I
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4742
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.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 15, 2002
Mr. LAMPSON (for himself, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. BENTSEN, Mr. CARSON
of Oklahoma, Mr. HALL of Texas, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr.
FROST, and Mr. SMITH of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Science
A BILL
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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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 ac-
complishments in its human space flight program
over the last 4 decades, including the first crewed
lunar landing, the first reusable crewed Space Shut-
tle, and the first truly international Space Station.
(3) There currently is no commitment to the ac-
complishment of any challenging goals in human
space flight after the completion of the International
Space Station.
(4) While a significant amount of scientific re-
search 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 articu-
lated 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, ineffi-
cient, 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 ad-
vance our scientific understanding and allow the
United States to develop and demonstrate capabili-
ties 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 pro-
gressively more challenging objectives, including mis-
sions 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 incre-
mental 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 im-
plementation steps to be incorporated into subse-
quent 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 Ad-
ministration should develop a roadmap and imple-
mentation 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 initia-
tive while avoiding duplication of effort.
(16) The President should ensure that suffi-
cient resources are provided to the National Aero-
nautics and Space Administration and that appro-
priate 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 imagina-
tion of the peoples of the world and inspired a gen-
eration 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 explo-
ration initiative has the potential to inspire a new