Message to the Congress Submitting a Report on the International Space Year

To the Congress of the United States:

I am pleased to submit the attached report on plans and programs for the International Space Year (ISY) in 1992, prepared by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in response to Senate Joint Resolution 75 (Public Law 101 - 339, July 31, 1990). The report shows considerable progress since the ISY was first proposed by the Congress in 1985 and advanced internationally by NASA at President Reagan's direction.

The report indicates a broad acceptance for the ISY that confirms the original intent and expectations of the Congress. The ISY celebrates a new age that inspires a unifying perspective on Earth as we continue to push back the frontiers of space. I invite the American people to develop activities for 1992 that foster the ISY's global perspective.

The ISY will place important emphasis on education. The language of science and the perspective of space are both global in scope. They will be united during the ISY in many science education programs in which challenging subjects such as astronomy, geology, physics, and chemistry will draw on the universal appeal of space science and exploration. Similarly, other public education activities ranging from television programs to expositions will carry the ISY's universal message to the widest possible audience.

I invite the leaders of all the nations of the world to join me in endorsing and actively supporting the International Space Year in 1992. In particular, I urge their continued support for the Space Agency Forum on the ISY (SAFISY), whose membership includes 28 space agencies plus eight affiliated international organizations, including the United Nations. The SAFISY has adopted Mission To Planet Earth as the central ISY theme and is also supporting ISY activities concerning human exploration, education, benefits for developing nations, and space science. I look forward to continued progress in those areas as the ISY approaches.

The ISY will promote worldwide recognition of a new era of global cooperation in space. Everyone can and should join in its celebration.

George Bush

The White House,

January 31, 1991.