It's an irony that amidst havoc caused by rains claiming lives, a nation found it important to stay awake beyond midnight to ascertain the safe landing of Sunita Williams. The media played it up and Indians were soon enough educated on Sunita's gastronomic tastes and religious moorings. Now that Sunita is safe and home in the US, we can address more immediate problems.

 The return of the Atlantis certainly has focused how mankind has the power to transcend tragedies and seek new goals, like placing our own Indian in space. The former ISRO  chairman has hinted that the nation would aim towards that in the coming years. However, astronauts who make it are a handful from thousands of applicants. It is only the most fit in body and mind who can survive the vagaries of life in space where everything has been artificially maintained to be life-friendly. To hang downwards from a branch of a tree could be fun for a few moments but when one is continually suspended, the feeling in the head is not funny anymore. There is no place for impetuousness, nor for individual whims. Team play is the by-word. Space is unlimited but living space is very confined. Spending six months in the confines of the living modules is not very different from solitary confinement. Sunita and her colleagues spent six months in these tough conditions. Space walks were another tough task they performed, successfully restoring the computer systems which are very crucial for all operations.

While failures have a way of remaining in memory, it is important to remember that going by the numbers, shuttle trips have largely been successful paving the way for bolder dreams that go beyond. Whether it be for “mining” other lands after “finishing” earth, or simply the natural consequence of the inner urge to explore the unknown, every rocket that delivers a text-book launch and every shuttle that takes off in a roar and returns back gliding through the atmosphere to bring stories from beyond, is a lurch in this direction. Achieved in a mere hundred years, space exploration is above all proof that yesterday's fancy can be today's reality. It is a tribute to the human spirit that rises like a phoenix when everything seems bleak. The safe return of the Atlantis is a toast to this spirit.