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LEADERSHIP INITIATIVES

To energize a discussion of long-range goals and strategies for the civilian space program, four bold initiatives were selected for definition, study, and evaluation:

1. Mission to Planet Earth: a program that would use perspective afforded from space to study and characterize our home planet on a global scale.

2. Exploration of the Solar System: a program to retain U.S. leadership in exploration of the outer solar system, and regain U.S. leadership in exploration of comets, asteroids, and Mars.

3. Outpost on the Moon: a program that would build on and extend the legacy of the Apollo Program, returning Americans to the Moon to continue exploration, to establish a permanent scientific outpost, and to begin prospecting the Moon's resources.

4. Humans to Mars: a program to send astronauts on a series of round trips to land on the surface of Mars, leading to the eventual establishment of a permanent base.

The intent is not to choose one initiative and discard the other three, but rather to use the four candidate initiatives as a basis for discussion. For this reason, it was important to choose a set of initiatives which spanned a broad spectrum of content and complexity.


From: NASA Leadership and America's Future in Space by Sally K. Ride (1987)

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