However, the solar array was indeed repaired by the brave actions of U.S. astronaut Scott Parazynski and his fellow astronauts and the combined efforts of hundreds of people from around the world.

It must be remembered that all of this was a team effort centered around Parazynski. Without the coordinated and quick efforts of many people who were involved with the myriad of activities leading up to the repair job, the actual spacewalk to fix the ailing solar array would not have been possible.

The spacewalk by Parazynski was only possible by the back-up efforts of the astronauts who manned the robotic arm, guided him on his trip out to the solar panel, constructed the homemade devices to repair the panel, and performed many unheralded activities that allowed the repair to be successful.

It was only possible by the actions of ten astronauts orbiting around the Earth in a space station constructed by the efforts of many countries around the world.

It was only possible by a team of experts at the Mission Control Center, Johnson Space Center, in Houston, Texas, and by many other groups from around the world that took the challenge to solve a problem quickly and efficiently.

The combined efforts these ten astronauts in space, and hundreds of people on Earth, points to a specific direction: The advantage of having humans in space over just robots. Without having these humans at the space station when the problem occurred, the repair could not have been performed for months.

If humans are to explore the solar system and beyond, it might just be advantageous to make it a combined human and robotic operation.

Scientific and commercial laboratories, telescopes, and satellites orbiting about the Earth, outposts and factories on the surfaces of the Moon and Mars, and other ventures in the solar system can be perform, in part, by robots. However, as this situation has found, humans are essential for repairing the unexpected, fixing the broken, and contending with all the problems that can occur within the unforgiving expanse we call outer space.

Yes, risks are inherent in these space endeavors, just as they are risky on Earth when we build a tall skyscraper or long bridge, construct new scientific devices to look into elementary processes at work within atoms, and perform just about every type of activity that are all deemed normal here on the Earth.

Just as astronaut Parazynski stretched his 6 foot-2 inch body to fix two tears in a solar panel, humans must stretch their limits to learn and understand more about their world about them and the strange worlds yet to be explored out there in space.

We can send robots and then look at the video they return to the Earth, but looking at the Moon up close and personal does have its advantages. It’s the same as watching the Grand Canyon on TV. The picture is dramatic but not quite the same as being there in person,

Saturday’s spacewalk now allows the NASA space shuttle Atlantis and its crew to deliver and install the European Space Agency’s scientific laboratory in December 2007.

It also allows humankind to continue its quest to learn and understand, and, hopefully, within such an adventure, to become better persons.


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