Space exploration - Present and future challenges

<!--HTML-->Our future deep-space exploration faces many daunting challenges, but three of them loom high above the rest: physiological debilitation, radiation sickness and psychological stress. Many measures are presently being developed to reduce these difficulties. However, in the long run, two important new developments are required: abundant supply of power, and advanced space propulsion. The future looks bright, however. While the road is a long one, it is now well defined and many exciting explorations are within near-term reach.<BR><BR><B>Biography</B><BR>Dr. Chang-Diaz graduated from MIT in the field of applied plasma physics and fusion research. He has been a NASA space shuttle astronaut on seven missions between 1986 and 2002. As director of the ASP Laboratory in Houston, he continues research on plasma rockets.<BR>For more details: see <a href="http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/chang.html"><br> www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/chang.html</a><BR><BR><I>Note: Tea and coffee will be served at 16:00 hrs.</I>