Verbatim

“Orbiting the earth, as thrilling as it is, is not exploring space.”

—Kathryn Thornton, professor, associate dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and former astronaut, in April 3 testimony before a subcommittee on space and aeronautics.  Thornton argued that the space shuttle and international space station firmly anchor humans in low-earth orbit and that the goal of exploration instead must be Mars and beyond.