Water on Mars

Scientists at NASA working on the Phoenix Mars Lander mission announced yesterday that the ice they found late in June is indeed water and they are currently in the process of testing it to determine whether it could have supported life on the Red Planet some time in the distant past. While some people are viewing this as an amazing discovery, there are quite a few others who shrug their shoulders and claim so much ambivalence that they just don't seem to care. Personally I am quite excited by the news though I'm a bit puzzled why not everyone is at least a bit fascinated by what's happening out there in space.

Most news sites and places that have comments forums or 'talkback' areas are full of both sides of the arguement. A lot of the people against the further exploration of space are quick to point out that with so many other problems plaguing us here at home, why are we so concerned about whether or not there is life on Mars or even better, why are we going to Mars in the first place? It seems that the excitement and enthusiasm that once existed with the exploration of space has left the consciousness of a lot of people these days. True we have many problems we could be solving here on Earth but is that any reason to ignore the cosmos? So many people choose to take the stance that space exploration and projects are a waste of money. Still, if you recall, a lot of the technology we use today is a result of the need for advances within the space program. Don't believe that? I have one word for a response then. Velcro.

There are many other products and inventions that have come about due to the need to create something that would be able to take us to the moon and back. Now we are able to live and work in space and with this news that Mars has water, there's only more reason to go on exploring. Many people have asked why bother going to the moon or elsewhere in the solar system now that we've already been there. A response that many of us on the other side of the arguement give is, "Where would we be if Columbus sailed to America and no one ever returned?" That question can set off a whole new series of arguements but I think you get the point I'm trying to make. We pushed ourselves to the moon back in the 1960's partially because of the Cold War but also because there was still that inherent curiousity to know what was really out there.

These days we as a society are becoming far more jaded about it. What with being able to go anywhere and see anything with the click of a few mouse buttons, Hollywood can take us to Mars or anywhere else we wish to go. There's no need to do anything more than sit at home like lumps if we want to explore the cosmos. There are more than enough documentaries on TV and on DVD to suffice anyone with an interest and with high definition being spread everywhere, it's as close to the real thing as most of us are likely to get. Part of the problem is that these days no one at all seems to care. That sense of wonder is leaving us. Kids these days don't really seem to care because 'they know' what is out there. They see it in their video games and in the movies.

I remember a few years back when Bush announced that he wanted America to return to the moon and Mars within the next few decades. It was fanciful at the time and it still remains a fanciful challenge but I think it's one we need to take. The only stimulus that inspired some to think about it was when China launched their first astronaut into space several years ago. They have been awfully quiet since then. I wonder what would happen if all of a sudden they launched a mission to the moon and managed to get someone there before any other nation could even figure out that they were on the way. Then there would be tremendous backlash because if there's one thing besides being jaded about such things that we are good at, it's being jealous.

When you're good at something or when you dominate a particular field by a wide margin, you tend to lose the interest of everyone but the people who are so fanatical and loyal. Remember the New England Patriots? When they were the Cinderella team everyone cheered for them. When they became the wicked stepmother, then everyone cheered for whoever was the underdog. Now I'm not implying that we'll all start cheering for China if they eventually land a man on the moon but still, no one seems to care because there is no competition out there in the space race anymore. Maybe the space program truly was only a byproduct of the Cold War and maybe we need to spend money on other programs like off-shore drilling or energy-efficient power sources; but if the space program isn't helping programs such as that either, then at the very least, it's satisfying the curiousity that still exists and will always exist about what's out there. We need to know. Even those of us who could care less, there is still a part of us that needs to know what's out there beyond the stars.