Here's another Bush Policy,
US President George W Bush is planning a permanent science base for astronauts on the moon and, in what would be an even greater leap for mankind, human voyages to Mars, according to senior administration officials.
The president wants to aggressively reinvigorate the space program, still reeling from the Columbia tragedy nearly one year ago, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.
White House press secretary Scott McClellan confirmed that Bush would deliver a speech on Wednesday describing his vision of the long-term direction of the space program, but he did not reveal what Bush would say.
"The president is strongly committed to the exploration of space," McClellan said today.
A major question is how to pay for an expensive space initiative while the country is struggling with record budget deficits and the high costs of the war against terrorism.
McClellan said that the White House budget office was involved in the administration's space review, and that Bush will "put forth a responsible budget that meets our highest priorities while working to hold the line of spending elsewhere in the budget".
A Nobel-winning physicist who investigated last year's crash of the Columbia space shuttle is among those who would rather see more affordable robots - rather than astronauts - exploring the lunar and Martian surfaces.
He points to NASA's Spirit rover newly arrived at Mars.
"The cost of a manned enclave on the moon, I think, is going to make the space station look cheap. That's the only good thing about it," said Stanford University's Douglas Osheroff.
In any event, "I think we're still 30 years from going to Mars and if there's any reason to do that, I don't know," Osheroff said.
Bush does not intend to propose sending Americans to Mars anytime soon, but instead envisions preparing for a Mars expedition more than a decade from now, one administration official said.
NASA's chief spokesman, Glenn Mahone, would not divulge any details.
"We're not going to pre-empt the president," he said. "But we're excited about the news of the announcement next week and what it means for the future direction of NASA."
He said the announcement will be made in Washington.
The White House has been looking for a new revitalising role for NASA for months, with Vice President Dick Cheney leading the interagency task force since summer. The speculation over a major space initiative began heating up early last month.
Representative Ralph Hall, a member of the House Science Committee, welcomed the news that Bush would be making an announcement about space.
Hall said he has long been trying to get the president more interested in space exploration. The president never went to Johnson Space Centre in Houston while serving as Texas governor; in fact, last February's memorial service for the seven Columbia astronauts was his first visit.
Bush's fresh interest in space coincides with an election year. A new bold space initiative, it is thought, could excite Americans.
"I had the feeling the last 2-1/2 years people would rather make a trip to the grocery store than a trip to the moon because of the economy," Hall said. "As things are turning around, we need to stay in touch with space" and the science spinoffs it provides.
It was the Columbia accident that helped force a discussion of where NASA should venture beyond the three remaining space shuttles and the international space station. The panel that investigated the disaster called for a clearly defined long-term mission - a national vision for space that has been missing for three decades.
Astronauts last walked on the moon in 1972; in all, 12 men trod the lunar surface over a 3-1/2-year period.
This time, the president favours a permanent station, administration officials said.
Bush's father, on the 20th anniversary of the first manned moon landing, made a similar call for lunar colonies and a Mars expedition. But the plan was prohibitively expensive - an estimated $US400 billion to $US500 billion - and went nowhere.
No one knows what the new venture might cost or how NASA would pay for it.
House Science Committee spokeswoman Heidi Tringe said lawmakers on the panel had yet to be briefed on the specifics.
Earlier this week, Bush put in a congratulatory call to officials in charge of NASA's latest Mars rover. He called the Spirit rover's successful landing a "reconfirmation of the American spirit of exploration". Another rover is due to arrive at the red planet in two weeks.
Many space buffs see the moon as a necessary place to test the equipment and techniques that would be needed by astronauts on Mars. It's closer, just three days away versus six months away for the red planet.
Visionaries say observatories could be built on the moon and mining camps could gather helium-3 for conversion into fuel for use back on Earth.
Others, however, contend that astronauts should make a beeline to Mars.
Still others, including John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, believes the United States should complete and fully maximise the international space station before dashing anywhere else.
