Science in space - Voyages of discovery

ONE of Bart Simpson’s more memorable lines involves him sitting in front of a television flicking from channel to channel wondering what science ever did for him.

Most of us are not as blinkered as Bart but neither are we aware of how space travel has enriched our lives.

The end of 30 years of space travel by the American space shuttle Atlantis yesterday is as good a time as any to consider how our world has been changed by pioneering science and exploration. The story is largely positive if frighteningly expensive but we must explore every option open to us to sustain the great surge in population anticipated in the coming decades.