Statement on Mars Rover discovery

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Mar. 2, 2004) — We congratulate NASA and its international partners for the significant findings announced today of the proof of water and a possibly habitable environment on Mars, discovered recently by the Opportunity Mars Rover – which is now exploring the Meridiani Planum on the Red Planet. These findings are a giant leap towards laying the foundation of NASA’s Moon/Mars exploration vision. Of course, one of the chief purposes of exploring space has always been to answer the questions: Has life existed on other planets? And, if so, can life exist there again? Answering these questions, now with robotic probes, brings us one step closer to seeing humans work and live on Mars, and continuing to explore the rest of the solar system. The Space Foundation encourages all those involved in space exploration to “Press on!” For more information on the Mars Rovers mission, visit marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov. Elliot G. Pulham is president and chief executive officer of the Space Foundation, a leading non-profit space and education advocacy organization (www.spacefoundation.org), based in Colorado Springs, Colo., with offices in Washington, D.C.