“a sense of the future… a direction”

Edward Stone, 88, Physicist Who Oversaw Voyager Missions, Is Dead

"…[Space exploration] provides us with a sense of the future. When we stop discovering new things out there, the concept of the future will change. Space reminds us that there is something left to be done, that life will continue to evolve. It gives us direction, an arrow in time."

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/14/science/space/edward-stone-physicist-dead.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare