National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 2003 Strategic Plan

As the 21st century begins to unfold, NASA will focus, with renewed vigor, on the challenges and opportunities before us and on developing the unique capabilities that strengthen America and address our national needs. Our Mission is driven by science, exploration, and discovery, and it will be carried out with a firm commitment to fiscal responsibility. We will study climate change and the natural and human-induced hazards to Earth's ecosystem. We will help to counter the threat of international terrorism by developing technologies that can improve the security and safety of our air transportation system. We will lead the world into a new understanding of our planet, our solar system, and the universe around us, and in so doing, we will begin to understand whether life may have developed elsewhere in the cosmos. This strategic plan lays out our hopes for the future and the important things we seek to accomplish for America. We are privileged to be entrusted with these pursuits and thrilled to be able to carry them out. We invite you to join us on this great adventure. Releasing this strategic plan with our 2004 budget request represents our new commitment to the integration of budget and performance reporting. In this way, we will ensure that strategic priorities are aligned with and influence budget priorities. Our new Integrated Budget and Performance Document, a companion volume to this strategic plan, expands on the goals and objectives presented here and identifies the specific long-term and annual performance measures for which we will be held accountable.