For the past several years, the priorities of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have been governed by the Vision for Space Exploration. The Vision was announced by President Bush in January 2004 and endorsed by Congress in the 2005 and 2008 NASA authorization acts (P.L. 109-155 and P.L. 110-422). It directed NASA to focus its efforts on returning humans to the Moon by 2020 and some day sending them to Mars and "worlds beyond." The resulting efforts are now approaching major milestones, such as the end of the space shuttle program, design review decisions for the new spacecraft intended to replace the shuttle, and decisions about whether to extend the operation of the International Space Station. At the same time, concerns have grown about whether NASA can accomplish the planned program of human exploration of space without significant growth in its budget. A high-level independent review of the future of human space flight, chaired by Norman R. Augustine, issued its final report in October 2009. It presented several options as alternatives to the Vision and concluded that for human exploration to continue "in any meaningful way," NASA would require an additional $3 billion per year above current plans. Committees in the House and Senate have held hearings to consider the proposals. The Administration has not yet announced its response. The FY2010 NASA appropriations conference report (H.Rept. 111-366) stated that the Augustine committee's report raises issues requiring thoughtful consideration by the Administration and the Congress.... It is premature for the conferees to advocate or initiate significant changes to the current program absent a bona fide proposal from the Administration and subsequent assessment, consideration and enactment by Congress.... It is the expressed hope of the conferees that the Administration will formulate its formal decision soon, submit its recommendations for congressional review and consideration, and budget the necessary resources. As Congress considers these broad space policy challenges, it faces choices about • whether NASA's human exploration program is affordable and sufficiently safe, and if so, what destination or destinations it should explore; • whether the space shuttle program should continue past its currently planned termination at the end of 2010 (or in early 2011); if so, how to ensure the continued safety of shuttle crews after 2010; if not, how the transition of the shuttle workforce and facilities should be managed; • whether U.S. use of the International Space Station should continue past its currently planned termination at the end of 2015; • whether the currently planned Orion crew capsule and Ares rockets, being developed as successors to the space shuttle, are the best choices for delivering astronauts and cargo into space, or whether other proposed rockets or commercial services should take their place; and • how NASA's multiple objectives in human spaceflight, science, aeronautics, and education should be prioritized.