In Earth orbit, the space shuttle and a National Aero-Space Plane service the space station. On the left, the Data Relay
Satellite System (DRSS) provides communications between all space platforms and Earth. Above the space shuttle, the Earth
Observation Satellite monitors ecosystems as part of its "Mission to Planet Earth." On the Moon, a base colony has been
established to mine lunar resources such as Helium-3, which will be transported back to Earth to fuel-safe, nonpolluting,
non-radiating, nuclear-fusion, electrical power plants. These nuclear-fusion plants will solve our massive power needs as we
exhaust our fossil fuels over the next 50 years. One space shuttle load of Helium-3 will electrically power the United States for
one year with a market value today of $75 billion. Little Helium-3 is found on Earth, but there is a several-thousand-year
supply of it on the Moon. The self-sustaining lunar base will also serve as research center, an observation post for the
universe, and a launch pad for missions to Mars.
In the foreground, a spacecraft propelled by a Helium-3, nuclear-fusion-powered, ion-driven propulsion system sets course
for a planet-hopping mission throughout our solar system. Its mission includes orbiting various planets and their moons, then
sending landers (one is seen lifting off the mother craft's back) to survey and categorize their resources for later exploitation.
One resource might be additional sources of Helium-3. On the left, in Earth orbit, an expanded space station is being serviced
by three single-stage-to-orbit vehicles and an advanced space shuttle (possibly an aerospace plane). Close by, a
radio-frequency remote sensor (the follow-on to the planned Earth Observation Satellite) and, on the right, a large optical
telescope (evolved from the current Hubble Space Telescope) scan the closest stars, searching for planets that would most
likely support life--setting the stage for our "giant leap" to the stars.
In about the middle of the 21st century, we have launched from Earth an interstellar vehicle that after a 25 trillion-mile,
16-year journey is shown approaching a planet in the Alpha Centauri star cluster. The spacecraft slowly accelerated to
one-half the speed of light (90,000 miles per second) at the halfway point; then decelerated to Alpha Centauri, providing
partial artificial gravity. The spacecraft is powered by a Helium-3, nuclear-fusion-powered, matter / antimatter annihilation
propulsion system, and weighs approximately one million pounds. The huge starship's remote sensors have detected
indications of life and a manned lander is shown en-route to the planet's surface for humankind's historic first encounter with
long-searched-for and often-dreamed-of "new life." Even this "giant leap for mankind" is only "one small step for man" in the
endless exploration of our galaxy and the universe.
The Exploration of Neighboring Planetary Systems (ExNPS) (PDF File)