NASA Pioneers

Desire, according to Oxford Dictionary, is a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen. With all innovations and discoveries, there is always a pioneer or group of pioneers behind the discovery. These pioneers are responsible for many new discoveries, new ideas, new perspectives, and new missions. These pioneers go deep into the sea, far into space, into third world countries, to mountain peaks, in clean room laboratories, and in local communities. These pioneers explore the limits of frontiers such as ideologies, human expression, nature, celestial exploration, physics, health, politics, economy, borders and boundaries. There are no limits to what the pioneers can accomplish. Every pioneer, whether young or old, black or white, rich or poor, Ivy League college
graduate or high school dropout, slave or free, has one thing in common. They all have a desire that drives their quest. All of their expeditions are fueled by desire; whether it is a desire to explore, know, live, help, or heal. The Case Study topic chosen is Nature of the Quest. What desires drive pioneers on their quests? How far are they willing to go to fulfill their desire? Some common driving factors of pioneers are the desire to explore, the desire to survive, the quest for answers, the desire to help, the desire to be known, or the desire of money. There is no limit to how far a pioneer will go for their exploration. Some pioneers even dedicate their lives to their quests. They have no other goal than their pioneering desire. In the international space race, the desire of each pioneering team was to be the first in space, and the first on the moon.
This desire pushed the pioneers to their limits, resulting in successes and failures. One memorable failure is the destruction of NASA's Challenger Space Shuttle. The launch of the Challenger was part of NASA's Teacher in Space Program which was introduced to drive interest in space exploration, honor teachers, and inspire students. The goals were noble, and the outlook was bright, but unfortunately, not all endeavors result in immediate success. In this case, 7 lives were lost. Although these pioneers did not directly accomplish their quest, they left a legacy of exploration, which led to many discoveries and great innovations. Because of space exploration, we have technology that we use to better our lives. Some of the everyday things we use in our lives that are a result of space exploration include firefighter suits, artificial limbs, computer technology, and even baby food. None of these everyday items would have been made possible or available to us without a pioneer with a driving desire to explore, answer, heal, survive, thrive, and
help. In this Honors in Action project, we will try to uncover what desires fuel our spirit of exploration, and how to channel our desire in a way that allows us to reach frontiers and positively impact our community.