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I’m glad the failed Boeing capsule wasn’t part of a mission to Mars (”Boeing craft returns safely but without astronauts,” Sept. 7). If it were, what would have happened to the crew?
We should get out of the manned-mission business, except for near-Earth orbit, before people start dying. Either that or develop protocols for dealing with the loss of astronauts.
The cost/return ratio is way beyond what is reasonable. In addition to the cost in dollars, environmental damage and human lives, there is the fact that every molecule of fuel, water, food and oxygen has to be transferred from Earth. The scientific return on investment is also really low. We knew what would happen long before David Scott dropped a feather and a hammer on the moon. And for what are we expending all these resources? To find a way to a new planet after we destroy Earth? Get serious. Voyager 1 has been traveling for 47 years and is still 40,000 years from encountering a star.
We should be exploring with unmanned probes. Voyager 1, while nowhere near a star, is still providing data after 47 years. Try that with a manned mission.
James Chenvert, Champlin
HIGHER EDUCATION
Its future is unclear, but its value isn’t
I recently lost a wonderful human being, the first person I met when beginning college in September 1968. At the memorial program, I was struck by the diversity of occupations that college friends had. Many of these were far from their majors as students. My friend wrote in a post for our 50th reunion how he had attended seminars at various reunions over the years about what made our education useful and special. The conclusion was that a liberal arts education teaches people to think objectively and interact in meaningful ways with others.