At the sixth meeting of the National Space Council on August 20, 2019, the Council adopted a set of recommendations, including a recommendation that directed the National Space Council staff, in consultation with National Space Council members and the Users’ Advisory Group, to present to the Chairman of the National Space Council a Moon-Mars Development Strategy. This strategy was to include low-Earth orbit commercialization, robotic and human exploration, national security capabilities, and international cooperation for science, safety, security, and economic growth. The strategy delineated in this paper supports an ambitious vision for human space exploration and development. This vision is one in which there is a sustainable human and robotic presence across the solar system — an expanding sphere of commercial, non-governmental activities in which increasing numbers of Americans live and work in space.
This vision begins with a campaign to utilize Earth’s orbital environment, the surface and resources of the Moon, and cis-lunar space to develop the critical technologies, operational capabilities, and commercial space economy necessary for a sustainable human presence on the Moon, Mars, and beyond. U.S. space exploration efforts impact and aid multiple national interests, including the economy, national security, scientific advances, and diplomacy. The landscape has changed drastically since the early beginnings of the Space Age. Current space exploration efforts involve a greater number of nations and private sector actors, and as a result, the nature of leadership in space has evolved. The challenge in this new era is not simply to achieve what others cannot but to provide opportunities for others to partner with us. Although NASA is, and will remain, the primary United States Government entity for civil space exploration efforts, other departments and agencies have increasingly important roles to play in space.
This vision begins with a campaign to utilize Earth’s orbital environment, the surface and resources of the Moon, and cis-lunar space to develop the critical technologies, operational capabilities, and commercial space economy necessary for a sustainable human presence on the Moon, Mars, and beyond. U.S. space exploration efforts impact and aid multiple national interests, including the economy, national security, scientific advances, and diplomacy. The landscape has changed drastically since the early beginnings of the Space Age. Current space exploration efforts involve a greater number of nations and private sector actors, and as a result, the nature of leadership in space has evolved. The challenge in this new era is not simply to achieve what others cannot but to provide opportunities for others to partner with us. Although NASA is, and will remain, the primary United States Government entity for civil space exploration efforts, other departments and agencies have increasingly important roles to play in space.
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