A NASA technical report from April 2003 suggests that the agency switch to an open source software development strategy. This report, written at a very basic level, allows for a general audience to understand what constitutes open source and why it can be useful. The 52-page report gives several definitions and outlines benefits associated with such a switch from several different standpoints. Specifically, the implications for academia, software users and developers, and NASA itself are considered individually to show how they might be affected. After identifying several candidates for an open source license, the report recommends the Mozilla Public License.