[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 9218]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 CONGRATULATING THE JET PROPULSION LABORATORY ON THE COMPLETION OF THE 
                          SPIRIT ROVER MISSION

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DAVID DREIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 14, 2011

  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the La Canada 
Flintridge based Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), its director, Dr. 
Charles Elachi and all of the JPL employees, on successfully completing 
the mission of Spirit, a Mars Exploration Rover. Spirit was designed, 
built and operated by JPL.
  In the summer of 2003, NASA launched Spirit along with its twin, 
Opportunity, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. After traveling for 
six months and more than a quarter million miles, Spirit landed on Mars 
on January 3, 2004. The Mars Exploration Rover mission sought to expand 
our understanding of Mars' geological history and find evidence of 
water. One of the mission's greatest achievements was Spirit's 
discovery of minerals indicating that Mars was once a wet environment 
with hot springs and steam vents. These conditions may have been 
favorable for microbial life. In addition, Spirit provided us with 
thousands of breathtaking images of Mars' surface. While Spirit's 
mission was only planned for three months, it showed amazing resiliency 
and continued to operate for six years. After surviving three Martian 
winters, countless dust storms and a broken wheel, NASA lost contact 
with Spirit last March. Opportunity continues to explore the Martian 
surface.
  Mr. Speaker, the success of Spirit's mission, and JPL's scientific 
accomplishments, demonstrate the need to continue strong support for 
Mars exploration missions. As you may know, the Mars Science Laboratory 
is scheduled to launch at the end of this year. It will expand upon the 
discoveries made by Spirit and provide new insight into Mars' past. Its 
primary purpose is to determine if Mars was ever capable of supporting 
microbial life. To accomplish this, the mission will carry the most 
advanced instruments ever sent to Mars and have the capability to 
travel farther than past rovers.
  Mankind has always yearned to explore what is beyond the horizon. 
However, space exploration does more than inspire our imagination. It 
provides measurable benefits here at home. From new medical treatments 
to developing new energy solutions, NASA technology has made our world 
better. In addition, NASA's research centers, such as JPL, enhance 
communities, including my own district, by providing high-paying, 
highly-skilled jobs. Lastly, these projects provide inspiration to the 
next generation of engineers and scientists who will develop our future 
industries.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend JPL and its employees whose tireless work has 
made Spirit's mission such a tremendous success. I wish JPL the best of 
luck as it embarks on future projects and continues to expand our 
knowledge of Mars.

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