Work needs to be done by commercial companies to take up the responsibility of supporting science and human astronauts in low-Earth orbit and beyond, according to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.<br />Looking even further into the future, Bolden added, "As we focus on sending humans to Mars, it will likely be commercial companies and international partners who assume a lead role in taking humans back to the surface of the moon.<br />NASA is committed to maintaining its portion of the station through 2024 , but as Bolden said, the agency would like to dedicate its resources to more ambitious goals, like sending humans to Mars.<br />But, as was noted by commercial spaceflight leaders at another recent conference, a human presence in low-Earth orbit provides information and training for human journeys to more distant space locations, and many leaders advocate for maintaining a human presence in low-Earth orbit while pursuing human trips to the moon or Mars.<br />Bolden noted that commercial spaceflight companies will be filling a larger role in NASA's human spaceflight program than ever before, when private companies begin delivering NASA astronauts to the International Space Station as part of the Commercial Crew Program.
