The day that occurred was a sad one. Of course it did not strike me emotionally as much as 9-11, but it did affect me. The space program is very dear to my heart. I might be no expert, but I do know something on astronomy, astrophysics, physics, and chemistry. Looking in the sky, reaching for it, . . . This is humans great objective to go into space and colonize. This might not happen today or a century from now, but it will happen. We are humans expanding our minds to new ideas of science, mathematics, technology, philosophy, and all of those other things.
The people that go into space do take a risk. And not only that, but they take it for a reason. To advance human society in the large range; to advance our minds; to advance our understandings of where we came from and our place in it; and we must continue to go back into space as soon as possible.
Is this important? Of course it is! I don't know why someone would think otherwise or be at the negative of this topic on the form.
Carl Sagan; a great scientist & author (example "Contact", a great book! / movie)
"Our loyalties are to the species and the planet. We speak for Earth. Our obligation to survive is owed not just to ourselves but also to that cosmos, ancient and vast, from which we spring."
He also once said
"Instead of acknowledging that in many areas we are ignorant, we have tended to say things like the Universe is permeated with the ineffable. A God of the Gaps is assigned responsibility for what we do not understand."
What has this have to do with this you ask? Much! Well I think you can interpret the quotations of Sagan by your self, but the idealizations and philosophical discussion is the key. Humans want to learn! Space is the step. Unfortunately during this process people die, but they die in a good cause. They die which is very said, but when they, as good people, have helped the human quest to go one step further in the evolution (not really about the theory, but the devolvement of the mind & knowledge) – that is honorable!
Honorable to taking us one step closer to understanding our place in the universe and our quest to seek that, which will never end, but will began. Not finite, infinity! So the quest will never end.
We should honor the crew that lost there lives. These people that died, did die, but also helped humanity in our quest. Our quest to understand and expand into space!
(Just the destruction of the craft for example will help us in making better craft and just that will help us. Not to mention the several experiments they while they were in space.)
~~Dr. Mario At YOUR service~~