boldly going

the ill fated shuttle ‘discovery’ is due back on earth sometime on monday. given all the glitches that have affected the mission so far it will be coming home on a wing and a million prayers. chances are that this will be the last of the shuttle flights. meanwhile down in the depths of the russian pacific ocean, a russian mini submarine is stranded and a race is on to rescue the seven sailors trapped inside before their supply of air is exhausted.

meanwhile, a long, long way from home, approx. 8.7 billion miles away from the sun, voyager 1, launched in 1977, is moving out of our solar system. on board it carries a disc, which among other things, carries a recoding of the sights and sounds of earth. it also carries greetings in different languages. the english recording has a child saying “greetings from the children of planet earth”.

our yearn to explore and understand the space in which we live in is the defining characteristic of man. when hilary was asked why he climbed everest he answered “because it is there.”

godspeed guys. flights of angels bring you home.