It’s a little strange when you think about it: Just about every American ninth-grader has never lived a moment without astronauts soaring overhead, living in space. But chances are, most ninth-graders don’t know the name of a single active astronaut—many don’t even know that Americans are up there. We’ve got a permanent space colony, inaugurated a year before the setting of the iconic movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. It’s a stunning achievement, and it’s completely ignored.
This statement is thought-provoking and really sticks with you. More Americans care about the newest sneaker, iPhone or Call of Duty game than space exploration and the national budget for NASA reflects this.
However, no one is claiming the value is useless that we explore space and live in space. There’s only so much mind-share we have. There’s our personal problems, the problems of our community, then country and then planet. Space is this realm where we don’t dream that often. Look up at night and let your mind wander and it really is amazing that ISS is up there filled with people at all times.
I loved this article and it reminds me I need to visit Space.com a lot more often.