On January 14, 2004, President Bush announced a new national vision for space exploration: to return humans to the moon, then on to Mars and beyond. To develop this vision, the President established a commission, known as the "Moon, Mars, and Beyond" Commission, to implement the United States Space Exploration Policy. With the commission's help, this new vision is becoming a successful part of the American agenda.

Neil deGrasse Tyson, Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., will speak on "The Future of the U.S. Space Program" at a colloquium at 2 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 2.

Tyson, appointed by President Bush in 2001 to serve on the 12-member commission, will discuss its findings. In the final report, recommendations were made that would promote a thriving future of transportation, space exploration and national security.

Media Briefing: A media briefing will be held at 1:15 p.m. at the H.J.E. Reid Conference Center, 14 Langley Blvd., NASA Langley Research Center. Members of the media who wish to attend should contact Kimberly W. Land at (757) 864-9885 or 344-8611 (mobile) to arrange for credentials.

An occupant of the Frederick P. Rose Directorship at the planetarium, Tyson also teaches. His professional research interests include star formation, exploding stars, dwarf galaxies and the structure of our Milky Way.

Tyson, born and raised in New York City, earned his bachelor's degree in physics from Harvard University and his doctorate in astrophysics from Columbia University.

In addition to dozens of professional publications, Tyson writes for Natural History magazine, under the title "Universe." Author of seven books, Tyson's Origins is the companion book to the PBS-NOVA four-part television mini-series with the same title in which Tyson serves as on-camera host. The program premiered in September 2004.

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