NATION : Moon Base, Other Plans Backed
WASHINGTON — NASA’s plan to establish a base on the moon and launch expeditions to Mars appears reasonable, but other strategies should also be studied, the National Research Council said today.
President Bush endorsed the basic elements of the plan in a speech last July 20, marking the 20th anniversary of the landing on the moon of American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.
The proposal called for a base, to be established early in the next century, that would have a full-time, long-term staff.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s strategy calls for frequent flights to the moon and construction there of living quarters, laboratories and power stations. The lunar soil would be mined to extract oxygen, which then could be turned into rocket fuel.
NASA scientists say a moon base would be a laboratory for a voyage to Mars. But others have questioned this, saying the moon is not sufficiently like Mars and that establishing the moon base would delay the Mars exploration.
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