We've all heard about the recent tragedies of the Columbia Space Shuttle. But something else very tragic happened: these astronauts died and people, including myself, did not even know what for. Many people didn't even know there was a Columbia Space Shuttle until it exploded.

Some people were at first scared this was a terrorist attack, but this has been ruled out. Now we can breathe a sigh of relief in that regard. But we must ask ourselves, what is this space shuttle thing really all about?

"I think it is really sad that we lost seven lives to the Columbia,” says Jennifer Berry from Foothill High School. “But just like other people all over the world, they had a choice in the job that they chose."

"It's one of the risks astronauts, scientists and all people take when they want to explore an unknown region,” agrees Heather Eustis Fillion from Chaparral High School. "Every experiment and trial will always have bumps, and sometimes people get hurt."

These people were willing to put their lives in danger, yes, they knew, but it is still noble of them. It is important that the youth of today be informed about why we even have a space program. Youth will be, or already are, paying the taxes that pay for this program. Is it fair they are paying for something they don't even know about?

One reason some scientists say this program is so vital is because if something were to happen to Earth, we should have a place to go, like Mars, if need be. However, some people feel if we spent time and money keeping the Earth safe, needing to populate another planet would be unnecessary.

I am not trying to belittle what these people died for. Do not get me wrong; when I heard about the tragedy, I was just as shocked and saddened as anyone. But I also felt bad that I didn't even know what the Columbia was. Then I began wondering how many other people were not sure about what the space program was.

I discovered that the Colombia Space Shuttle’s 16-day mission was to perform research to help us down here on Earth. On board were 80 experiments.

Since there is no gravity in space, doing experiments on sand columns is much easier. When these sand columns are tested, they can tell what will make foundations stronger in buildings. This also made it possible to study how earthquakes, and forces with similar magnitude, disrupt the soil and sand.

The mission was also important to science. They were able to study xenon, which is very useful to us. It is used in products like canned whipped cream and paint.

These people explored space to make our lives a little better. The bottom line is, these people died doing something that was important to them and to us. That is something to be respected.

Tell us what you think...

-Return to March 2003 Issue-