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The Vision for Space Exploration is the United States space policy
U.S. National Space Policy

The President of the United States authorized a new U.S. National Space Policy on August 31, 2006 that established overarching national policy that governs the conduct of U.S....
 announced on January 14, 2004 by U.S. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush

George Walker Bush served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 2001 to 2009. He was the 46th List of Governors of Texas from 1995 to 2000 before being United States presidential inauguration as President on January 20, 2001....
. It is seen as a response to the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster

The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on February 1, 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, with the loss of all seven crew members, shortly before it was scheduled to conclude its 28th mission, STS-107....
, the state of human spaceflight
Human spaceflight

A human spaceflight is a spaceflight with a Astronaut, and possibly passengers. This makes it unlike Robotic spacecraft space probes or remotely-controlled satellites....
 at NASA
NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the Federal government of the United States, responsible for the nation's public list of space agencies....
, and a way to regain public enthusiasm for space exploration
Space exploration

Space exploration is the use of astronomy and space technology to explore outer space. Physical exploration of space is conducted both by human spaceflights and by robotic spacecraft....
.

n the Vision was announced in January 2004, the U.S.






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Visionforspaceexploration Title
The Vision for Space Exploration is the United States space policy
U.S. National Space Policy

The President of the United States authorized a new U.S. National Space Policy on August 31, 2006 that established overarching national policy that governs the conduct of U.S....
 announced on January 14, 2004 by U.S. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush

George Walker Bush served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 2001 to 2009. He was the 46th List of Governors of Texas from 1995 to 2000 before being United States presidential inauguration as President on January 20, 2001....
. It is seen as a response to the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster

The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on February 1, 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, with the loss of all seven crew members, shortly before it was scheduled to conclude its 28th mission, STS-107....
, the state of human spaceflight
Human spaceflight

A human spaceflight is a spaceflight with a Astronaut, and possibly passengers. This makes it unlike Robotic spacecraft space probes or remotely-controlled satellites....
 at NASA
NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the Federal government of the United States, responsible for the nation's public list of space agencies....
, and a way to regain public enthusiasm for space exploration
Space exploration

Space exploration is the use of astronomy and space technology to explore outer space. Physical exploration of space is conducted both by human spaceflights and by robotic spacecraft....
.

Outline


The Vision calls for the space program to:
  • Complete the International Space Station
    International Space Station

    The International Space Station is a research facility Assembly of the International Space Station in outer space. On-orbit construction of the station began in 1998, and is scheduled to be complete by 2011, with operations continuing until around 2015....
     by 2010
  • Retire the Space Shuttle
    Space Shuttle program

    NASA's Space Shuttle, officially called Space Transportation System , is the United States government's current Human spaceflight launch vehicle....
     by 2010
  • Develop the Orion
    Orion (spacecraft)

    Orion is a spacecraft design currently under development by the United States space agency NASA. Each Orion spacecraft will carry a crew of four to six astronauts, and will be launched by the Ares I, a launch vehicle also currently under development....
     spacecraft (formerly known as the Crew Exploration Vehicle) by 2008, and conduct its first human spaceflight mission by 2014
  • Develop Shuttle-Derived Launch Vehicle
    Shuttle-Derived Launch Vehicle

    The Shuttle-Derived Launch Vehicle, or simply Shuttle-Derived Vehicle , is a term describing one of a wide array of concepts that have been developed for creating space launch vehicles from the components, technology and/or infrastructure of the Space Shuttle program....
    s
  • Explore the Moon
    Moon

    The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite and the List of natural satellites by diameter satellite in the Solar System. The average centre-to-centre distance from the Earth to the Moon is km, about thirty times the diameter of the Earth....
     with robotic spacecraft missions by 2008 and crewed missions by 2020
  • Explore Mars and other destinations with robotic and crewed missions
Sdlv Rockets
When the Vision was announced in January 2004, the U.S. Congress and the scientific community gave it a mix of positive and negative reviews. For example, Rep. Dave Weldon
Dave Weldon

David Joseph Weldon, is an American politician and physician. He was a United States Republican Party member of the United States House of Representatives, representing ....
 (R-Fla.) said, "I think this is the best thing that has happened to the space program in decades," while physicist and outspoken manned spaceflight opponent
Human versus robotic spaceflight

The human versus robotic spaceflight debate refers to disagreements over the status of human spaceflight and robotic spacecraft . The debate is a recurring topic in news and opinion journalism, especially after noteworthy space events....
 Robert L. Park
Robert L. Park

Robert Lee Park , also known as Bob Park, is an emeritus professor of physics at the University of Maryland, College Park and a former Executive Director of the American Physical Society....
 said that robotic spacecraft "are doing so well it's going to be hard to justify sending a human."

