IV 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 490
Recognizing and commending the achievements of the National Aeronautics 
and Space Administration, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Cornell 
University in conducting the Mars Exploration Rover mission, and recog-
nizing the importance of space exploration. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 20, 2004
Mr. DREIER (for himself, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. GORDON, Mr. 
BOEHLERT, Mr. LAMPSON, Mr. WALSH, Mr. MOLLOHAN, Mr. FEENEY, 
Mr. MCDERMOTT, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. COSTELLO, Ms. 
LOFGREN, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. HOLT, Mr. 
CULBERSON, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. BERMAN, Mrs. CAPPS, 
Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Ms. HAR-
MAN, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. BILIRAKIS, and Ms. ROYBAL-AL-
LARD) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Science 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing and commending the achievements of the Na-
tional Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Jet 
Propulsion Laboratory, and Cornell University in con-
ducting the Mars Exploration Rover mission, and recog-
nizing the importance of space exploration.
Whereas since its inception in 1958 the National Aeronautics 
and Space Administration has achieved extraordinary sci-
entific and technological feats;
•HRES 490 IH 
Whereas the National Aeronautics and Space Administra-
tion’s exploration of space has taught us to view Earth, 
ourselves, and the universe in a new way, opening our 
eyes and minds to great and new possibilities; 
Whereas for over 40 years the National Aeronautics and 
Space Administration’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has 
led the world in the robotic exploration of the solar sys-
tem, commanding the first United States unmanned mis-
sions to the Moon, Venus, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Sat-
urn, Uranus, Neptune, and most recently, the edge of our 
solar system; 
Whereas the Jet Propulsion Laboratory began the space age 
for the United States in 1958 with the successful devel-
opment and launch of the Explorer 1, the first United 
States satellite; 
Whereas the Jet Propulsion Laboratory conducted the first 
interplanetary mission, in which the Mariner 2 spacecraft 
arrived at Venus in December 1962; 
Whereas 
over 
100 
years 
ago 
Russian 
astrophysicist 
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky asked, ‘‘to observe Mars from a 
distance of several tens of kilometers, to land on its sat-
ellite or even on its surface, what could be more fan-
tastic?’’; 
Whereas the Jet Propulsion Laboratory fulfilled Konstantin 
Tsiolkovsky’s vision when it navigated the Viking mis-
sion, developed the Viking Orbiter, and in 1976 success-
fully operated the Viking 1 and 2 robot landers on Mars, 
the first missions to land a spacecraft safely on the sur-
face of another planet; 
Whereas more than 26 years after its launch in 1977, the Jet 
Propulsion Laboratory’s Voyager 1, which unlocked the
•HRES 490 IH 
mysteries of the outer planets of our solar system, con-
tinues to expand our understanding of the farthest 
reaches of our solar system; 
Whereas the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Mars Pathfinder 
successfully landed on the Martian surface on July 4, 
1997, launching the first United States free-roving explo-
ration of another planet and inspiring a new generation 
of children to dream of the heavens; 
Whereas after a journey of nearly seven years the Jet Propul-
sion Laboratory’s Cassini-Huygens spacecraft will enter 
Saturn’s orbit and begin to explore the solar system’s 
second largest planet on July 1, 2004, and subsequently 
dispatch Huygens, a European-built probe, to the surface 
of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon; 
Whereas the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Stardust space-
craft, having traveled more than 3,000,000,000 miles, 
will return to Earth on January 15, 2006, with the first 
extraterrestrial materials from beyond the orbit of the 
Moon; 
Whereas the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity 
were launched on June 10, 2003, and July 7, 2003, re-
spectively, on missions to search for evidence indicating 
that Mars once held conditions hospitable to life; 
Whereas Cornell University has led the development of the 
five science instruments carried by the two Rovers, is 
leading a science team consisting of 150 preeminent as-
tronomers and engineers in the science investigation for 
the Mars mission, and is playing a leading role in both 
the operation of the two Rovers and the processing and 
analysis of the images and other data sent back to Earth;
•HRES 490 IH 
Whereas the Rovers’ landing sites were selected on the basis 
of intensive study of orbital data collected by the Mars 
Global Surveyor and Mars Pathfinder missions; 
Whereas Spirit’s landing site, formerly known as Gusev Cra-
ter and renamed Columbia Memorial Station, is thought 
to have once contained a large lake and may hold water-
laid sediments that preserve important records of the 
lake environment, the sediments’ highlands origins, and 
the sediments’ river trip; 
Whereas Opportunity’s landing site, the Meridiani Planum, 
contains exposed deposits of a mineral that usually forms 
under watery conditions; 
Whereas each Rover will conduct a three-month scientific 
study of the geologic records at the sites and evaluate 
whether those conditions would have been suitable for 
life; 
Whereas each 384-pound Rover, roughly the size of a golf 
cart, traveled approximately 300,000,000 miles to reach 
Mars; 
Whereas the craft carrying each Rover reaches speeds near-
ing 12,000 miles per hour when entering the Mars at-
mosphere before decelerating to a vertical stop in just 
over six minutes; 
Whereas, during the period between entry into the Mars at-
mosphere and the Rovers’ landing, over one dozen intri-
cate operations need to be performed perfectly at just the 
right point for the Rovers to survive; 
Whereas Spirit successfully completed entry, descent, and 
landing on January 3, 2004, at 11:35 p.m. eastern 
standard time, and within hours was beaming photo-
graphs of the Martian surface back to Earth;
•HRES 490 IH 
Whereas Spirit is to be joined on the surface of Mars by its 
twin, Opportunity, on January 24, 2004; and 
Whereas the engineers, scientists, and technicians of the Jet 
Propulsion Laboratory have played a vital role in the Na-
tion’s space program and set an example for the rest of 
us to follow: Now therefore be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) commends the engineers, scientists, and 
technicians of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and 
Cornell University for their years of effort leading 
up to the successful entry, descent, landing, and op-
eration of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on the 
Martian surface on January 3, 2004; 
(2) recognizes the importance to the Nation and 
to humanity of the exploration of space; and 
(3) honors the achievements of the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Jet Pro-
pulsion Laboratory, and Cornell University in ex-
panding our comprehension of the universe and ful-
filling the human need to explore and understand.
Æ