Washington — Associated Press Published on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2004 2:23PM EST Last updated on Wednesday, Apr. 08, 2009 1:43AM EDT
U.S. President George W. Bush proposed on Wednesday to develop a new spacecraft to carry Americans back to the moon by 2015, and to establish a long-term base there as an eventual springboard to Mars and beyond.
Mr. Bush would withdraw the United States from the International Space Station by 2010 and retire the space shuttle fleet about the same time. Details of his proposal were released by the White House in advance of a speech by the President at NASA headquarters.
Mr. Bush wants to use the moon as a base for more ambitious missions to Mars and into the deeper reaches of the solar system, the White House said.
An extended human presence on the moon “will enable astronauts to develop new technologies and harness the moon's abundant resources to allow manned exploration of more challenging environments,” the White House said in a prepared statement.
“The experience and knowledge gained on the moon will serve as a foundation for human missions beyond the moon, beginning with Mars,” the statement said.
The moon has one-sixth the gravitational field of Earth, so moon-based aircraft could launch from there more cheaply.
“The President's vision affirms our nation's commitment to manned space exploration,” the White House statement said. “It gives NASA a new focus and clear objectives. It will be affordable and sustainable while maintaining the highest levels of safety.”
Mr. Bush wants a modest increase in spending for the new venture — $1-billion in new money spending five years. He would also shift $11-billion in federal money from other NASA programs to make way for the program.
Probes, landers and other unmanned spacecraft would explore the lunar surface beginning no later than 2008 to research and prepare for future human exploration.
NASA would also develop and build a new “crew exploration vehicle” to ferry people first to the International Space Station after the shuttles are retired, and then to the moon, no later than 2015. The goal, the White House said, would be humans “living and working there for increasingly extended periods.”
White House officials said the human “presence” would not necessarily be a permanent base.
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