This Issue:

Table of Contents

Cover Story

Cover Story - Spanish Version

Mini-Lesson

Comprehension Quiz

Teacher's Guide and Worksheets

The Loss of Shuttle Columbia

Spanish Translation

-By Ritu Upadhyay

History is filled with tales of brave men and women journeying into the unknown--crossing oceans, climbing mountains and traveling to the planet's icy poles. Explorers take great risks to expand human experience and knowledge. The world was tragically reminded of those risks on February 1. Seven astronauts lost their lives as the space shuttle Columbia was returning to Earth after traveling 6 million miles through outer space. The shuttle broke apart minutes before it was to land.

As the country mourned, President Bush comforted the nation and vowed, "Our journey to space will go on." But NASA has stopped all shuttle operations until further notice. Americans are left wondering about the future of the space program.

The cause of the disaster is not known. Experts say that the shuttle might have overheated as it was landing. Moments before it broke apart, sensors detected high temperatures on its left side. When a shuttle reenters the Earth's atmosphere, the temperature of its outer shell can reach 3,000* F. Special tiles protect it from the heat. Late last week, investigators were trying to determine if one of these tiles was damaged or missing. But it could be months before they have an answer.

OTHER WAYS TO GO

Three space shuttles remain in NASA's fleet. They have grown old and expensive to maintain. The shuttle was developed in the 1970s, when nasa expected space exploration to become so common and safe that scientists, teachers and journalists would all become frequent space travelers. But the columbia tragedy--and the loss of the shuttle challenger and its crew in 1986 (see time line below)--increased nasa's safety concerns.

Some say we need a new spacecraft to replace the outdated shuttle. One possibility: small orbiter capsules like those used in early NASA missions. Although such capsules can't be reused as the shuttle can, they are smaller, safer and cheaper.

MAN VS. MACHINE

The Columbia tragedy has also sparked a debate over whether humans need to go into space at all. Some scientists believe the work that humans do in space could be done just as well by robots. "It would be less expensive, and you could achieve the same goal," says Theodore Postol, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A robotic aircraft has landed on Mars already and sent back valuable data. Humans are still decades away from such a feat.

But others believe human space travel is vital to unraveling the mysteries of our final frontier. George Faeth, a scientist at the University of Michigan, designed an experiment that was on board Columbia. He believes robots can carry out some projects, but humans are essential to scientific discovery. "Just like we don't use robots to do all our work in labs on Earth, they can't do everything in space," he told TFK.

Whichever way the program goes, most Americans believe in the value of space exploration. "Just because the mission failed doesn't mean your dreams fail," said Rachel Poppa, 17, one of dozens of students who had an experiment on board Columbia. "It can be dangerous searching for answers. But you can't stop searching."

---

Big Events in U.S. Space Exploration The Space Age began in 1957, when the Soviet Union launched the first satellite. In 1961, after Russian Yuri Gagarin became the first man in orbit, the U.S. geared up to win the space race. Some highlights.

1961--U.S. President John F. Kennedy announces the goal of putting a man on the moon before 1970.

1962--John Glenn is the first American to orbit Earth.

1969--Neil Armstrong is the first person to walk on the moon.

1975--An Apollo spacecraft meets and connects with a Soviet Soyuz craft. It is the first joint U.S.-Soviet mission.

1976--The unmanned Viking I is the first spacecraft to land on Mars.

1981--The U.S. space shuttle Columbia is launched. It is the first reusable spacecraft.

1986--The space shuttle Challenger explodes on its way into orbit. Seven die.

1990--Hubble, the world's first space telescope, is placed in orbit.

2000--The International Space Station receives its first crew.

2003--The space shuttle Columbia breaks up as it attempts to land. Seven die.

Next: The Case Against Saddam