Curiosity had Nothing to do with the Cat

While the science and the information to come from Curiosity will be amazing, I want to take a minute and think about the AMAZING work that these people have done.

This is a moment of pure joy and celebration - the best of what humanity is capable of when we work together. Not to say there weren't politics or other bullshit along the way, but this is an example (ahem Congress) of how we can work together, compromise and just 'get through' difficult situations together.

I also want to point out that this is why space exploration is important. Not only can it draw humanity together, but the knowledge that will come from this will be invaluable. It also reminds us of our place in the universe.

If you believe in God, then call to mind Roger Bacon and Galileo who proclaimed that to understand science is to be given a chance to marvel at the magnitude of the magnificence of God, that religion and science can coexist if one accepts the Bible as a book of history and life philosophy and not as solid fact.

If you are doubtful or an atheist, then this is just more to wonder at - the extraordinary intricacy of coincidence and science.

Watching this as I drink my coffee, I am reminded to take a step back, to look up from the checkbook, the trash to be taken out, the dust bunnies, the laundry to be folded, the chapter to be written. I am reminded to look up at the sky and remember that we are hurtling around a giant ball of gas on a gas-covered rock. There's no glass dome that keeps us "safe" from space. We are part of it. We are a very fragile part of it.

Photo from George Takei Facebook

And, it makes me grateful for this day.

Thank you, NASA.