To restore a vision for the United States human space flight program by instituting a series of incremental goals that will facilitate the scientific exploration of the solar system and aid in the search for life elsewhere in the universe, and for other purposes.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Space Exploration Act of 2002''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) It is in the national interest of the United States to 
        have a vigorous, outward-looking program of space exploration, 
        encompassing both robotic spacecraft missions and human space 
        flight.
            (2) The United States has achieved major accomplishments in 
        its human space flight program over the last 4 decades, 
        including the first crewed lunar landing, the first reusable 
        crewed Space Shuttle, and the first truly international Space 
        Station.
            (3) There currently is no commitment to the accomplishment 
        of any challenging goals in human space flight after the 
        completion of the International Space Station.
            (4) While a significant amount of scientific research can 
        and should be accomplished by robotic means, a comprehensive 
        plan of scientific exploration of the solar system and search 
        for life beyond Earth will require both robotic spacecraft 
        missions and human space flight to achieve its goals.
            (5) Properly coordinated, the Nation's human space flight 
        program does not compete with robotic exploration but instead 
        complements it and provides additional capabilities for 
        scientific research.
            (6) The successful repair and servicing of the Hubble Space 
        Telescope demonstrates the potential for the productive 
        participation of the human space flight program in advancing 
        the goals of scientific exploration.
            (7) There have been numerous commissions and study panels 
        over the last 30 years that have articulated goals for the 
        future of human space flight, and additional studies to 
        establish goals are not needed at this time.
            (8) While there are significant technical and programmatic 
        hurdles to be overcome in carrying out human space flight 
        activities beyond low Earth orbit, the main hurdle to be 
        overcome is the lack of a national commitment to such 
        activities.
            (9) In the absence of a commitment to specific and 
        challenging human space flight goals, programs to develop 
        generic technological capabilities for human space flight are 
        likely to be unfocused, inefficient, and short-lived.
            (10) It is in the national interest of the United States to 
        commit to a challenging set of incremental goals for the 
        Nation's human space flight program in order to facilitate the 
        scientific exploration of the solar system and aid in the 
        search for life beyond Earth and to commit to the attainment of 
        those goals.
            (11) While the ultimate goal of human space flight in the 
        inner solar system is the exploration of the planet Mars, there 
        are other important goals for exploration of the inner solar 
        system that will advance our scientific understanding and allow 
        the United States to develop and demonstrate capabilities that 
        will be needed for the scientific exploration and eventual 
        settlement of Mars.
            (12) A bold and sustained human space flight initiative of 
        scientific exploration should contain progressively more 
        challenging objectives, including missions to the Earth-Sun 
        libration points, Earth-orbit crossing asteroids, the lunar 
        surface, the satellites of Mars, and the surface of Mars.
            (13) A human space flight initiative with incremental goals 
        and milestones will allow a continuing series of 
        accomplishments to be achieved throughout the duration of the 
        initiative, permit the ``lessons learned'' and capabilities 
        acquired from previous implementation steps to be incorporated 
        into subsequent phases of the initiative, and allow adjustments 
        to be made to the implementation of the initiative as new 
        opportunities or challenges arise.
            (14) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration 
        should develop a roadmap and implementation plan for a 
        progressive program of human space flight beyond low Earth 
        orbit in support of the scientific exploration of the solar 
        system and the search for life beyond Earth.
            (15) Existing and planned investments in the Space Shuttle, 
        International Space Station, and the Space Launch Initiative 
        should be leveraged to help advance the goals of the human 
        space flight initiative while avoiding duplication of effort.
            (16) The President should ensure that sufficient resources 
        are provided to the National Aeronautics and Space 
        Administration and that appropriate financial management 
        controls are in place to ensure that the implementation plan 
        can be carried out in a timely and cost-effective manner.
            (17) The United States captured the imagination of the 
        peoples of the world and inspired a generation of young people 
        to enter careers in science and engineering when it 
        successfully landed humans on the surface of the Moon in the 
        years 1969 through 1972.
            (18) A bold and sustained human space exploration 
        initiative has the potential to inspire a new generation of 
        young people in the same way as the Apollo program did.
            (19) Properly constructed, a bold and sustained human space 
        exploration initiative has the potential to engage the 
        international community in peaceful cooperation in space.
            (20) Completion of the International Space Station with a 
        full crew complement of 7 astronauts and robust research 
        capabilities is essential if the United States is to carry out 
        successfully a comprehensive initiative of scientific 
        exploration of the solar system that involves human space 
        flight.

SEC. 3. DEFINITION.

    For purposes of this Act the term ``Administrator'' means the 
Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

 SEC. 4. HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT INITIATIVE.

