The Constellation Program was a manned space shuttle program created by George W. Bush and NASA as a response to the Challenger and Columbia Space Shuttle disasters in hopes of reigniting the public's enthusiasm towards space exploration. While the Constellation Program states that robotic and human space exploration is a dichotomy, it also hints at the two approaches of combining one day.
The goals of the program were to:
The details of this program involved returning the Space Shuttle to flight standards and using it to complete assembly of the International Space Station, new space crew exploration vehicles, the first human expedition to the moon between the years 2015-2020, conduct robotic exploration of mars and eventually a human expedition. More information would have been gathered from having humans in space and understanding the effects of space on the human body.
Unfortunately, President Barack Obama terminated the program in 2009 due to the program being over budget and behind schedule.
The goals of the program were to:
- Implement a sustained and affordable human and robotic program to explore the solar system and beyond.
- Extend human presence across the solar system, starting with a human return to the Moon by the year 2020, in preparation for human exploration of Mars and other destinations.
- Develop the innovative technologies, knowledge, and infrastructures both to explore and to support decisions about the destinations for human exploration.
- Promote international and commercial participation in exploration to further U.S. scientific, security, and economic interests.
The details of this program involved returning the Space Shuttle to flight standards and using it to complete assembly of the International Space Station, new space crew exploration vehicles, the first human expedition to the moon between the years 2015-2020, conduct robotic exploration of mars and eventually a human expedition. More information would have been gathered from having humans in space and understanding the effects of space on the human body.
Unfortunately, President Barack Obama terminated the program in 2009 due to the program being over budget and behind schedule.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Vision for Space Exploration. S.l.: Book On Demand, 2013. Www.nasa.gov. NASA Headquarters, Feb. 2004. Web. 29 Mar. 2015. http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/55583main_vision_space_exploration2.pdf