----- Original Message ----- From: The Planetary Society Sent: Tuesday, December 30, 2003 6:54 PM To: Planetary Society Subject: Looking Forward to 2004 Dear Friends:
This is an extraordinary year-end, filled with suspense
and hope-as we wait for a signal from Beagle 2, for
Mars Express to begin its science mission, for Stardust
to fly through comet Wild 2, and for the rover Spirit
to land on Mars. We look forward in 2004 to continuing
humanity's exploration of our solar system, with
milestones such as NASA's Genesis spacecraft returning
samples of the solar wind, the launches of Europe's
Rosetta to a comet and Japan's Lunar-A, and the
arrival of Cassini at Saturn.
As we look back on the year 2003 in space, the tragic
loss of Columbia and her crew of course dominates
our thoughts. Each time they fly, astronauts carry
with them the aspirations of society; they serve as
our emissaries to the future. Their loss hits us
doubly hard, and can make us question why we attempt
an endeavor as hard as spaceflight. But we know those
who gave their lives in this endeavor would not want
us to give up, and so we reaffirm our commitment to
human spaceflight.
In the spring, in memory of the Columbia 7 and with
the Association of Space Explorers and the American
Astronautical Society, we held a workshop on the
future of human space transportation. We presented
the results to those setting the course for NASA in
building its ability to launch explorers to space,
and reiterated our support for human missions to Mars
in numerous op-ed essays and in congressional testimony.
[EMAIL PROTECTED] reached a major milestone this spring with
its Stellar Countdown - the reobservation of promising
radio signals collected over the last few years of
observations. The results are being analyzed, and no
signals from extraterrestrial intelligence have yet
been found, but with the steadfast support of Planetary
Society members and supporters, this innovative
project is forging on.
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Your contributions make
space exploration happen!
To donate online go to:
https://planetary.org/donations.html
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This summer, we launched Mars Watch and encouraged
millions of people around the world to look up - and
see the Red Planet make its closest approach to our
planet in nearly 60,000 years. We crowned our efforts
in August with a spectacular 83rd birthday party for
Ray Bradbury, who fully deserves the title of Poet
Laureate of Mars. Ray was overwhelmed when we presented
him with a birthday card signed by thousands
of Society members and supporters.
Summer also saw Cosmos 1, our solar sail, featured
at the celebration of the Centennial of Flight at
Rockefeller Center in New York City. With our partner,
Cosmos Studios, we were able to educate the public
at large about the potential of this space transportation
technology - and let them know that we are making
steady progress toward hoisting our sail in space
sometime next year.
In the fall, we saluted the Galileo spacecraft team
for their spectacular achievement in exploring the Jovian
system. Our tribute was a special performance of
"An Evening With Galileo and His Daughter," based on
the book by Dava Sobel. Robert Picardo of "Star Trek:
Voyager" directed the reading, which starred Linda
Purl and John Rhys-Davies (whose latest film,
"Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," just opened).
Now we are celebrating the unprecedented fleet of
spacecraft exploring Mars. Our Red Rover Goes to
Mars project has reached its climax as our specially
selected team of Student Astronauts is joining mission
operations at JPL. We have contributed a special DVD
to both Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity,
and are members of the project that put the MarsDial
on the spacecraft. As you follow these rovers on their
missions of exploration, you can take pride in knowing
that you - as a Planetary Society supporter- are very
much a part of this project.
You made all of this happen. Without our members and
supporters, The Planetary Society would be unable to
undertake our ambitious and far-reaching projects.
Humanity's future as a spacefaring species has advanced,
thanks to you.
As we look forward to 2004, we plan to do even more.
Human spaceflight, Mars exploration, the search for
extraterrestrial life, solar sailing - each one of these
endeavors reflects our belief in a hopeful future for
humanity. The dark tenor of daily news and events can
sometimes make it difficult to maintain that belief.
But the dedication of the members and supporters of
The Planetary Society to the exploration of other
worlds allows us to maintain hope that our home world
can and will continue and advance this great adventure.
Together, we will do it.
With my best wishes for a joyous and
successful new year,
Louis Friedman
Executive Director
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