NASA’s Search for Life in Space

Einstein discovered his special and general theories of relativity with a pencil and paper. Dirac developed his theory of the electron in the same way, discovering antimatter along the way. Likewise, Feynman showed how light and matter interact at the quantum level, and gave us a theory of unrivaled beauty and accuracy.

These great discoveries, counted among the most profound achievements of the human mind, did not require multibillion-dollar super-colliders, nor the incalculable cost of the space race and other political and military shell games.

What difference will positive proof of previous life on Mars mean to humanity if we must spend ourselves into oblivion? How will the unemployed benefit from the confirmation of a sixth quark?

Scientists, put your God-given talents to work on solutions to mankind’s problems on this planet first, then reach for the stars.

WILLIAM STRAUB

Pasadena