Jimmy Carter

“ Our human race has always felt an urge to explore and understand the world around us. This drive lay behind the theories of Ptolemy and Copernicus, the discoveries of Aristotle and Newton, the journeys of Columbus and Magellan.
In our time, this spirit has led to the exploration of space. From single missions, designed to send satellites into orbit and land men on the Moon, the United States space program has grown into a much broader range of endeavors. Its purpose is not simply to study space, but to understand its relevance to life on earth. ”

“ Satellites now orbiting the earth have helped us to forecast weather patterns accurately, discover mineral deposits, detect sources of pollution and establish a global communications network. International projects such as Apollo-Soyuz have helped bring the people of the world closer together through coordinated research and 'the cooperative use of land and sea resources. ”