SaveNASA Mission Statement (Draft 2)

[Neal Wiser]

The following is the second draft of the Mission Statement. While I think it's critical to get the wording right, I don't want to spend too much more time on this as there's a LOT that needs to be done. Overall, I think it's close to final, but the bullets definitely need work.

I want to thank everyone for their input and I look forward to your comments.

Neal

SaveNASA Mission Statement

Preamble

America’s space program is much more than spacewalks and taking pretty pictures of planets and stars, it is a critical component of our national culture, economy and national security. It is also the birthplace of ideas that inspire us not only to dream the impossible, but to dare to achieve it.

Unfortunately, the United States is faced with daunting financial challenges, the most severe in generations, which will almost certainly impact NASA’s budget. While we, the members of SaveNASA, acknowledge this cold reality, we also believe that the United States of America bares a burden unique among the nations of the world; to lead the greatest of all endeavors, the exploration of space, for the betterment of all the peoples of this Earth. History has not placed this burden upon our shoulders. We have placed it there ourselves.

As American taxpayers and concerned citizens of both the United States of America and of this planet Earth, we do not invoke the rhetoric of “manifest destiny,” but we believe that only the United States can provide the leadership necessary to realize the dream of a future in which all of the peoples of the world may benefit. We further believe that the United States has a responsibility to continue to inspire and challenge not just generations of today, but those of tomorrow.

SaveNASA Mission Statement

We call upon the government and citizens of the United States to ensure that its space program, as embodied by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, be provided with the full resources and support necessary to accomplish the missions with which it is tasked. To ensure that NASA’s mission can be realized, the members of SaveNASA are committed to achieving the following goals:

• That the government of the United States recognizes the invaluable contributions made by NASA to both its citizens and the peoples of the world.
• That the government of the United States acts upon the opportunities which lie before it in order to stimulate its economy, promote entrepreneurism, advance technology, inspire its youth and build international partnerships that will increase our peace, our prosperity and our security.
• That the government of the United States actively promotes science education in all its forms among our children and citizenry.
• That the government of the United States makes sensible, long-term investment in a robust space program in order to achieve the above goals.

[Seth Goldstein]

Check your spelling

[Tavi Greiner]

Love it!

[Gene Mikulka]

Neal this works. I appreciate the fact that you cite that NASA is an economic engine that can indeed help during these economic challenges we're currently facing. Also the statement on promoting science education and literacy was also dead on. What we did leave out however are any National Security concerns in the mission statement but it is mentioned in the preamble. But indeed great effort!

[Neal Wiser]

Spelling error corrected (Thanks, Seth - No thanks, Word). Also, thanks Tavi and Gene.

[Russell Yeagley]

'America bares' or 'America bears' No worry, that's an easy mistake.

[Mike Kern]

Neal,
Great job on Astronomy.FM the other night.

I’ve made a few tweaks to the mission statement below. I’ve put any of substance in brackets (Ning’s html coding doesn’t seem to be working). The main themes I thought should be stressed further were:
· NASA’s unique experience and leadership potential
· Avoiding merely asking for resources for missions NASA is tasked with (or they can take away missions and the resources are instantly adequate)
. Collaboration with others, and
· Focusing solely on NASA’s role in education and outreach without taking on the whole of STEM education (science, technology, engineering & math)

Beyond that, I agree that we don’t want to spend too much time on this with so much else to do, so take it from here and let’s get busy building the future we all want to see.

SaveNASA Mission Statement

Preamble

America’s space program is much more than spacewalks and taking pretty pictures of planets and stars, it is a critical component of our national culture, economy and national security. It is also the birthplace of ideas that inspire us not only to dream the impossible, but to dare to achieve it.

Unfortunately, the United States is faced with daunting financial challenges that will almost certainly impact NASA’s budget. While SaveNASA’s members acknowledge this reality, we also believe that the United States of America bears a burden unique among the nations of the world: to lead the greatest of all endeavors, the exploration of space, for the betterment of all the peoples of this Earth. History has not placed this burden upon our shoulders. We have placed it there ourselves.

As American taxpayers and concerned citizens of both the United States of America and of this planet Earth, we do not invoke the rhetoric of “manifest destiny,” but we believe that [NASA’s stature and experience equip it to] provide the leadership necessary to realize the dream of a future from which all of the peoples of the world may benefit. We further believe that the United States has a responsibility to continue to inspire and challenge not only the generations of today, but also those of tomorrow.

SaveNASA Mission Statement

We call upon the government and citizens of the United States to ensure that its space program, as embodied by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, be provided with the full resources and support necessary to [continue its international pre-eminence in space exploration]. To ensure that NASA’s [leadership can continue], the members of SaveNASA are committee, [in collaboration with others of like mind,] to ensuring:

• That the government of the United States recognizes the invaluable contributions made by NASA to both its citizens and the peoples of the world.
• That the government of the United States [enables NASA to] act upon the opportunities which lie before it in order to stimulate its economy, promote entrepreneurism, advance technology, inspire its youth and build international partnerships that will increase our peace, prosperity and security.
• That the government of the United States [provides NASA the resources to] actively promote space science education and outreach in all its forms among our youth and citizenry.
• That the government of the United States makes sensible, long-term investments in a robust space program in order to [continue NASA’s leadership role].