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OPINION
To infinity … and beyond
Seizing opportunities fosters a mindset of continuous improvement, enabling us to refine our skills and expand our horizons.
T he other day, I watched a SpaceX launch with my dad. I mentioned that there were plans to return to the moon. My dad asked “Why?” and without really thinking, I initially replied that I thought we needed to remind ourselves that we could. That response lingered with me for several days, so I did an internet search. Turns out, I was not too far off. The NASA website states, “We’re going back to the moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and inspiration for a new generation of explorers: the Artemis generation.”
Greg Sepeda
Earlier this week, I spoke at a school about careers in STEM fields. One of the things I spoke about was the challenges of the next 20 years. We discussed diseases, the growing population, climate change, and an aging infrastructure. And we talked about where new ideas may come from. I told them that their generation would be the ones to solve these problems, not mine because we need new ideas that consider the integration of the entire systems as well as the human element, all while trying to minimize unintended consequences. The years of doing things the way we always have would not work for these future solutions.
This may be why I get such a charge out of watching rocket launches, even the ones that fail. We are trying to do something we have not done in more than 50 years, and that is land a person back on the moon. And then, we are aiming beyond for Mars. We are trying to push our limits again on what we can do. Elon Musk said, “You want to wake up in the morning and think the future is going to be great – and that’s what being a spacefaring civilization is all about. And I can’t think of anything more exciting than going out there and being among the stars.”
See GREG SEPEDA, page 10
THE ZWEIG LETTER JULY 22, 2024, ISSUE 1546
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