    (a) Goals.--The Administrator shall set the following goals for the 
future activities of the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration's human space flight program:
            (1) Within 8 years after the date of enactment of this Act, 
        the development and flight demonstration of a reusable space 
        vehicle capable of carrying humans from low Earth orbit to the 
        L 1 and L 2 Earth-Sun libration points and back for the 
        purposes of assembling large-scale space structures such as 
        would be required for scientific observatories, to the Earth-
        Moon libration points and back, and to lunar orbit and back.
            (2) Within 10 years after the date of enactment of this 
        Act, the development and flight demonstration of a reusable 
        space vehicle capable of carrying humans from low Earth orbit 
        to and from an Earth-orbit crossing asteroid and rendezvousing 
        with it.
            (3) Within 15 years after the date of enactment of this 
        Act, the development and flight demonstration of a reusable 
        space vehicle capable of carrying humans from lunar orbit to 
        the surface of the Moon and back, as well as the development 
        and deployment of a human-tended habitation and research 
        facility on the lunar surface.
            (4) Within 20 years after the date of enactment of this 
        Act, the development and flight demonstration of a reusable 
        space vehicle capable of carrying humans from low Earth orbit 
        to and from Martian orbit, the development and deployment of a 
        human-tended habitation and research facility on the surface of 
        one of the moons of Mars, and the development and flight 
        demonstration of a reusable space vehicle capable of carrying 
humans from Martian orbit to the surface of Mars and back.
    (b) Office of Exploration.--
            (1) Establishment.--The Administrator shall establish an 
        Office of Exploration, which shall be headed by an Associate 
        Administrator reporting directly to the Administrator.
            (2) Functions.--The Office of Exploration shall, in 
        coordination with the Office of Space Flight, the Office of 
        Space Science, and all other relevant Offices, be responsible 
        for planning, budgeting, and managing activities undertaken by 
        the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to accomplish 
        the goals stated in subsection (a).
    (c) Implementation.--
            (1) Competitions.--The Administrator shall establish a 
        process for conducting competitions for innovative, cost-
        efficient mission concepts to accomplish each of the goals 
        stated in subsection (a). The competitions shall be open to 
        entities or consortia from industry, academia, nongovernmental 
        research organizations, National Aeronautics and Space 
        Administration Centers, and other governmental organizations. 
        Mission concepts may include the provision of a commercial item 
        or service sufficient to accomplish all or part of the relevant 
        goal. Mission concepts that include international participation 
        and cost-sharing shall be encouraged. The Administrator shall 
        solicit proposals for the competition with respect to the goal 
        stated in subsection (a)(1) not later than 180 days after the 
        date of the enactment of this Act, and shall determine when it 
        is appropriate to conduct competitions with respect to each of 
        the other goals stated in subsection (a).
            (2) Independent review of proposals.--The Administrator 
        shall establish an independent panel to conduct a merit-based 
        competitive review of the proposals submitted under each 
        competition conducted under this subsection, and to submit a 
        rank-ordered evaluation of the proposals to the Administrator.
            (3) Contents.--Each proposal submitted as part of a 
        competition under this subsection shall contain a proposed 
        implementation plan that includes--
                    (A) the mission concept;
                    (B) a cost estimate;
                    (C) a funding profile;
                    (D) a schedule; and
                    (E) a technological risk reduction roadmap for any 
                required technologies not currently available for use 
                in the proposed mission concept.
            (4) Review of cost estimate and funding profile.--The 
        Administrator shall provide for the completion of an 
        independent external review of the cost estimate and funding 
        profile of the competitively selected proposal for each of the 
        competitions conducted under this subsection within 60 days 
        after the completion of the competitive selection process.
            (5) Report to congress.--The Administrator shall provide to 
        the Committee on Science of the House of Representatives and to 
        the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
        Senate the implementation plan of the competitively selected 
        proposal, along with the results of the independent external 
        review under paragraph (4), for each competition conducted 
        under this subsection, within 90 days after the completion of 
        the competitive selection process.
    (d) Implementation Plan Updates and Reviews.--
            (1) Updates.--The implementation plans of the competitively 
        selected proposals under subsection (c) shall be updated every 
        year by the manager of the project, as designated by the 
        original implementation plan.
            (2) Updated Implementation plan review.--The Administrator 
        shall have an independent external review panel review each of 
        the updated implementation plans required by paragraph (1), and 
        shall provide the results of those reviews to the Committee on 
        Science of the House of Representatives and to the Committee on 
        Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate within 30 
        days after each review is completed.
            (3) Review elements.--Reviews under paragraph (2) shall 
        address at least the following:
                    (A) The reasonableness of the assumed schedule for 
                the cost estimate and funding profile.
                    (B) The degree to which the implementation plan is 
                consistent with the competitively selected mission 
                concept.
                    (C) The degree to which the relevant areas of 
                technical and programmatic risk are addressed and risk 
                mitigation plans are in place.
                    (D) The extent to which the implementation plan 
                utilizes commercially available goods and services when 
                available and appropriate to achieve the goal.
                    (E) The extent to which the plan makes use of 
                existing capabilities developed in previous phases of 
                the human space flight initiative or in other National 
                Aeronautics and Space Administration programs when 
                available and appropriate in lieu of undertaking new 
                development programs.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Administrator for carrying out this Act--
            (1) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2003; and
            (2) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.

Summary: Space Exploration Act of 2002 - Requires the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to set forth as goals for the future activities of NASA's human space flight program, the development and flight demonstration, within 8, 10, 15, and 20 years, respectively, of a reusable space vehicle capable of carrying humans between: (1) low Earth orbit and Earth-Sun and Earth-Moon libration points, (2) low Earth orbit and an Earth-orbit crossing asteroid. (3) lunar orbit and the surface of the moon, as well as deployment of a human-tended facility on the lunar surface. And (4) low Earth orbit and Martian orbit and between Martian orbit and the surface of Mars, as well as deployment of a human-tended facility on the surface of a Martian moon. Requires the Administrator to establish: (1) an Office of Exploration to be responsible for planning, budgeting, and managing activities undertaken by NASA to accomplish these goals. (2) a process for conducting competitions for innovative, cost-effective mission concepts to accomplish the goals. And (3) an independent panel to conduct a merit-based competitive review of the proposals submitted under each competition and to submit a rank-ordered evaluation of such proposals to the Administrator. Requires the Administrator to provide to the Committee on Science of the House of Representatives and to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate for each competitively selected proposal its implementation plan and the results of an independent external review of the initial proposal and of each annually updated implementation plan.