Vision for Space Exploration

The Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) was a space policy initiative introduced by U.S. President George W. Bush on January 14, 2004. It was developed in reaction to the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, the condition of NASA’s human spaceflight program, and a desire to renew public interest in space exploration. The VSE was succeeded by President Barack Obama’s space policy in April 2010, which superseded it; later policies, such as President Donald Trump’s National Space Strategy in December 2018 and President Joe Biden’s initial space policy proposals in the spring of 2021, built on or replaced Obama’s policy, not the VSE directly.

The plan aimed to establish a sustainable mix of human and robotic missions to explore the Solar System and beyond. It proposed extending human presence across the Solar System, beginning with a crewed return to the Moon by 2020, as preparation for human trips to Mars and other destinations. The VSE also sought to create new technologies, knowledge, and infrastructure to support exploration and guide decisions on future human destinations, while encouraging international and commercial involvement to advance U.S. scientific, security, and economic interests.

To achieve these goals, the vision required completing the International Space Station by 2010, retiring the Space Shuttle fleet by the same year, and developing a new Crew Exploration Vehicle (later called Orion) with initial development milestones by 2008, and its first crewed flight no later than 2014. It called for robotic lunar missions by 2008 and crewed lunar landings by 2020, using the Moon to test methods and technologies for sustained Mars exploration and beyond. It also included robotic and crewed missions to Mars and other destinations, and promoted commercial transportation to support the International Space Station and missions beyond low Earth orbit.

President Bush highlighted several advantages. A permanent human presence on the Moon could lower the cost of further space exploration by allowing spacecraft to be assembled and fueled there, escaping the Moon’s weaker gravity with less energy and expense. Lunar soil contains raw materials that could be processed into rocket fuel or breathable air. Time on the Moon would also serve to develop and test systems for more challenging environments.