Ray Bradbury spoke to a presidential commission reviewing Bush's proposed Mars exploration initiatives. He said this:

Human exploration of the moon and Mars will move humanity beyond terrorism and war, inspiring the public in much the same way as Europeans who explored North America 500 years ago.

Um, I don't know about all that, Ray. I mean, don't oversell it. Exploration is a wonderful thing that spurs innovation and stirs the human imagination...but I don't think it's gonna get rid of war and terrorism.

But I do agree with him overall, of course, and I did like his thoughts on persistence:

The panel also wondered whether public support would dwindle if astronauts were killed on interplanetary missions.

Bradbury, who wrote about the human colonization of Mars in "The Martian Chronicles," said thousands of people died exploring North America.

"You simply do not give up," he said.