The Face of Heaven So Fine

Before we touched it, we charted it. Before we charted it, we named it. Before we named it, we looked up to it. And we always will. Humans have gazed above and sought to learn more about the massive abyss that looms over us—space—and the gas and particles that sprinkle the sky with stars. Although we know that risks abound with any exploration of this magnitude, tragedies as a result of space journey become no less poignant when they occur.

The heartbreaking loss of Space Shuttle Columbia over the skies of Texas this Saturday was a graphic illustration of what happens when our dreams dissolve into frightening nightmares. But we must not let this unfortunate disaster make us afraid of dreaming ever again. Despite this setback, we cannot allow dread of future nightmares to override our imaginations, tighten our purse strings, pack up NASA and keep our feet on the ground. Over the years, NASA has proved itself a successful aeronautical program that has aided scientists and theorists in learning vast amounts about what was once a dark mystery to us all. Even more importantly, fear must not cause us to turn our back on space exploration. Theirs was a voyage meant to actualize our shared dreams of knowing space. We cannot let all of our dreams slip away with these heroic astronauts. We must honor the crew members of Space Shuttle Columbia by not allowing their voyage to have been in vain.

But even with the fortitude to continue on in spite of tragedy, America pauses in the journey to mourn the heroes we have lost. And we do not lament alone, for this was an international tragedy. The hauntingly horrid vision of the Columbia’s archangelic descent was seen around the world. Aboard the ship was Israel’s first astronaut, who had become a national hero in his home country before he ever stepped foot on the Space Shuttle. The pain is also felt deeply here at Harvard, for a certain kinship is shared amongst those—be they students at desks or astronauts in space—who devote their lives to the brave pursuit of knowledge. We thank President Summers and the various student organizations responsible for the beautiful remembrance ceremony that was held in Memorial Church in honor of the fallen. Let us hope that the same need we feel to grieve together as one remains with us as we move forward, unified and determined to touch even more stars. While we have yet to name each and every star in the spaces above, we do know at least seven: Col. Rick Husband, Lt. Col. Michael Anderson, Cmdr. Laurel Clark, Capt. David Brown, Cmdr. William McCool, Dr. Kalpana Chawla and Israeli Col. Ilan Ramon.