Photo credit: NASA/JPL
Retired Marine Corps Maj. General Charles Frank Bolden, Jr. who took up his duties as the 12th Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on July 12th 2009, has begun to set a bold agenda.
Meeting with his staff on Tuesday, NASA’s new head asked, “Is there any body here who doesn’t want to go to Mars?”
Bolden said he will be “incredibly disappointed” if people aren’t on Mars–or even beyond it– in his lifetime.
NASA’s new boss may be moving in a somewhat different direction with space policy than the previous Administration, where the view was held that, a mission back to the moon by 2020 should take place prior to heading to the Red Planet.
Bolden does not rule out returning to the moon first, but he is clear that Mars, “is a place, but not a destination. That is symbolic of what the human species desires to do. We are explorers,” he said.
The new NASA chief said that, while there are many conflicting views, including those of federal officials, on how to get to Mars, a new independent commission would be reviewing all alternatives.
NASA had earlier announced at the end of June, an agreement with the European Space Agency (ESA) to create a Mars Exploration Joint Initiative (MEJI) that will provide a framework for the two agencies to define and implement their scientific, programmatic and technological goals at Mars.
Bolden also underscored his commitment to extending the life of the international space station well beyond 2016, when it was due to be scrapped by the previous Bush Administration.
