Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, during the past half century, from America's first satellite, the grapefruit-sized Explorer I, to the International Space Station now being built 200 miles above us, human beings have begun to learn how to operate in the harsh environs of space.
America's space program operates on dual tracks. On the one hand, we have stressed human space flight, an inspiring, but dangerous undertaking. With the exception of the Apollo lunar landing missions, humans have not ventured beyond the low-earth orbit. The other track that we have followed is the robotic exploration of our solar system, using spacecraft that are more impervious to the harsh conditions of space and unaffected by the enormous distances necessary to explore our planetary neighbors.
Our unmanned space probes, from the Ranger and Surveyor craft that paved the way for Apollo, to the Voyager spacecraft that explored the outer planets and are still continuing to send back data even as they leave the solar system, have increased our understanding of the universe beyond anything even contemplated half a century ago.
On Mars, we have witnessed dust storms on Olympus Mons, the largest mountain in the solar system. We have peered through Venus's clouds and its broiling surface. We have discovered new moons and ring systems around outer planets. As I speak, a small spacecraft bearing dust from a comet is zooming back towards Earth and will parachute into Utah on January 15 of this coming year. A coffee table-sized probe named Deep Impact is scheduled to crash into another comet on July 4 of this year, a feat described to me recently by scientist Charles-Elachi as hitting a bullet with a bullet.
NASA's jet propulsion laboratory managed by the California Institute of Technology has designed, built, or controlled all of these programs. JPL has been a pioneer of our exploration of the solar system from the beginning of our space program. Earlier, I mentioned JPL's Explorer I, America's first satellite. At the time that it was launched, the United States had fallen behind the Soviet Union in the space race, and several other attempts at getting an American Sputnik into orbit had ended in fiery explosions on the launch pad.
Every American space probe that has visited another planet was managed by JPL. Through the wonders of technology, we have zoomed by Jupiter with Voyager, witnessed a Martian sunset with Viking, rolled across the surface of Mars with our rovers, and marveled at Saturn's rings with Cassini.
Whom do we have to thank for unlocking the wonders of the solar system, for providing brilliant, three-dimensional images of the Martian surface, for bringing us the multi-hued clouds of Jupiter and the cold beauty of Saturn? For this, we must thank the women and men of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Under the leadership of Dr. Charles Elachi, the men and women of JPL work tirelessly to develop and manage America's robotic exploration of space.
Last January, even as we still mourned the loss of the crew of Columbia and the consequential interruption of the Shuttle program, JPL brought America back to Mars. The Spirit rover and its twin, Opportunity, landed on Mars to begin what was planned as a 3-month mission to evaluate whether conditions would at one time have been suitable for life on that planet.
Equipped with cameras, spectrometers and a grinder, America's robotic explorers have been hard at work for more than 16 months and are still going strong. Their discovery of evidence of past water on Mars last year was the top scientific ``Breakthrough of the Year,'' according to the journal ``Science.'' People around the world have been captivated by the stunning photographs of the Martian surface and the planet's ruddy sky. JPL's website is been visited more than 16 billion times; and, that is right, billion.
Last July, Cassini arrived at Saturn to begin a multiyear exploration of the planet and its myriad moons. Cassini carried with it a small European-built probe that landed on Saturn's largest moon, Titan, earlier this year.
JPL's spectacular missions have not only brought us incalculable scientific data, they have also sustained America's interest in space flight, especially the Mars missions. Now, as NASA prepares to accelerate the development of the Crew Exploration Vehicle and move forward with the return of humans to the moon, the space agency and Congress must take care to continue to provide adequate resources to support the robotic exploration of space that is JPL's specialty. In the short term, JPL is in danger of being a victim of its own success as the continued operation of Spirit and Opportunity have put pressure on the budget for the overall exploration of Mars.
Last year, the President announced a long-term goal of landing on Mars. This is an ambitious and worthy goal, but the technological and physiological challenges, not to mention the cost, means that it will be decades before an American walks on the Martian surface. In the interim, we have to keep interest in space high as we continue to explore the red planet and our other neighbors with relatively inexpensive probes that are better equipped than humans to survive the extreme hardship of long-duration space travel.
Mr. Speaker, as we continue to contemplate the future of our space program, I urge NASA and my colleagues not to deprive JPL one of the crown jewels of the American science and technology program of adequate resources. For thousands of years, people have gazed into the heaven and wondered what was up there. Thanks to NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, we are beginning to learn the answers to that age-old question.