I understand that some argue that the space program is a terrible waste of time, money and resources, but I have a few reasons I disagree.

At the time we first engaged in the space program, during the cold war, we would indeed do anything to get to the moon first. It was a prideful adventure, marked by top secret status, and wrapped in patriotism galore, it was obviously a distraction put in place as an attempt to buffer the pain of failed human policy to simply work together. Russia also embarked on the study pushing a tremendous amount of time and money into doing some items “first” and both parties hoping to gain the advantage of the occupation of space, hoping for a strategic boost in their endeavors.

Later we continued the program to advance our knowledge of space, those who are in space, all the way to plants, animals, and mental capacity of ourselves. The endgame is to find out if we can one day colonize in a space other than our planet. I have no doubt that this technology is also being tested to see if , in the case we make it unlivable, we can find ways to create colonies of safety on our own planet.

We have a responsibility to understand what we CAN do, not just what we should do.

I hope we pick up again, in a public or privately funded way, the pieces necessary to again find ways top work together, as we eventually learned to with other nations, to find the answers we need.

As Scott Kelly returned with patches signifying international efforts, I hope we get back to it soon.