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With this rationale in mind, the Commission proposes this broad, long-range, pioneering mission for the American space program:

To lead the exploration and development of the space frontier, advancing science, technology and enterprise, and building institutions and systems that make accessible vast new resources and support human settlements beyond Earth orbit, from the highlands of the Moon to the plains of Mars.

To accomplish this mission, three mutually-supportive thrusts are outlined:

⁕ Advancing scientific understanding of Planet Earth, the Solar System and the Universe;

⁕ Exploring, prospecting and settling the Solar System; and

⁕ Stimulating space enterprise.

To support these, two additional thrust are essential:

⁕ Advancing technologies across a broad spectrum to enhance capabilities and lower costs; and

⁕ Creating systems and institutions to provide safe, reliable, low-cost access to the space frontier.

These thrusts will involve a creative partnership of government, academia and industry of the type which has proven so effective in our history. Our most urgent need, and the greatest contribution NASA can make by the year 2000, is to lower by an order of magnitude the cost of transporting cargo and passengers into orbit and beyond throughout the inner Solar System. Critical technologies include dual-cycle rocket engines, aerospace plane systems, artificial intelligence, tethers, advanced materials and aerobraking systems. To "live off the land" on the space frontier, NASA must vigorously pursue two new technologies: robotic processing of extraterrestrial materials, and closed-ecology biospheres to recycle air, water and food. All of these technologies have major implications for 21st-century America's economic strength and security.

Our proposed 20-year civilian space goals include a "Highway to Space" and "Bridge Between Worlds." These will support initial astronaut outposts on the Moon by 2005. A decade later spaceships with artificial gravity can begin to cycle between the orbits of Earth and Mars to open continuous human access to the rich resources and spectacular landscapes of Mars. The Commission's proposed new space agenda for America is paced to maintain NASA's budget at less than half the peak percentage of national expenditures reached during the Apollo years. The expected benefits to America and the world will greatly outweigh the costs. Major international participation is proposed in a program that the Commission is confident will attract the best minds of the 21st century.

Our report recognizes that the final decision will be made by the American people through the Congress and the Administration. The Commission report is therefore not a prophesy, but a description of what the United States can make happen through vigorous leadership in pioneering the space frontier.