Exploration Is Really The Essence Of The

There Is Just No Way That I Can Understand In God's Green Earth That An Airline Could Undertake With Its Normal Procedures The Operation Of The Space Shuttle. . . . You Don't Put Parachutes On Airliners Because The Margin Of Safety Is Built Into The Machine. The 727 Airplanes We Fly Are Proven Vehicles With Levels Of Safety And Redundancy Built In. The Shuttle Is A Hand-made Piece Of Experimental Gear.

Astronauts: Space Activists.

Give Us, O God, The Vision Which Can See Your Love In The World In Spite Of Human Failure. Give Us The Faith To Trust Your Goodness In Spite Of Our Ignorance And Weakness. Give Us The Knowledge That We May Continue To Pray With Understanding Hearts. And Show Us What Each One Of Us Can Do To Set Forward The Coming Of The Day Of Universal Peace.

It's A Vast, Lonely, Forbidding Expanse Of Nothing Rather Like Clouds And Clouds Of Pumice Stone. And It Certainly Does Not Appear To Be A Very Inviting Place To Live Or Work.

And From The Crew Of Apollo 8, We Close With Good Night, Good Luck, A Merry Christmas, And God Bless All Of You - All Of You On The Good Earth.