On June 3, 2004, thirteen

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

space advocacy Space advocacy is supporting or advocating for a human use of outer space. Purposes advocated can reach from space exploration, or commercial use of space to even space settlement. There are many different individuals and organizations dedicat ...

groups,

industry association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. An industry trade association partici ...

s and

space policy Space policy is the political decision-making process for, and application of, public policy of a state (or association of states) regarding spaceflight and uses of outer space, both for civilian (scientific and commercial) and military purposes. I ...

organizations formed an umbrella organization known as the Space Exploration Alliance. The primary purpose of the SEA is to support the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

's plan to refocus

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

's human space activities toward

exploration Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

beyond

low Earth orbit A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never mor ...

. This effort, officially known as the

Vision for Space Exploration Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...

was announced on January 15, 2004 by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

at NASA Headquarters. The VSE includes plans for a return to the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

by U.S.

astronauts An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

with the intent of establishing a permanent

lunar base A moonbase is a facility on the surface of the Moon, enabling human activity on the Moon. As such, it is different from a lunar space station in orbit around the Moon, like the planned Lunar Gateway of the Artemis program. Moonbases can be for ...

before follow-on efforts are made to move on to

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

and beyond. The organizations involved in supporting the Space Exploration Alliance include: *

Aerospace Industries Association The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) is an American trade association representing manufacturers and suppliers of civil, military, and business aircraft, helicopters, UAVs, space systems, aircraft engines, missiles, material, and related c ...

Aerospace States Association Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astr ...

American Astronautical Society Formed in 1954, the American Astronautical Society (AAS) is an independent scientific and technical group in the United States dedicated to the advancement of space science and space exploration. AAS supports NASA's Vision for Space Exploration ...

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of ...

California Space Authority The California Space Authority (CSA) was a nonprofit corporation representing the commercial, civil, and national defense/homeland security interests of California's diverse space enterprise community in four domains: Industry, Government, Acade ...

* Federation of Galaxy Explorers *

Florida Space Authority Space Florida is the aerospace economic development agency of the State of Florida. The agency was created by consolidating three existing state space entities into a single new organization via the Space Florida Act, enacted in May 2006 by the ...

* Global Space Travelers * The Mars Society * The Moon Society *

NASA Alumni League NASA Alumni League is a U.S. organization that supports people that have worked for or at NASA or its predecessor NACA, to stay connected, and to "support the nation's space programs with technical expertise, educational outreach, and financial cont ...

* National Coalition of Spaceport States *

National Society of Black Engineers The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) is a society that was founded in 1975 at Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. It is one of the largest student-run organizations in the United States, with core activities centered o ...

National Space Society The National Space Society (NSS) is an American international nonprofit 501(c)(3) educational and scientific organization specializing in space advocacy. It is a member of the Independent Charities of America and an annual participant in the Combi ...

The Planetary Society The Planetary Society is an American internationally-active non-governmental nonprofit organization. It is involved in research, public outreach, and political space advocacy Space advocacy is supporting or advocating for a human use of out ...

* Pro Space * Space Generation Foundation *

Space Studies Institute Space Studies Institute is a not-for-profit organization that was founded in 1977 by Princeton University Professor Gerard K. O'Neill. In 2009 SSI moved its operations from its long-term base in Princeton, New Jersey, to Mojave, Californi ...

* X PRIZE Foundation Collectively these groups total almost one million Americans as members or as employees of member companies.

History

The first goal of the SEA was to work toward receiving broad Congressional support for the new national

outside low Earth orbit, which the SEA refers to as "Moon, Mars and Beyond". The SEA began their effort by working together on a "

Blitz" campaign on

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

that was held during the week of July 11 through July 13, 2004. Thousands of signed

petitions A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offici ...

from NSS members to their representatives and senators were presented during the congressional visits. The connection between local

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...

organization and a focused national effort was a critical link behind the "Moon-Mars Blitz" to secure first-year funding for the

initiative, which the SEA viewed as a necessary first step for in-depth planning of the exploration program to commence in earnest. A second "Moon-Mars Blitz" was held on May 17 through May 19, 2005 in conjunction with the

's annual

International Space Development Conference The International Space Development Conference (ISDC) is the annual conference of the National Space Society (NSS). Now in its 37th year, these conferences connect the general public and the NSS membership with leaders of contemporary space eff ...

with similar results. After the September 19, 2005 announcement of NASA's

Exploration Systems Architecture Study The Exploration Systems Architecture Study (ESAS) is the official title of a large-scale, system level study released by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in November 2005 of his goal of returning astronauts to the Moon and ...

at a press conference hosted by NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, SEA is preparing a strategy designed to refute false

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...

perceptions that a return to the Moon, Mars and Beyond is too expensive for the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

taxpayer A taxpayer is a person or organization (such as a company) subject to pay a tax. Modern taxpayers may have an Taxpayer Identification Number, identification number, a reference number issued by a government to Citizenship, citizens or Company, f ...

to undertake in view of the recent devastation caused along the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Mississ ...

states by

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

and

Hurricane Rita Hurricane Rita was the most intense tropical cyclone on record in the Gulf of Mexico and the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded. Part of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, which included three of the top ten L ...

. The strategy has not been without some dissension within the ranks; in a press release issued on October 15, 2005, the

Space Frontier Foundation The Space Frontier Foundation is an American space advocacy nonprofit corporation organized to promote the interests of increased involvement of the private sector, in collaboration with government, in the exploration and development of space. I ...

announced its intent to leave the Alliance, citing "philosophical differences" and an unwillingness to become "''a fan club for a status quo that has failed so miserably time after time in our nation's quest for space''." Nevertheless, the SEA plans to demonstrate how modest, but steady growth in national expenditures on space exploration and development can move the nation toward these important goals, and the benefits those expenditures will provide. As space activity becomes increasingly integrated into every aspect of life here on earth, the SEA intends to show how this new focus on exploration will provide myriad advances in

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

and

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...

, untold economic opportunity and serve as an inspiration to our nation's youth. Given those benefits and the many more that lie in store, this new program of human space exploration beyond low earth orbit is a vital link to the future of the United States and the world."''Space Frontier Foundation Departs from the Space Exploration Alliance''"
Space Frontier Foundation press release, October 15, 2005

References

External links

Official website
{{Politics of outer space 2004 establishments in the United States Non-profit organizations based in the United States Space advocacy organizations Organizations established in 2004 Space policy

History

See also

References

External links