The strong support for space exploration in the Congress is very welcome, especially at a time when there are so many other budget pressures.

NASA's robotic exploration program is being flat-lined.

If Congress had not restored the funding, the opportunity for reaching the last unvisited planet in our solar system would have been lost for a generation.

Imagine hoisting a sail and being out there in space. It's a beautiful idea, and it conjures up the idea of the great sailing ships and whole notion of exploration.

Resources in space may one day be useful in space. But you're not going to revolutionize the economy on Earth.

Part of what drives us to explore and discover is the intangible: expanding our horizons, feeding our curiosity, finding all those unexpected things, and trying to answer those profound questions discussed in previous chapters, like how did the universe begin? How did life begin? Are we alone?