"The past is but the beginning of
a beginning, and all that is
and has been is but the twilight
of the dawn."
H.G. Wells,
The Discovery of the Future, 1901
The climb into space has made
us unique. We are the first generation
of human beings to study the
universe directly from the high ground
of space itself. From this new perch,
we have made discoveries that would
have seemed impossible to the ancients
and unbelievable even to the
scientists of a generation ago.
For all our climbing, we have not
reached the summit, only a ridge from
which we can better glimpse the
mountains beyond. We have reached
a point from which to observe, a base
from which to explore further, and we
have learned how best to continue
our investigation of the universe.
Because we have found so much,
we now know how much more there
is to learn and how to proceed to
study it. The necessary tools exist or
can be built. The spacecraft can be
flown, and their data deciphered. A
few new missions, already approved,
are under development. Many more
are being intensively studied, so that
they too may come to fruition. The
future missions, and the research that
they will undertake, concern the subjects
that we have already begun to
explore: the solar system, Earth-Sun
relations, the outside universe, and
life.
