Neil DeGrasse Tyson Eloquently Defends The Space Program Before Congress
Astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson is one of the most passionate and eloquent proponents of space exploration and science education we have right now. He speaks about the importance of dreaming bigger, of keeping our eyes on the horizon, with a fervor and poetry that makes him the natural successor to Carl Sagan. Recently, Tyson appeared before the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation hearing on Priorities, Plans and Progress of the Nation’s Space Program. Video of his appearance has popped up on YouTube, and you can watch it below. It’s a compelling call for us to remember a time when we, as a nation, still dreamt of things bigger than budget priorities and partisan politics. Here’s Neil DeGrasse Tyson:
I can’t make that argument any more beautifully than Tyson himself, so instead I’ll close out with a quote by another passionate dreamer, Babylon 5‘s J. Michael Straczynski:
Ask ten different scientists about the environment, population control, genetics, and you’ll get ten different answers. But there’s one thing every scientist on the planet agrees on. Whether it happens in a hundred years, or a thousand years, or a million years, eventually our Sun will grow cold, and go out. When that happens, it won’t just take us; it’ll take Marilyn Monroe and Lao Tsu and Einstein and Morobuto and Buddy Holly and Aristophanes…and all of this…all of this…was for nothing. Unless we go to the stars.
Thanks to Den for the link!
