Looking into the future, Alex Philp, President of GCS Research said, appreciating the saga of Lewis and Clark sets the stage for even bolder jumps into terra incognita – unexplored land. “The Corps of Discovery took the necessary equipment, collective skill set, and vision to go into an unknown world in search of many things. The expedition redefined, literally, an understanding of the West and set the foundation for colonization,” Philp said. Some NASA astronauts, Philp has been told, look to Jefferson’s letter of instructions to Lewis as a guiding mandate about what space colonization and Mars exploration will be as an experience.