Shuttle Is History; Exploration Should Not Be

The last of the space shuttle missions began today, and so an era ends.

The shuttle was a reusable space transport vehicle that captured the imagination of many, many people, chief among them proponents of space exploration and of scientific research.

Yes, the shuttle cost money — tons of it. Yes, people died, and that is always a tragedy. I can't imagine the terrible toll that has taken on the lives of the families left behind, especially when we appear to celebrate success but don't remember their sacrifices.

But also yes, shuttle astronauts ran thousands of experiments that gave us greater insight into how things work in our bodies, in our environment, in our atmosphere, and in our universe. And yes, shuttle astronauts launched (and, in one famous case, fixed) a parade of outer space exploration machines that are to this day rewriting our books of knowledge on what is in the sky we look at every night.

This kind of technology and discovery did not come cheap, but cost isn't always the most important factor. The more we seek to understand what is around us and in us, the more we will spend — be that time or money or both. Progress can be slow, and it can bound ahead in great leaps. Progress is always worth the time, effort, and money we spend.

The shuttle program has ended. The exploration of space should not.