Editing Vision for Space Exploration (section)

== Outline ==
The Vision for Space Exploration sought to implement a sustained and affordable human and robotic program to explore the [[Solar System]] and beyond; extend human presence across the Solar System, starting with a human return to the Moon by the year 2020, in preparation for human exploration of Mars and other destinations; develop the innovative technologies, knowledge, and infrastructures both to explore and to support decisions about the destinations for human exploration; and to promote international and commercial participation in exploration to further U.S. scientific, security, and economic interests.<ref name="NASAdocument">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/55583main_vision_space_exploration2.pdf|title=The Vision for Space Exploration|access-date=December 5, 2009|publisher=[[NASA]]|date=February 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041025212733/http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/55583main_vision_space_exploration2.pdf|archive-date=October 25, 2004}}</ref>

In pursuit of these goals, the vision called for the space program to complete the [[International Space Station]] by 2010; retire the [[Space Shuttle program|Space Shuttle]] by 2010; develop a new [[Crew Exploration Vehicle]] (later renamed [[Orion (Constellation program)|Orion]]) by 2008, and conduct its first human spaceflight mission by 2014; explore the [[Moon]] with [[robotic spacecraft]] missions by 2008 and crewed missions by 2020, and use lunar exploration to develop and test new approaches and technologies useful for supporting sustained exploration of Mars and beyond; explore [[Mars]] and other destinations with robotic and crewed missions; pursue commercial transportation to support the International Space Station and missions beyond low Earth orbit.<ref name="NASAdocument"/><ref name="NASAaddress">{{Cite web|url=https://history.nasa.gov/Bush%20SEP.htm|title=President Bush Announces New Vision for Space Exploration Program|access-date=June 17, 2009|publisher=[[NASA]]|date=January 14, 2004}}</ref>

Outlining some of the advantages, [[U.S. President|U.S. president]] George W. Bush addressed the following:<ref name="NASAaddress" />

{{blockquote|Establishing an extended human presence on the moon could vastly reduce the costs of further space exploration, making possible ever more ambitious missions. Lifting heavy spacecraft and fuel out of the Earth's gravity is expensive. Spacecraft assembled and provisioned on the moon could escape its far lower gravity using far less energy, and thus, far less cost. Also, the moon is home to abundant resources. Its soil contains raw materials that might be harvested and processed into rocket fuel or breathable air. We can use our time on the moon to develop and test new approaches and technologies and systems that will allow us to function in other, more challenging environments.}}

One of the stated goals for the [[Constellation program]] is to gain significant experience in operating away from [[Earth]]'s environment,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/163092main_constellation_program_overview.pdf|title=Constellation Program Overview|last=Connolly|first=John F.|date=October 2006|publisher=Constellation Program Office|access-date=May 8, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070710060512/http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/163092main_constellation_program_overview.pdf|archive-date=July 10, 2007}}</ref> as the [[White House]] contended, to embody a "sustainable course of long-term exploration."<ref name="SpaceBush" /> The [[Ares (rocket)|Ares boosters]] are a cost-effective approach<ref name="LowCostMoon">{{Cite web |date=April 29, 2009 |title=Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle |url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/ares/aresl/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081105061358/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/ares/aresl/index.html |archive-date=November 5, 2008 |access-date=May 13, 2009 |publisher=[[NASA]]}}</ref> – entailing the [[Ares V]]'s enormous, unprecedented cargo-carrying capacity<ref>Creech, Steve and Phil Sumrall. [https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20080036820_2008036005.pdf "Ares V: Refining a New Heavy Lift Capability"]. NASA.</ref> – transporting future space exploration resources to the Moon's<ref name="LowCostMoon" /> weaker [[gravity field]].<ref name="NSSDC">{{cite web|last=Williams|first=Dr. David R.|title=Moon Fact Sheet|publisher=[[NASA]] (National Space Science Data Center)|url=http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/moonfact.html|date=February 2, 2006|access-date=December 31, 2008}}</ref> While simultaneously serving as a proving ground for a wide range of space operations and processes, the Moon may serve as a cost-effective construction, launching and fueling site for future [[space exploration]] missions.<ref name="base">{{Cite report |url=http://www.highfrontier.org/Archive/Jt/Susante%20et%20al%20Highlights%20on%20Lunar%20Base%20Designs%20COSPAR%20PAPER_B0_3-F3_3.pdf |title=Highlights on Lunar Base Designs |author1=Van Susante |first=P. J. |author2=Imhof |first2=B. |date=December 1, 2002 |author3=S. Mohanty |author4=H.J. Rombaut |author5=J. Volp |access-date=February 16, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100704102020/http://www.highfrontier.org/Archive/Jt/Susante%20et%20al%20Highlights%20on%20Lunar%20Base%20Designs%20COSPAR%20PAPER_B0_3-F3_3.pdf |archive-date=July 4, 2010 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref> For example, future Ares V missions could cost-effectively<ref name="LowCostMoon" /> deliver [[raw material]]s for future [[spacecraft]] and missions to a Moon-based<ref name="LowCostMoon" /> [[space dock]] positioned as a [[counterweight]] to a Moon-based [[Space elevator#Extraterrestrial elevators|space elevator]].<ref name="Pearson 2005">{{cite web|url=http://www.niac.usra.edu/files/studies/final_report/1032Pearson.pdf|last=Pearson|date=2005|title=Lunar Space Elevators for Cislunar Space Development Phase I Final Technical Report|first=Jerome|author2=Eugene Levin|author3=John Oldson|author4=Harry Wykes|name-list-style=amp}}</ref>

