After the release of the final report of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, NASA is focusing on the return to flight of the Space Shuttle fleet and the development of an Orbital Space Plane. But, are there even larger plans in the works to transform this nation's space program and catapult it towards greater goals? However, rumors are circulating in Washington of plans within the Bush Administration that could spell a major announcement of a Humans to Mars program during next January's State of the Union address. Already projected plans by NASA (informal at this time) would call for the development of capabilities at NASA to launch a mission sending 4-6 astronauts to the Red Planet no earlier than the 2012 opportunity. The rumors mention that an announcement would take advantage of the anticipated successes of NASA's upcoming Mars Exploration Rovers and Europe's Mars Express missions. When asked by reporters recently about the next steps for NASA after the Columbia tragedy, U.S. President George W. Bush stated: "We've got an interagency study going on now that will enlighten us as to the best recommendations necessary for NASA to proceed in a way that is a good use of taxpayer dollars."

Bush also added that the scope of future human exploration has not yet been decided. Yet political reporters note that the Administration is working at a feverish pace on the Administration's response to the CAIB report and NASA's draft Return to Flight Implementation Plan. Congressional hearings are also ongoing over the next few months in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

View: Full Article | Source: Mars News