It's believed US president Bush is set to announce a bold new manned space exploration initiative next week involving building a base on the moon and eventually going on to Mars. I'm not a big fan of Bush, but man, this would be so fucking cool. I actually saw the first landing on the moon [yes, I'm that old!] and it was such a great moment in history, very memorable, it felt like all of mankind was united for that one day, that one moment. Everything afterwards has been a bit of a disappointment. Sure, there were the shuttles, the space stations, the probes to the outer planets and of course the robotic missions to Mars, but nothing has equalled that amazing feeling of having another human being set foot on another heavenly body for the first time. Now, that was cool!

Of course, the senior Bush proposed the same kind of thing way back in 1989 and nothing came of it. I really really hope it has more legs this time around. [Maybe the success of the Chinese space program will nudge them along] If the Democrats would also get behind this, maybe they could make it a bi-partisan effort. Or maybe they could get other countries to contribute to defray the cost. [I know, it could cause more problems than it solves doing it that way, just look at the space station]

They should keep this effort seperate from the rest of NASA so monies dedicated to this project actually go there rather than getting sidetracked into other things, like the shuttle, ISS etc... It needs to be carefully planned and stable funding to implement that plan, not butchered via constant cutbacks and redesigns ala ISS. I hate to say this, but WTG Bush!

Some of the things that had been under consideration were a proposal for a permanent presence on the moon, setting a target for retiring the shuttle fleet, and a plan to phase out the international space station.

Plan to phase out the ISS? Hell, aren't they still in the process of building the damn thing? What a waste. I hope this new moonbase is a little more permanent. Retire the shuttles? Good idea, they're past their prime and overly expensive.

NASA's target for a moon mission is 2018, an official said.

Fourteen years? A bit of a long wait, but if that's when they'd begin to build the moonbase, then it would be worth the wait. We would probably have some pretty cool rocket technology by then.

Ok, this article says 2013 for the first landings.

Ten Reasons to Put Humans Back on the Moon
Moon info
More moon info
NY Times column