i_remember_this_in_the_mail nomme President CARL SAGAN The Planetary Society Dear Fellow Citizen of Planet Earth, Twelve years ago, I joined with Dr. Bruce Murray, then Director of NASA'S Jet Propulsion Laboratory, to form the Planetary Society. We dedicated the Society to the exploration of our solar system...the search for planets around other stars...and the quest for extraterrestrial life and intelligence. To discover and explore new worlds, and to seek our counterparts in the depths of space -- these are the objectives of mythic proportions. They are now in the realm of sober scientific reality because of the enormous technological strides made in the last two decades. Pursuing these endeavors for the befefit of the human species is a mark of our dedication to a hopeful future. With and international membership of more than 100,000 people, the Planetary Society is the largest space interest group in the world; it provides a popular constituency for the explora- tion of our neighborhood in space. I am writing you in the hope that you will join us, and also to ask you to take a few moments to give us your answers to the enclosed questionnaire. Your responses will be most hopeful in assesing the views of informed citizens. This, in turn, will help us formulate plans for current and future Society programs -- programs such as the design and testing of the Mars Balloon, which is a means for American participations in Russian/ French Mars mission ... and the convening of U.S. and Russian space scientists to begin planning cooperative ventures to Mars, Venus, and the Moon. The Planetary Society's ongoing Project META is by far the world's most thorough radio search for signals from extraterrestrial civilizations ever attempted. (over, please) We are also playing a major role in preparing for one of the most stirring possibilities of our time -- the first mobile exploration and the first human explorers on the planet Mars. All of these efforts -- research which paves the way for a human future in space -- have been generously supported by our Members. In the future, the Society will try to bring about: * the development of roving robot vehicles to traverse the surfaces of nearby worlds. * a new kind of spacecraft that utilizes the pressure of sunlight on vast sails to voyage between the planets. *expeditions with human crews to near- Earth asteroids. *international, multilateral exploration of other planets in our solar system. The more we know about these worlds -- exquisite, instructive, but as far as we can tell, entirely lifeless -- the more we understand of our own world, its fragile environment and the life that has graced its surface. I believe that centurie from now, the perspective and programs the Planetary Society is supporting will be considered among the most farseeing activities of our epoch -- an investment in a bright and durable future for the human species. During this difficult time for space programs around the world, the Planetary Society is one of the few organizations making a sustained effort to continue to advance space science and the exploration of other worlds. So please read the enclosed letter from our Executive Director, Dr. Lous Friedman and then complete and return your questionnaire. Your replies will help us influence goverment leaders as they consider the national and international space agenda amd expeditions to other worlds. Cordially, Carl Sagan, President The Planetary Society 030816 ... major tom billions_and_billions (he claimed in an interview that he never uttered that phrase, but it's too hard to imagine him NOT saying that at some point) my favorite TV program in my childhood was the frequent repetitions of COSMOS that the local PBS station used to run history, biology, astronomy, physics, philosophy and even a bit of social commentary To me, Carl Sagan was the Mister Rogers of Space 030816 what's it to you? who go blather from