As Human beings, we have forever had a burning desire to explore; map new lands, initiate new trials and answer intriguing
questions about ourselves and our universe.
NASA's History Office mainly offers a broad perspective on these issues in a series of essays entitled "Why We Explore."
By drawing parallels to the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, NASA Chief Historian Steven J. Dick has explicitly written about our current Age of Space, "a continuous story of voyages further and further from the home planet."
In the beginning of the year 2004, President of United States G.W. Bush put NASA on a novel course into the cosmos. The Vision for Space
Exploration announced that day (14th Jan. ’04) focused on the agency’s bold new mission which is; landing humans on the moon before the end of the next decade eventually paving the way for journeys to Mars and other planets.
Nearly two years later, NASA is on the way to turning the Vision into reality. They have finally revealed their plans for the next generation spacecraft, the Crew Exploration Vehicle, which builds on the best of Apollo and shuttle technology.
NASA's robotic explorers continue to return informative and breathtaking images/ data as the Space shuttle fleet continues. Return to flight testing and works to complete at the International Space Station are currently underway. Scientists are poring over the comet samples from Stardust, as the New Horizons spacecraft rockets towards Pluto. Also on the red planet (Mars), Spirit and Opportunity are now roving as a new probe, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, arrives.
Journey on Moon, Mars and Beyond:
These ambitious missions, like those that will follow, gaze to the cosmos for answers to
questions as old as humankind… So, let us continue our journey!..
By landing and staying on the moon for extended periods of time, astronauts would search for resources and learn how to work safely in a harsh environment, which are stepping stones to future exploration. The exploration on moon will also offer many clues about the time when the planets were formed.
The robotic missions have found enough evidence of a watery past on Mars, suggesting that simple life forms may have developed long ago and may persist beneath the surface today. Thus, human exploration could provide answers to some very profound questions.
As humans and robots work together exploring the Moon, Mars and beyond, NASA spacecrafts will continue to send great information our way to give breathtakingly exciting glance of our mysterious space.
Important websites:
http://www.nasa.gov/home/
http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/exp13_front/index.html