NASA's New Vision and Mission Statements Revealed in New Strategic Plan

Together with its FY2012 budget request, NASA released its new Strategic Plan today. The document reveals NASA’s new vision and mission statements.

NASA’s Vision is:

“To reach for new heights and reveal the unknown,
so that what we do and learn will benefit all humankind.”

NASA’s Mission is:

“Drive advances in science, technology, and exploration
to enhance knowledge, education, innovation, economic vitality,
and stewardship of Earth.”

Government agency strategic plans usually are revised every three years, but this version is two years late. The last one, in 2006 while Mike Griffin was Administrator, expressed NASA’s Mission as “To pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery, and aeronautics research.” Its Vision reflected President George W. Bush’s Vision for Space Exploration and the document says that “NASA enthusiastically embraced the challenge of extending a human presence throughout the solar system as the Agency’s vision….”