Checking thousands of items (and from the sounds of it after the Columbia investigation, not very well). Fueling the vehicle. Provisioning the astronauts, and on and on. These vehicles are still not routine, far from it. Every launch retains an element of the experimental and the unknown, as there is a lot that can go wrong.

Now we have lost two Shuttles. More delays, more checks, more costs. NASA's top concern is evidently to bring it's people back home safely - and that costs a lost of money. The on-again off-again work on a replacement to the Shuttle is on again, barely. Now they are talking somewhere around 2012. (Could this be the final dwindling of the US as a major space power?). So things are not looking very bright right now. (They might as well just build another shuttle).

European and Asian countries are singly unable to muster much more than satellite launches, the occasional probe to the Moon or some such. The ESA, or European Space Agency, is able to collectively do more. They contribute astronauts to the ISS, they launch satellites, space probes and telescopes. But they still rely on the Russians or the US to send up astronauts.

It is believed that someday ESA will have its' own conveyance for astronauts, but this remains to be seen. China is getting ready to launch its' own "Taikonauts". They are using a modified Russian capsule for the most part. And proceeding slowly - the rate is expected to be around one launch a year. Space Travel is costly. The Chinese are doing it on the cheap. So you have, at present, three or four major entities sending people into space right now (July, 2003). No one has been to the Moon since 1972. We all just keep sending people into Earth orbit.

Not what we would have envisioned back in the 1970's, eh?

As useful as combining resources towards space travel is, it is sometimes a tough road to walk, with setbacks. US-Russian relations got pretty frosty in 1999 during the Serbian-Kosovo conflict. At the time, the Russians were to deliver a key module up to the International Space Station to help get the ball rolling. Funnily enough, the thing got delayed two years, and only then got 'boosted' with some help from NASA funding.

Today, Europe and the US are squabbling about a lot of things. Nothing is heard about an ESA module originally planned for inclusion in the ISS. Part of that problem can be traced to the fact that NASA had to cut funding for an extended crew habitation module. Now, we have several tin cans strung together up in orbit, and it ain't going nowhere without a lot more international cooperation. Co-operation that is noticeably absent right now.

Another difficulty is that Space is and always will be such a hostile environment to human life. Weightlessness takes a devastating toll on muscles and bone over time, even with vigorous exercise. Rapid temperature changes subject craft to brutal extremes of heat and cold. The Sun pours out lethal doses of radioactive particles. Astronauts must carry with them all of their air, food, drink, and even waste containers. They must contend with long periods away from home and family, and other psychological issues. Space is not a very friendly place to be.

So - there are a lot of barriers and obstacles that Humanity faces in confronting the ultimate frontier.

But it is STILL worth it to keep on pressing outward - to go! With the pressure of increasing population, fresh water sources are dwindling, greenhouse gases are increasing, we are running out of tillable land. The economies of the world are in a slump, increasingly stimulated only by starting a war with someone.

Continued strong efforts to move people out into the Inner Solar system will give companies and people something to build besides weapons. The inspiration of new vistas will stimulate creativity and optimism, especially among the young. The people of the world, struggling through their daily routines, will be given some hope of a better future. Even though much of the world lacks the luxuries that are enjoyed in the leading industrial nations, it is still up to them (G-8, China, etc) to be the leading vanguard, pushing upward, outward and onward, lest the whole world stagnate endlessly.

Asteroids and Moons can be checked for availability of minerals and Water Ice. (Ice has already been detected on the Moon and on Mars) Automated mining and building machines can be designed to pave the way for colonies on the Moon, Mars, and Asteroids. Solar Energy can be harvested on a large scale and used for a variety of purposes. Some nuclear energy can also be utilized, especially in colonization of more remote places, such as the moons of Jupiter. Humans can collectively take possession of our vast inheritance, the Solar System, and all of the myriad resources contained therein.

Safeguards could be emplaced by the UN and World Court, such as laws of outer space, property rights, conflict resolution and so on. This would require cooperation between all nations, including the US. And this would probably have to be an ongoing work in progress; just as court cases nowadays provide the foundations for future cases to be settled.

In addition, the possibility of additional scientific discoveries in the areas of astronomy as well as practical applications of technology exists. There would probably be some useful spin-offs for Earth use in the interim. And someday, groups of humans could begin to move outward en masse, and claim our newly enlarged living areas. There is a potentially big payoff here in our future.

So, yes, there are a host of difficulties. But it is worth it!

• What you can do:
  
• Make this an issue in the 2004 elections (here in the USA) or whenever your major elections happen. Ask your politician(s) what they are going to do to help humanity escape the bounds of our one meager planet, and move outwards to claim our vast inheritance, the Solar System and beyond.
• Give some financial support to (reputable) space organizations. The Planetary Society is one; Space Frontier Foundation is another. A check of major space-related websites will turn up some more.
• Support science education in the schools, and science outreach in your community.
• Actually mention the Space Program, and speak positively about it, to some of your friends. Teach your children about Science and Space subjects at home - make it 'safe' and 'okay' to be into these things.

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