NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Some day in the future, when women and men from Earth are living and working on Mars, they may well look back on Jan. 14, 2004, as the first step of their amazing journey.

Image left: Artist's concept of a future human mission to Mars. Photo credit: Pat Rawlings/SAIC

That's the day President George W. Bush set a "new course for America's space program," proclaiming "Human beings are headed into the cosmos." (Video: + Windows | + Quicktime)

The Vision for Space Exploration (1.9 Mb PDF) offers a "building block" strategy of human and robotic missions, beginning with returning the Space Shuttle to flight and completing the International Space Station. It calls for humans to return to the moon by 2020 and eventually explore Mars and beyond.

A year later, with the support of Congress, NASA employees and contractors across the nation are already at work turning these ambitious goals into reality. These are some of their "can do" stories:

Joe Kosmo is a senior engineer at the Johnson Space Center. Kosmo and his team are building prototype equipment for future human exploration, like an astronaut suit fit for Mars and a miniature all-terrain rover to study red planet riches.

Image right: Testing prototype spacesuits in the Arizona desert. Photo credit: NASA/Johnson Space Center.

"The Vision gives us national focus," Kosmo says. "Everyone benefits. We don't know what's in the next turn, but it's the footsteps on the planets and the humans' exploration that will find the next discoveries."

Giulio Rosanova is Mechanical Systems Lead Engineer for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), planned for a launch in fall 2008. The mission will scout future robotic and human landing sites and identify potential lunar resources, such as water and ice.

Image left: Giulio Rosanova works on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter project at the Goddard Space Flight Center. Photo credit: NASA/GSFC

I always wished I could have worked during the Apollo era when things were highly unknown ..." says Rosanova. "I thought that I would never get the chance to work on anything as exciting as going to the moon. I thought I was born a few decades too late, but now with LRO I have the chance to closely realize my dream."

Aimee Lemieux is a cooperative education student at the Wallops Flight Facility. She's working on a project that would send a balloon to Mars, studying the atmosphere and landscape over vast areas of the planet.

"The possibilities that can arise from this project are endless; from developing the technology for planetary balloon to discovering new and interesting information about other planets," says Lemieux. "Being a part of a cutting edge project is exhilarating and stimulating."

Payton "Chuck" Jones works at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. He's part of a team working to assemble and test the Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) that will send Discovery on its Return to Flight mission, planned for May 2005.

Image right: Chuck Jones at work on Solid Rocket Boosters. Photo credit: NASA/KSC

"I feel my job is very important because we provide the ride," Jones says with a proud grin. "It's teamwork from beginning to end," he says. "If I don't get my job done, an astronaut can't get his job done." (+Read More)

Michael Watkins is the Mission Manager for the Mars Science Laboratory Project, currently the next planned rover mission to the red planet, launching in 2009.

Image left: Michael Watkins with a model of the Mars Odyssey spacecraft. Photo credit: NASA/JPL

"Understanding the geology and history of Mars, as well as the best ways to safely land both robots and humans on the surface, are important components of the Vision for Space Exploration," Watkins says. "The systems we develop, the places we explore, and the things we learn about the Martian environment will play major roles in developing our future Mars exploration plans."

Image right: Artist's concept of the DART spacecraft. Photo credit: NASA/MSFC

Jim Snoddy works at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, as project manager for the DART (Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology) spacecraft, which will be launching in 2005. DART will demonstrate technology that could allow a computerized autopilot to dock a future spacecraft to the International Space Station. This technology could help develop spaceraft to carry humans to other worlds.

Dr. Don Yeomans works at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He's a Co-Investigator for the Deep Impact comet mission, which will send an "impactor" into comet Tempel 1 on July 4, 2005, creating a crater and studying the exposed materials inside.

Image left: JPL's Don Yeomans. Photo credit: NASA/JPL

"If we can figuratively 'peel back the layers' of a comet," Yeomans says, "We may be able to study the embedded history of our solar system."

"One day," he adds, "comets may serve as the watering holes and fueling stations that will allow spacecraft to explore farther into the cosmos."

Dr. Craig Markwardt, a scientist at Goddard Space Flight Center, studies intense bursts of gamma-rays with the newly launched Swift observatory. These bursts are thought to signal the violent formation of a new black hole from the explosion of a star.

"Gamma-ray bursts inform us of how the forces of gravity and radiation create powerful explosions." Markwardt added, "but they also help us understand how stars like our sun are born and live their lives."

Dr. Rafat Ansari is a researcher at NASA's Glenn Research Center. He's developing technology with Earthly applications -- a device to detect cataracts in the early stages. NASA is interested in cataract treatment because astronauts are six times more likely to develop it due to exposure to radiation in space.

"The eye truly is the window into the body," says Dr. Ansari, "because every tissue type and fluid type in the eye represents every tissue type and fluid type in the human body."

Dr. Marshall Shepherd is a research meteorologist at Goddard Space Flight Center. He studies hurricanes, thunderstorms and other atmospheric processes as part of NASA's mission to understand and protect our home planet.

Image left: Marshall Shepherd at work. Photo credit: NASA/GSFC

"As we start exploring our neighboring planets it is important to remember that the Earth is also fascinating and ever changing planet," says Shepherd.

Waleed Abdalati, another Goddard scientist, points out how studying Earth helps us explore other planets. He says observations of Earth's ice caps "can help us understand how to best study and ultimately utilize this vast reservoir on the Martian surface."

"The Vision gives us national focus. Everyone benefits. We don't know what's in the next turn, but it's the footsteps on the planets and the humans' exploration that will find the next discoveries" -- Joe Kosmo, Johnson Space Center

Inspiring the next generation of explorers is a key to realizing the Vision. The NASAexplores team -- an educational group based at the Marshall Space Flight Center -- did just that when they helped an eight-year-old student named David with a school project. David's family eventually visited the center and met the team.
+Read More about "Flat David"

"I really want to be an astronaut when I grow up. I want to see in space, all the planets and the world from all around," David says.

Teachers are inspired too. Ohio science teacher Chantelle Rose participates in NASA Education programs, and recently got a tour of the Johnson Space Center. "I had to keep pinching myself," Rose says. "I actually heard the 'Right Stuff' music in my head."

Marty Mlynczak is a senior researcher in Atmospheric Sciences at the Langley Research Center. He's also inspired the next generation of explorers -- in this case, his 11-year-old daughter Kristy.

In a school essay titled "What I Hope to be Someday," Kristy writes that she'd love to work for NASA. "I'd like to help design new robots and instruments that can film other stars or black holes. I will invent new shuttles that can go into Jupiter's storm ... I might be able to find a way we can live on other planets."

With future pioneers like David and Kristy in the wings, new journeys of exploration and discovery can't be too far off.

NASA Web Portal Editors