science

Dear Friend,

Mars is our future! That is why, together with The Planetary Society, I am Aiming for Mars!

As a writer, director and producer, I am a storyteller. And although I often work in the science-fiction genre, one of the greatest true stories to be told is that of our relationship with Mars.

The story of a human Mars mission is the story of a great quest.  The quest to find life, to answer the question:  are we alone?  If we do find life on Mars, that life might have the same DNA structure as us, or something completely alien.  Either result is stunning in its implications.  Or we might find none at all... which also has profound consequences for our sense of our own place in the cosmos.

But unless we bring together the resources and the people of the spacefaring nations here -- on our own planet -- this is a story we may never get to tell. The story, as it stands now, could end with humans forever circling in low Earth orbit. The story could simply end on the Moon.

We have been to the Moon . . . now Mars beckons us. It compels the human imagination.  It is a bona fide alien planet... a complex planet that can teach us about our own past and the early solar system, about our climate and geological processes, about the Sun's history.  Mars is a world of great mystery and scientific controversy, enough for several lifetimes of investigation.  Every time we answer one question, two new ones crop up.  The Mars scientists -- the folks who know Mars better than anybody -- will tell you there are just as many mysteries about Mars as when we started sending spacecraft to Mars three decades ago.  This is exactly the kind of science challenge we collectively need to inspire us to progress.

We need to go to Mars! We need to expand human consciousness and unravel the mysteries of our closest neighboring planet. We need to do this, and we need your help.

Aim for Mars! at:
http://aimformars.org/cameron.html

If humans are to go to Mars in our lifetime, if we choose this great adventure instead of leaving it for a distant generation, we must build up support from the grassroots. We need to join with The Planetary Society's Aim for Mars! Campaign to ignite our planet’s passion for human space exploration.

The Planetary Society is an independent, non-governmental, non-industry organization that can marshal the resources and support to put us on the path to Mars. While others talk and posture, The Planetary Society takes positive action.

I am asking you to take a positive action and act upon your passion for exploration…your vision for the future…and your drive for knowledge and discovery. You are crucial to helping us inspire people everywhere to aim for Mars.  Please help us spread the word ­ to friends, family, colleagues and make the Aim For Mars! Campaign a movement ­ a movement for humans off Earth. 

Go to The Planetary Society Aim for Mars! website to get involved in our campaign! Join me, and thousands of others Aiming for Mars!
http://aimformars.org/cameron.html

Humans on Mars is not a science fiction fantasy. This is something we can do . . . together.
Let's aim for Mars!

Sincerely yours,
James Cameron