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The World has Changed (p. 1)
- Life is pervasive; we believe it must exist beyond our planet
When the History of the First Quarter of the 21st Century is Written... (p. 2)
- We have sought life's abodes: NASA missions have mapped continents on dozens of planets circling nearby stars, some of which show signs of life-supporting atmospheres. Evidence continues to mount for the existence of life on planets within our own Solar System, as revealed by advanced generations of robotic explorers. Humans and their robotic partners assembled complex science facilities in space to unveil even more challenging cosmic questions.
NASA's Vision (p. 4)
To improve life here,
To extend life to there,
To find life beyond.
The NASA Mission (p. 5)
To understand and protect our home planet
To explore the Universe and search for life
To inspire the next generation of explorers
...as only NASA can.
[Note: I believe the first line has since been removed for political reasons related to global warming. -AD]
To Explore the Universe and Search for Life (p. 7)
Exploring the Universe and the life within it... enabled by technology, first with robotic trailblazers, and eventually humans... as driven by these compelling scientific questions:
- How did we get here?
- Where are we going?
- Are we alone?
Implications for NASA: What is Different? (p. 9)
To Explore the Universe and Search for Life
- Decisions are science-driven; not destination-driven
- Human presence beyond low Earth orbit will be enabled - as a means to scientific exploration, not an end in itself
- Investments are justified by their contribution to the long-range vision
What Does America Gain from NASA? (p. 10)
- A deeper understanding of life, ourselves, and the universe
It is well worth contemplating how we reached this moment of discovery. More than 4 billion years ago this piece of rock was formed as a part of the original crust of Mars. After billions of years it broke from the surface and began a 16 million year journey through space that would end here on Earth. It arrived in a meteor shower 13,000 years ago. And in 1984 an American scientist on an annual U.S. government mission to search for meteors on Antarctica picked it up and took it to be studied. Appropriately, it was the first rock to be picked up that year -- rock number 84001.
Today, rock 84001 speaks to us across all those billions of years and millions of miles. It speaks of the possibility of life. If this discovery is confirmed, it will surely be one of the most stunning insights into our universe that science has ever uncovered. Its implications are as far-reaching and awe-inspiring as can be imagined. Even as it promises answers to some of our oldest questions, it poses still others even more fundamental.
We will continue to listen closely to what it has to say as we continue the search for answers and for knowledge that is as old as humanity itself but essential to our people's future.
Know! - No!
Is NASA on our side?
Originally posted by Access Denied
if it wasn't for NASA releasing their planetary data to scientists worldwide and the public we wouldn't have a clue what the Moon and other planets look like or how they were formed etc...