NASA's latest endeavor

The 6 astronauts are planned to raise off into space on shuttle Endeavour’s final mission today, reminding the world of the United States’ sustained leadership in space. And while Endeavour will complete its final voyage, the Obama administration’s commitment to human exploration remains as strong as ever. American astronauts keep on to live and work aboard the International Space Station 24 hours a day, as they have for more than 10 years. And this critical research facility in low- Earth orbit will continue to be the anchor of our human spaceflight for the next decade.

NASA is committed to maintaining America’s leadership role in human exploration and sending U.S. astronauts into space aboard American-made spacecraft. It’s time for NASA to get out of the expensive business of owning and operating space transportation systems to service the International Space Station, and focus our limited resources on developing new vehicles to take us farther into deep space. We recognize this is a difficult time for much of the devoted workforce that has made the shuttle program the incredible success it has been for three decades. However, this new approach will spur economic activity, create jobs and allow NASA to focus on the really hard stuff such as sending humans to an asteroid or Mars.

President Obama’s fiscal year 2012 budget achieves these ambitious goals by supporting all the elements of a hard-won, bipartisan NASA Authorization Act. It’s a budget that will help the nation win the future through innovation, expanded technological capabilities and strengthened U.S. competitiveness in the global marketplace. NASA education programs give students hands-on experience with spacecraft and interaction with the people carrying out challenging science and engineering missions. We’re also providing fellowships and inspiration to talented graduate students who hold promise as future leaders and whose research likely will inform our future work.

NASA science represents some of the agency’s most important activities, and this year is no different. The Messenger spacecraft is orbiting Mercury and giving us the best look at that planet we’ve ever had. We’re preparing to launch a rover the size of a small car to Mars in search of the conditions that may prove to be favorable to life.

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