COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- "There are indeed better days ahead," said NASA chief, Sean OKeefe, speaking here at the 19^th National Space Symposium.

In the aftermath of the Columbia accident that occurred some 10 weeks ago, NASA remains committed to a range of exploration objectives, made possible by harnessing an array of technologies.

Columbia debris recovery teams now involve some 20 agencies, comprised of federal, state and local officials -- an operation that has been near seamless in its work, OKeefe said. At any given time, upwards of 6,000 people are working together to locate and recover Columbia wreckage.

At the moment, search teams have recovered 30 percent of the space plane, OKeefe said.

Work is also moving forward to prioritize a list of candidate upgrades to assure safe and efficient shuttle flight operations in the future, OKeefe said. The purpose of the upgrades is to fly the shuttle "through at least the middle of next decade," he added.

OKeefe touched on the Orbital Space Plane and getting the craft spaceborne "as early as possible". It will run to and from the International Space Station.

NASA top level requirements for the OSP, OKeefe said, have been put on one-page. He chided those in the audience who think that one-page of requirements are troublesome in that they lack specific details.

"Be careful what you ask for," OKeefe said. He added that the OSP program is not based on trying to meet everyones requirements.

Together, NASA and industry teams can tackle OSP issues, with the goal to flying the OSP as soon as possible, OKeefe said.

In looking at other parts of his agency, OKeefe said the future is indeed a busy one.

NASAs armada of Earth science satellites -- some already in orbit, others yet to be lofted -- are analyzing "our own oasis in space," OKeefe said. Data gleaned from these spacecraft will help policy makers shape informed judgements as to the overall health of Earths climate, he said.

In the space science arena, OKeefe highlighted a number of upcoming astronomical and planetary exploration missions particularly the upcoming launches of two Mars Exploration Rovers.

Despite the upcoming reduction in crew size onboard the International Space Station -- from three down to two people -- NASA remains resolute in continuing a permanent human presence in space, OKeefe said.

For the moment, Americas longest human stint in space is 196 days. Thats not long enough to support even a one-way flight to Mars, OKeefe said, "and were going to make sure its a round-trip."

OKeefe emphasized that NASA has to chip away at how best humans can endure extended space voyages. Muscle mass and bone loss, as well as radiation dosage, remain daunting problems that need further research, he said.

Along with physiological issues, there is need to understand the psychosocial challenges of crews traveling to locales far from Earth, OKeefe said.

"Weve got a lot of work to do," OKeefe explained, to make exploration objectives possible.

NASA has issued a new strategic plan, OKeefe said, encouraging the audience to read the document and learn where the agency plans to go.

That strategic planning document involves use of libration points in space, enabling human and robotic traffic to reach multiple targets, be it the Moon, Mars, the asteroids, or other destinations, OKeefe said.

Regarding NASAs Prometheus Project, creation of a safe-to-fly nuclear fission power supply is on tap -- a liberating technology that can open up far greater science operations at distant worlds, OKeefe said.