[[Image:SDLV rockets.jpg|right|thumb|Two planned configurations for a return to the Moon: heavy lift (left) and crew (right)]]

NASA has also outlined plans for human missions to the [[far side of the Moon]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article742757.ece|archive-url=https://archive.today/20070208112501/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article742757.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 8, 2007|access-date=February 16, 2010|title=Nasa to put man on far side of moon|date=March 19, 2006|first=Jonathan|last=Leake|newspaper=[[Times Online]]|publisher=[[Times Newspapers]]}}</ref> All of the Apollo missions have landed on the near side. Unique products may be producible in the nearly extreme [[vacuum]] of the lunar surface, and the Moon's remoteness is the ultimate isolation for [[Biological hazard|biologically hazardous]] experiments. The Moon would also become a proving ground toward the development of [[In-Situ Resource Utilization]], or "living off the land" (i.e., self-sufficiency) for permanent human outposts.

In a position paper issued by the [[National Space Society]] (NSS), a return to the Moon should be considered a high priority [[space program]], 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 Earth, and that the six [[Project Apollo|Apollo]] landings only scratched the surface of that "treasure". According to NSS, the Moon's far side, permanently shielded from the noisy Earth, is an ideal site for future [[radio astronomy]] (for example, signals in the 1–10&nbsp;MHz range cannot be detected on Earth because of [[ionosphere]] interference<ref>[http://europa.ieec.fcr.es/english/formacio/cva/apunts/U._Apel/CVA_ual_LoM.pdf LIFE on Moon], {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100325135237/http://europa.ieec.fcr.es/english/formacio/cva/apunts/U._Apel/CVA_ual_LoM.pdf|date=2010-03-25}}.</ref>).

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, U.S. representative [[Dave Weldon]] (Republican–Florida) said, "I think this is the best thing that has happened to the space program in decades." Though physicist and outspoken [[human versus robotic spaceflight|crewed spaceflight opponent]] [[Robert L. Park]] stated that robotic spacecraft "are doing so well it's going to be hard to justify sending a human,"<ref name="SpaceBush">{{Cite web|title=FAQ: Bush's New Space Vision|date=19 September 2005 |url=http://www.space.com/news/bush_plan_faq_040115.html|publisher=space.com|access-date=February 7, 2008}}</ref> the [[Constellation program|vision]] announced by the president states that "robotic missions will serve as trailblazers—the advanced guard to the unknown."<ref name="NASAaddress" /> Others, such as the [[Mars Society]], have argued that it makes more sense to avoid going back to the Moon and instead focus on going to Mars first.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Mars Society Frequently Asked Questions|url=http://www.marssociety.org/portal/c/faq#moon_first|publisher=marssociety.org|access-date=February 7, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080126202635/http://www.marssociety.org/portal/c/faq#moon_first|archive-date=January 26, 2008|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

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 [[Bill (proposed law)|spending bill]] 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]], that spending bill "was as strong an endorsement of the space exploration vision, as any of us could have imagined."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Congress Grants $16.2 Billion Budget for NASA |url=http://www.space.com/spacenews/archive04/congressarch_120604.html |publisher=space.com |access-date=February 7, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050913093403/http://www.space.com/spacenews/archive04/congressarch_120604.html |archive-date=September 13, 2005 }}</ref> In 2005, Congress passed S.1281, the [[NASA Authorization Act of 2005]], which explicitly endorsed the vision.<ref>{{Cite web|title=NASA Authorization Act|url=http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ155.109.pdf|publisher=gpo.gov|access-date=February 7, 2008}}</ref>

Former NASA administrator [[Michael D. Griffin|Michael Griffin]] is a 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 crewed mission of the Crew Exploration Vehicle.<ref>{{Cite web|title=A Message From Administrator Michael Griffin|url=http://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/mg_admin_corner_041405.html|publisher=nasa.gov|access-date=February 7, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050913093403/http://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/mg_admin_corner_041405.html|archive-date=September 13, 2005}}</ref>