NEW YORK (29 October) —
According to a 28 October report in the industry newsletter Spacelift
Washington, U.S. President George W. Bush may announce a
proposal for a manned American return mission to the Moon as part
of a shift in the nation's space policy. The announcement may come
on 17 December 2003 during the centennial celebration of the
Wright Brothers pioneering flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. According to the report, a White House review of the U.S. space policy concluded that a manned mission to Mars would be "considered too expensive and risky." However, the review panel urged Bush "to factor in future interplanetary manned flight capabilities as part of the justification for a return to the moon." The review panel reportedly included NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe and U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The Spacelift Washington report, written by Frank Sietzen, Jr., noted that an unnamed source "who spoke directly with Bush early in the process said the president was initially skeptical that a manned return to the Moon could be conducted for reasonable costs. Bush allegedly said then that he would not seek a massive increase of space spending." The report's release follows the successful launch and return of astronaut Yang Liwei by the Chinese space agency by exactly two weeks. Yang was the first human placed in orbit by the world's most populous nation. Also on 29 October, the China Aerospace Technology Group announced that its next manned launch would carry three astronauts into orbit. It is expected that China will proceed with plans for an unmanned exploratory mission to the Moon within the next ten years. The report was denied by the White House, which acknowledged that Bush does have a speech planned at Kitty Hawk, N.C., to commemorate the Wrights' historic flight, but added that no announcement would be made at that time by the president regarding a manned Lunar mission involving the U.S. space agency, NASA. It has been 31 years since an American last set foot on the Moon and 14 years since the current president's father, President George H. W. Bush, proposed a new American manned mission to Mars. Speculation increased following the reprinting of the initial rumor of a new Bush announcement in the National Review on Wednesday (3 December) The National Review story follows on the heels of recent announcements that China is planning a manned return to the Moon, and reports that a joint venture between India, Russia and a consortium of private investors will attempt an unmanned Lunar mission within the next four years. This plan expects to raise more than $3 billion in funding through the sale of lunar property claims to the public.
|
