Yesterday, the Mars Climate Observer was lost in space. According to CNN, the satellite may have been destroyed when it came a little too close to the environment.

This is an enormous $125 million setback for one of the most important human endeavors ever undertaken, and I am not even kidding about this.

Someone’s head will roll, though it looks right now as if the problem was caused by a bad computer command or a software problem.

We all know how routinely those can occur.

Sixty miles too close to the surface of Mars, and good-bye Climate Observer.

It took years to fund and build the Observer, 286 days to get there and 25 minutes to get lost.

Such is life. Sometimes you score big, and sometimes you screw the pooch.

This should be a lesson about not tampering with God’s domain.

But since I personally believe the problem isn’t God but little grey aliens bent on keeping us all penned up for the protection of the rest of the universe while they conduct sinister probes on our women, I will focus on more rational concerns.

It isn’t just because I happen to be a “Star Trek” fan that I believe that man’s destiny is in space.

Of course, by “man” I mean men and women both because, really, what’s the point of all this space traveling business if it isn’t to impress the ladies?

I believe it was one James T. Kirk who said, “I did it all for the nookie, Spock, the nookie.”

I think it eventually will be necessary for us to stretch our legs across the solar system we call home if for no other reason than because it’s a laugh.

It’s something to do.

We need challenges to keep us interested, or we start killing each other off by the millions.

And since there are probably no Indians living on Mars, why not try land-grabbing there?

You don’t see as much opposition to space expenditures as you used to see.

Once people liked to complain about the enormous funds pumped into something futile as they considered the space program to be.

But it has become painfully obvious that every dollar spent on space has a kickback for the private sector.

There are also improvements in the quality of life for everyone on the planet.

Just look at the technology that has come out of space-age research.

Microwaves — everybody likes their microwave ovens, and they come from space-age research.

Unbelievable, heat-resistant materials can protect a shuttle from burning up on re-entry and then be touched soon after.

Satellites that can track tropical depressions and thunderstorms before they become hurricanes and tornadoes not only save lives, they make travel planning more convenient on a daily basis.

All of this is due to satellite technology that wouldn’t exist were it not for the space program.

The whole world of dehydrated foods came from this research. Tang, anyone?

Communications technology got a kick in the pants. Why?

Because when you want to hit someone in the nose, you aim for the back of his or her head and since the ’60s, the space program has been punching right through heads time and again.

It is absolutely amazing to me that these guys don’t screw up more than they do; only a handful of astronauts have.

These kinds of innovations usually only happen during war time so it’s a good thing the human race found something else to concentrate on to provide innovations.

The Mars Climate Observer was setting the stage for future missions to Mars that included two landings.

Right now, it should be a priority to get this whole Mars mission back on track, and the cost should be no hindrance.

Granted, there are social problems right here on Earth that need sorting out, and $125 million might go a long way towards solving problems at home.

But in this day and age, we need heroes.

We need to know that we are advancing. We need to feel good about ourselves as a race.

Personally, I’m tired of getting my fix watching Bruce Willis make the ultimate sacrifice for the human race in science fiction movies.

There are men and women ready and willing to risk their lives so the rest of us can bask in their glory vicariously. Right now, that doesn’t sound too bad.

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Greg Jerrett is a graduate student in English from Council Bluffs. He is opinion editor of the Daily. Fly me to the moon, and let me play among the stars.