Others, such as the Mars Society
Mars Society

The Mars Society is an international space advocacy non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging the exploration and settlement of Mars . Founded by Robert Zubrin and others in mid-1998 and attracting the support of notable science fiction writers and filmmakers , the organization is dedicated to convincing the public and governments of...
, have argued that it makes more sense to avoid going back to the Moon and instead focus on going to Mars first.

In a position paper issued by the National Space Society
National Space Society

The National Space Society is an international nonprofit 501, educational, and scientific organization specializing in space advocacy. NSS is a member of the Independent Charities of America, and an annual participant in the Combined Federal Campaign....
 (NSS), a return to the Moon should be considered a high space program priority, to begin development of the knowledge and identification of the industries unique to the Moon. The NSS believes that the Moon may be a repository of the history and possible future of our planet
Planet

A planet , as 2006 definition of planet by the International Astronomical Union , is a celestial body orbiting a star or Stellar evolution#Stellar remnants that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared the neighbourhood of planetesimals....
, and that the six Apollo
Project Apollo

The Apollo program was a human spaceflight program undertaken by NASA during the years 1961?1975 with the goal of conducting manned moon landing missions....
 landings only scratched the surface of that 'treasure'. According to NSS, the Moon's far side
Far side of the Moon

The far side of the Moon is the Moon hemisphere that is permanently turned away from the Earth. The far hemisphere was first photographed by the Soviet Luna 3 probe in 1959, and was first directly observed by human eyes when the Apollo 8 mission orbited the Moon in 1968....
, permanently shielded from the noisy Earth, is an ideal site for future radio astronomy
Radio astronomy

Radio astronomy is a subfield of astronomy that studies Astronomical object at radio frequency. The initial detection of radio waves from an astronomical object was made in the 1930s, but subsequent advances have identified a number of different sources of radio emission....
. Unique products may be producible in the nearly limitless extreme vacuum
Vacuum

A vacuum is a volume of space that is essentially empty of matter, such that its gaseous pressure is much less than atmospheric pressure. The word comes from the Latin term for "empty," but in reality, no volume of space can ever be perfectly empty....
 of the lunar surface, and the Moon's remoteness is the ultimate isolation for biologically hazardous experiments.

The Moon can serve as a proving ground for a wide range of space operations and processes, including developments toward In-Situ Resource Utilization
In-Situ Resource Utilization

In space exploration, In-Situ Resource Utilization describes the proposed use of resources found or manufactured on other planetary bodies or planetoids to further the goals of a space mission....
 or "living off the land" (i.e., self-sufficiency) for permanent human outposts. This has various benefits.

Initial return missions as proposed by U.S. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush

George Walker Bush served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 2001 to 2009. He was the 46th List of Governors of Texas from 1995 to 2000 before being United States presidential inauguration as President on January 20, 2001....
 and NASA, can be done through space operations using the existing launch
Rocket launch

A rocket launch is the first phase of the flight of a rocket. For orbital spaceflights, or for launches into interplanetary space, which is usually a fixed location on the ground but may also be on a floating platform such as the San Marco platform, or the Sea Launch launch vessel....
 infrastructure and assets developed by the shuttle and International Space Station programs, plus existing expendable launch vehicles, with a minimum of new research and development
Research and development

The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications [sic]" ...
 programs. The lessons learned from international cooperation during ISS construction and operations, can be improved upon and extended to human missions to the Moon, Mars and elsewhere. Initial missions could place scientific equipment on the Moon and return samples from areas never explored, such as the polar regions. Extent of water and other volatiles important to lunar industrialization could be determined. As future reusable launch systems begin operations, reducing cost and enabling higher flight rates, Earth-Moon traffic can become routine.

