Barack Obama: America will take the giant leap to Mars
(CNN)One
of my earliest memories is sitting on my grandfather's shoulders,
waving a flag as our astronauts returned to Hawaii. This was years
before we'd set foot on the moon. Decades before we'd land a rover on
Mars. A generation before photos from the International Space Station
would show up in our social media feeds.
I
still have the same sense of wonder about our space program that I did
as a child. It represents an essential part of our character --
curiosity and exploration, innovation and ingenuity, pushing the
boundaries of what's possible and doing it before anybody else. The
space race we won not only contributed immeasurably important
technological and medical advances, but it also inspired a new
generation of scientists and engineers with the right stuff to keep
America on the cutting edge.
President Barack Obama
That's
one of the reasons why, in my first address as President to the
American people, I vowed to return science to its rightful place. In
our first few months, my administration made the largest single
investment in basic research in our history, and I went to the Kennedy
Space Center to call for reimagining and reinvigorating our space
program to explore more of our solar system and look deeper into the
universe than ever.
In
the years since, we've revitalized technology innovation at NASA,
extended the life of the International Space Station, and helped
American companies create private-sector jobs by capitalizing on the
untapped potential of the space industry.
Last
year alone, NASA discovered flowing water on Mars and evidence of ice
on one of Jupiter's moons, and we mapped Pluto -- more than 3 billion
miles away -- in high-resolution. Our space telescopes revealed
additional Earth-like planets orbiting distant stars, and we're pursuing
new missions to interact with asteroids, which will help us learn how
to protect the Earth from the threat of colliding with one while also
teaching us about the origins of life on Earth. We've flown by every
planet in the solar system -- something no other nation can say. And we
continue to drive down the cost of space exploration for taxpayers.
This
week, we'll convene some of America's leading scientists, engineers,
innovators and students in Pittsburgh to dream up ways to build on our
progress and find the next frontiers. Just five years ago, US companies
were shut out of the global commercial launch market. Today, thanks to
groundwork laid by the men and women of NASA, they own more than a
third of it. More than 1,000 companies across nearly all 50 states are
working on private space initiatives.
We
have set a clear goal vital to the next chapter of America's story in
space: sending humans to Mars by the 2030s and returning them safely to
Earth, with the ultimate ambition to one day remain there for an
extended time. Getting to Mars will require continued cooperation
between government and private innovators, and we're already well on our
way. Within the next two years, private companies will for the first
time send astronauts to the International Space Station.
The
next step is to reach beyond the bounds of Earth's orbit. I'm excited
to announce that we are working with our commercial partners to build
new habitats that can sustain and transport astronauts on long-duration
missions in deep space. These missions will teach us how humans can
live far from Earth -- something we'll need for the long journey to
Mars.
The
reporter who covered the moon landing for The New York Times, John
Noble Wilford, later wrote that Mars tugs at our imagination "with a
force mightier than gravity." Getting there will take a giant leap. But
the first, small steps happen when our students -- the Mars generation
-- walk into their classrooms each day. Scientific discovery doesn't
happen with the flip of a switch; it takes years of testing, patience
and a national commitment to education.
President
Eisenhower knew this: In 1958, he devoted great resources to science
and math education around the same time he created NASA. And it's why
I'm proud that we've passed important milestones in STEM education. For
the first time, more than 100,000 engineers are graduating from
American schools every year, and we're on track to accomplish my goal of
training 100,000 excellent new STEM teachers in a decade.
When
our Apollo astronauts looked back from space, they realized that while
their mission was to explore the moon, they had "in fact discovered the
Earth." If we make our leadership in space even stronger in this century
than it was in the last, we won't just benefit from related advances in
energy, medicine, agriculture and artificial intelligence, we'll
benefit from a better understanding of our environment and ourselves.
Someday,
I hope to hoist my own grandchildren onto my shoulders. We'll still
look to the stars in wonder, as humans have since the beginning of time.
But instead of eagerly awaiting the return of our intrepid explorers,
we'll know that because of the choices we make now, they've gone to
space not just to visit, but to stay -- and in doing so, to make our
lives better here on Earth.