Bush Plans Major Space Announcement
Thu January 8, 2004 07:22 PM ET

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By Steve Holland and Adam Entous

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Buoyed by a successful landing on Mars by a robot explorer, President Bush plans a major announcement on space policy next week that may lead to sending Americans back to the moon, congressional aides said on Thursday.

Nearly a year after the shuttle Colombia exploded on reentering the atmosphere, sending NASA into a deep spell of melancholy, Bush is expected to outline a sweeping vision of U.S. space leadership.

He is expected to propose a new lunar initiative that could lead to a mission to Mars in the long term, said the sources, who asked to remain unidentified.

White House officials declined to comment. Bush is scheduled to be in Mexico on Monday and Tuesday so any announcement is not expected before Wednesday.