videos by Reid Gower
In a conversation I had with Becky a few weeks ago, I started putting into words why I'm so fascinated by astronomy, and space, and how we, as a species, need frontiers. To keep us hopeful, and humble.
The idea of future space exploration fires me with hope and fear and a desperate, lonely tender love for humanity.
Humanity is so lonely - the only intelligent species on our planet, the only ones burdened with the knowledge of our own existence and limitations, with no one to talk to and no one to understand us, and we revolve all alone in space, a little blue dot full of a curious and heartbroken people. Thinking of interstellar exploration makes us aware of how rare and amazing we are. It puts us in the right perspective. It makes us realize that we have a future, and we should do everything to make sure it's long enough for us to get to the stars.
Wouldn't it be terrible if there were other intelligent species out there, ones who've been through fire and waste, ones who've come so close to self-destruction, ones watching anxiously to see us take our first wavering steps, waiting to say hello, but we killed ourselves before we even got the chance?
"Projects that are future-oriented, that (despite their political difficulties) can only be completed in some distant decade, are continuing reminders that there will be a future." - Carl Sagan
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