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Planetary Exploration and Human Survival

Why is planetary exploration essential? As a species we must explore. We explore or we die. We reach out into the cosmos or we surrender to the cosmos. This unwritten sentiment underlies the mission of The Planetary Society, a non-profit, non-governmental organization co-founded by Carl Sagan and dedicated to the exploration of the solar system and the search for extraterrestrial life. Should NASA's Mars Polar Lander fail, the next will succeed. Should America eventually fail, some other spacefaring nation will succeed. It matters little who gets there first. What matters is progress. The slight but real risk we've faced on Earth since Hiroshima needs to be offset by a calculable benefit that, should we self-destruct here, some seed or remnant of human can be cultivated elsewhere. The Planetary Society website explores educational and political themes connected to space advocacy. It's also an excellent hub with links to over 2,000 pages of reliable information about space. For $25 ($15 for students), you can also join The Planetary Society online!

Sun, 05 Dec 1999 10:51:22 -0800

Submitted by: Russell McNeil