NASA is charting a bold new course into the cosmos, a journey that will take humans back to the Moon, and eventually to Mars and beyond.

Left: Earth, Moon, Mars and Beyond. Credit: NASA

The Vision for Space Exploration calls for a "building block" strategy of human and robotic missions to achieve new exploration goals, starting with returning the Space Shuttle safely to flight. The Shuttle fleet will focus on completing the International Space Station before being retired at the end of this decade.

Robotic missions to the Moon would begin no later than 2008, followed by an extended human expedition as early as 2015. Lunar exploration would lay the groundwork for future exploration of Mars and other destinations. A new spacecraft to support these journeys -- the Crew Exploration Vehicle -- would be tested before the end of this decade.

NASA is already taking the next steps, working with the aerospace industry to explore and refine the concepts that will make the Vision a reality.