James Cameron, Explorer

I like James Cameron. He makes cool movies. But it's not just that, he realizes the value of inspiration to a civilization. And he's very eloquent when he describes how NASA's new Vision of Space Exploration will fulfill that need, among others. Here is a transcript of Cameron's closing remarks at the 1st AIAA Space Exploration conference which occurred a week or two ago. For a first-time conference, the response from the space community was amazing. Over 1000 people, all who registered early. I've never heard of an AIAA conference being sold out. :)

If you ever ask yourself, "Why is NASA worth $15 billion a year?" or if you just need some inspiration, check it out.