1.1 Rationale for Human Space Exploration
1.2 Public Interest and Social Progress
1.3 Humans and Robots: Partners in Exploration
1.4 Mission Statement and Objectives
1.5 Audience of Report

Decades after brief visits to the Moon, we are not yet sure whether we want to explore outer space or remain on our shore, the Earth. Before this tremendous ocean of possible futures, we as a human species hesitate, and refuse to make decisions or even think about space exploration. We seem to be ready to cast off on the open sea blindly, without knowing which route we want to take, nor even where we want to go. We act just like a wisp of straw blowing in the wind.

The Earth is the cradle of humanity. Should we choose a future in or out of our cradle? Or would we rather refuse to take the responsibility of making this decision and let our technology decide for us? Today, shaped by our tools, we send humans into outer space. Hence, it is high time that we, after considering our range of possible futures, decide upon the role of Earth in our preferred future. The human species must envision and select a specific future before it is too late. We need to seek the best solution for our future, which the authors of this report believe is out of the cradle. The purpose of this report is to present our preferred future for human space exploration beyond low Earth orbit.

Before we can present our strategy we will discuss the rationales for human space exploration. These rationales will be developed further as part of a greater vision of a future society. In this chapter we also identify the importance of the public interest in, and understanding of the significance of human space exploration. The specific roles of humans and robots in this strategy will be introduced. We conclude with identifying our mission objectives and the main audience of the report.

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