``I think it's important not only for the American tradition of exploration.
... We have to keep doing this if we ever hope to know what's beyond our
galaxy,''

``We now know there are billions of them out there,'' Clinton said. ``We
know there are all these big black holes in the universe. We know all these
things. And I think it's important that we find out.''

``We all use the slogan: Well, this isn't rocket science,'' Clinton said.
``Well, this is rocket science. We're trying to take a space ship the size
of a boulder and throw it ... into a very uncongenial atmosphere and hit a
target, and it isn't easy.''

``We actually do get a lot of benefits here on Earth from space travel,''
Clinton said. ``We get benefits in engineering advances, in material
science, in environmental protection and in medical science. We've made
quite a lot of interesting health-related discoveries.''

``I mean, this is too bad. But this is nothing compared to the tragedy when
those astronauts burned to death when their spaceship was still on the
ground,'' Clinton said.

``I'll never forget that as long as I live,'' Clinton said. ''But they
didn't quit, and America didn't quit ... and I don't think we should quit
now.''
(Deborah Zabarenko. "Clinton Defends NASA After Mars Lander Loss"  Reuters,
December 8, 1999)