THE MOON SOCIETY  June 11,2004
1380 East 17 Street, Suite 203, Brooklyn, New York 11230-6011 USA
718-375-3862             www.MoonSociety.org

PRESS RELEASE: For Immediate Release
Contact: Ian Randal Strock, Director of Publicity

MOON SOCIETY AND SPACE EXPLORATION ALLIANCE CALL FOR "THE MOON, MARS, AND BEYOND"

In an unprecedented show of unity, the Moon Society and thirteen more of the nation's premier space advocacy groups, industry associations, and space policy organizations have teamed up to form the Space Exploration Alliance. The SEA's first project is to support the effort to refocus NASA's human space activities toward exploration, including a return to the Moon and moving on to Mars and beyond.

President Bush's "Moon, Mars, and Beyond" initiative dovetails perfectly with the Moon Society's tenet that it doesn't take a government to launch people into space. We echo the sentiment that NASA's proper role in the development of space is long-term research, development, and exploration. This initiative, a long-term, feasible plan to permanently inhabit the Moon and send people to Mars, is precisely the type of effort for which NASA was formed. It is the type of project that causes people to strive; a fitting goal for a great society.

Near-term industrialization and the commercialization of space are best left to the private sector, and in this, we applaud Scaled Composites' upcoming first commercial launch of a manned spacecraft. It is this commercialization to which the Moon Society strives; NASA has blazed the trail into space, and now we expect companies to turn that trail into a superhighway while NASA continues blazing the trail ever farther into the heavens.

The organizations involved in the SEA include: Aerospace Industries Association, Aerospace States Association, American Astronautical Society, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, California Space Authority, Florida Space Authority, the Mars Society, the Moon Society, National Coalition of Spaceport States, National Space Society, the Planetary Society, ProSpace, Space Access Society, and Space Frontier Foundation.

Collectively, these groups can count almost one million Americans as members or as employees of member companies. Their first goal as a group is to work for broad support of the new national vision for space exploration outside low Earth orbit. They also intend to aggressively refute the false impression that "Moon, Mars, and Beyond" is too expensive for this country to take on. They will demonstrate how modest but steady growth in our national expenditures on space can move the nation toward these important goals, and highlight the benefits those expenditures will provide.

As space exploration becomes increasingly integrated with every aspect of life here on Earth, this new focus on exploration will provide myriad advances in science and technology, as well as untold economic opportunity.
It will also serve as an inspiration to our nation's youth. Given those benefits and the many more that lie in store, this new program of human space exploration beyond low Earth orbit is a vital link to the future of the United States and the world.

The Moon Society is a non-profit educational and scientific foundation formed to further scientific study and development of the Moon, located on the web at www.MoonSociety.org. Some of the Society's goals are:
* Creating a space-faring civilization which will establish communities on the Moon.
* Promoting large-scale industrialization and private enterprise on the Moon.
* Promoting interest in the exploration, research, development, and habitation of the Moon.
* Stimulating and encouraging the development and use of space technologies on Earth and in space.
* Promoting collaboration between various societies and groups interested in developing and utilizing the Moon.

Links to the current 14 members of SPACE EXPLORATION ALLIANCE (SEA)

Aerospace Industries Association - http://www.aia-aerospace.org/

Aerospace States Association - http://www.aerostates.org/

American Astronautical Society - http://www.astronautical.org/

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics - http://www.aiaa.org/

California Space Authority - http://www.californiaspaceauthority.org/

Florida Space Authority - http://www.floridaspaceauthority.com/

the Mars Society - http://www.marssociety.com/

the Moon Society - http://www.moonsociety.org/

National Coalition of Spaceport States - http://www.spaceportstates.org/

National Space Society - http://www.nss.org/

the Planetary Society - http://www.planetary.org/

ProSpace  - http://www.prospace.org/

Space Access Society - http://www.space-access.org/

Space Frontier Foundation - http://www.space-frontier.org/