket boosters separating onto the sphere of earth.

It’s hard to believe we won’t be seeing this again for a while, perhaps not in many of our lifetimes. And it’s hard to believe that for the first time in 50 years, the new generation of kids growing up will not be able to have a manned space program to inspire them. While the government a few years ago had laid out a hopeful plan for us to re-visit the moon and perhaps even prepare for a mission to Mars, those plans have since been cancelled.

Since JFK first gave his challenge to land a man on the moon until today, space exploration has been something which unites us a country, which helps young children dream, and which boosts the collective imagination and hope of us all. Sadly, the politicians of today seem to forget all the intangibles that the space program offers. Bold and daring leadership have given pay to petty and short-sighted political jockeying. Worse, certain countries such as China and India, who know the long-term value of space exploration to a country’s innovation, economies, and pride, continue to invest in their space programs.

There is one non-profit organization which continues to advocate for space exploration, The Planetary Society. They have a petition you can sign today to ask our government not to abandon the space program. In addition, if you join as a member, not only will you support their ongoing work, you’ll also receive a beautiful set of posters.