Houston, we have a chance

With boost in NASA funds, Moon, Mars missions closer on horizon

Dallas Morning News 01/17/05
author: Alexandra Witze
COPYRIGHT 2005 The Dallas Morning News, L.P.

America's return to the moon may happen after all.

One year after President Bush laid out a sweeping vision for space exploration, NASA finds itself in an unusual position - with possibly enough money and congressional support to pull it off.

As the beleaguered agency struggled to get space shuttles off the ground after the 2003 Columbia disaster, NASA chief Sean O'Keefe made sure that it reorganized and streamlined itself to fulfill the president's directive. That could mean astronauts bouncing across the lunar surface as early as 2015 and maybe even flying to Mars after that.