MISC> A Planet Caught Between Dreams and Fears
- From: Gleason Sackmann <gleason@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: NetHappenings <nethappenings@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 10 Feb 2003 08:23:31 -0600
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A Planet Caught Between Dreams and Fears
http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-vpbea063118666feb06.story
By Greg Bear
Greg Bear has served on the Citizens' Advisory Committee on National
Space Policy. He is the author of the forthcoming "Darwin's Children"
and "The Collected Stories of Greg Bear."
February 6, 2003
Let's take a look at the Columbia disaster from a hundred years and a
hundred million miles away. Let's stand on Mars next to the
kilometer-high Tribute Wall. Carved with lasers on this huge
reddish-black slab of ancient volcanic glass are the names and
portraits of the 10,000 dreamers and pioneers who died in the 20th and
21st centuries. Many died entering space, some going home or
attempting to land on new homes. Some of their graves lie between the
worlds, drifting in endless dark, the noblest graves of all, Martians
say.
Looking back on Earth at the cusp of the 21st century, from this high
perspective, we see a planet caught between dreams and greed, old
hatreds and new hopes.
We remember the era when Mars seemed as far away as the distant stars.
It would be 30 years before politicians arose whom we feel are fit to
record in our Martian history books.
In the 1970s, amazingly, Americans grew tired of landing on the moon.
In the '80s, as shuttle missions became routine, they again lost
interest. Engineers and scientists and space commentators inside and
outside of NASA warned of disasters to come. The American people did
not listen. They squeezed funding more, forced more retirements and
reduced more staff.
The leaders in Washington, listening to blind and cranky voters,
refused to fund the fledgling space effort sufficiently to keep those
early shuttle astronauts safe.
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