Throughout much of 2004, it was unclear whether the U.S. Congress would be willing to approve and fund the Vision for Space Exploration. However, in November 2004, Congress passed a spending bill
Bill (proposed law)

A bill is a proposed new law introduced within a legislature that has not been ratification, adopted, or received royal assent. Once a bill has become law, it is thereafter an Statute; but in popular usage the two terms are often treated interchangeably....
 which gave NASA the $16.2 billion that President Bush had sought to kick-start the Vision. According to then-NASA chief Sean O'Keefe
Sean O'Keefe

Sean O'Keefe is a former NASA Administrator, leading the space agency from December 2001 to February 2005. His tenure was marked by a mix of triumph and tragedy, ranging from the tremendous success of the Mars Exploration Rovers to the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster....
, that spending bill “was as strong an endorsement of the space exploration vision, as any of us could have imagined.” In 2005, Congress passed S.1281, the NASA Authorization Act of 2005, which explicitly endorses the Vision.

Former NASA Administrator Michael Griffin
Michael D. Griffin

Michael Douglas Griffin is an American physicist, aerospace engineer and the former Administrator of NASA, from April 13, 2005 to January 20, 2009....
 is a big supporter of the Vision, but modified it somewhat, saying that he wants to reduce the four year gap between the retirement of the Space Shuttle and the first manned mission of the Crew Exploration Vehicle.

Criticisms

In February 2009, Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Aldrin

Buzz Aldrin is an United States aviator and astronaut, who was the Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 11, the first lunar landing. He was, along with Mission Commander Neil Armstrong, the first person to land on the Moon, and shortly afterward became the second person to set foot on the Moon....
 and the Aerospace Technology Working Group have released an in-depth report about why the VSE was poorly planned space exploration initiative that needs to be rectified or replaced.

See also

  • Aurora programme
    Aurora Programme

    The Aurora programme is a human spaceflight List of human spaceflight programs of the European Space Agency established in 2001 with the primary objectives of creating, and then implementing, a European long-term plan for Space exploration of the Solar System using robotic spacecraft and human spaceflight....
  • Colonization of the Moon
    Colonization of the Moon

    The colonization of the Moon is the proposed establishment of permanent human communities on the Moon. Science fiction writers and advocates of space exploration have seen Settler of the Moon as a logical step in the expansion of humanity beyond the Earth....
  • Crew Exploration Vehicle
    Crew Exploration Vehicle

    The Crew Exploration Vehicle was the conceptual component of the Vision for Space Exploration that later became known as the Orion spacecraft....
  • Crew Space Transportation System
    CSTS

    CSTS or ACTS is a human spaceflight system proposal which was jointly studied by the European Space Agency , the Russian Space Agency , with the objective to design a spacecraft for Low Earth Orbit operations such as servicing the International Space Station but also capable of exploration of the Moon and beyond....
  • Decadal Planning Team
    Decadal Planning Team

    The NASA Decadal Planning Team and its successor, the NASA Exploration Team , were influential behind-the-scenes efforts to develop a major new direction for the space agency early in the 21st Century....
  • DIRECT
    Direct

    Direct may refer to:* direct current, a direct flow of electricity* direct examination, the in-trial questioning of a witness by the party who has called him or her to testify...
  • Exploration Systems Architecture Study
    Exploration Systems Architecture Study

    The Exploration Systems Architecture Study is the official title of a large-scale, system level study conducted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration during the Summer of 2005 in response to American president George W....
  • Google Lunar X Prize
    Google Lunar X Prize

    The Google Lunar X PRIZE, sometimes referred to as simply Moon 2.0, is a space competition organized by the X PRIZE Foundation, and sponsored by Google....
  • Human spaceflight
    Human spaceflight

    A human spaceflight is a spaceflight with a Astronaut, and possibly passengers. This makes it unlike Robotic spacecraft space probes or remotely-controlled satellites....
  • Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
    Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

    The Lunar Precursor Robotic Program is a program of robotic spacecraft missions which NASA will use to prepare for future human spaceflight missions to the Moon....
  • Project Constellation
    Project Constellation

    Constellation is a NASA program with the stated goal of gaining significant experience in operating away from Earth's environment, developing technologies needed for opening the space frontier and conducting fundamental science....
  • Space advocacy
    Space advocacy

    Space advocacy can be described as the general position supporting, pleading or arguing for the idea or cause of space exploration and settlements....
  • Space exploration
    Space exploration

    Space exploration is the use of astronomy and space technology to explore outer space. Physical exploration of space is conducted both by human spaceflights and by robotic spacecraft....
  • Space Exploration Initiative
    Space Exploration Initiative

    On July 20, 1989, President of the United States George H. W. Bush announced plans for the Space Exploration Initiative , calling for construction of the Space Station Freedom, sending humans back to the Moon, and ultimately sending astronauts to Mars....


External links