Journeys of Jack Tripper

Space Shuttle Discovery is home after a 15-day mission considered one of the most challenging and heroic in NASA's history.

It's exciting to read the observations of individuals who were able to experience Commander Pam Melroy's ship return to Earth, either visually or sonically and sometimes not even knowing why.

That's the mystery, and that's what makes the space program so amazing. Contemplate for a while the magic of an essentially unpowered vessel being piloted from orbit across North America and landing perfectly in Florida.

We've become somewhat desensitized to the magic of space flight, even in the shadow of Challenger and Columbia. STS-120 completed some pretty amazing things: a stunning repair spacewalk, the installation of a new ISS module, and the return to Earth of a man who lived half a year in space.

No, we don't have permanent living modules on the moon. No, we haven't been to Mars. Yet to consider what we do with what we have, in the course of human history on this planet, it's pretty badass. And I'm still caught up in the mystery.