The strategy is meant to keep costs low and make sure no one policy direction will threaten the evolution of the overall project.

The first of the building blocks, called Lunar Testbeds and Missions, will include a major new series of space robotic probes to the moon, along with an accelerated program of unmanned Mars exploration. Both elements were covered in funding requests in the fiscal year 2005 budget for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which is now under review in Congress.

NASA already has announced the first part of the Bush plan: a new series of reconnaissance satellites to be launched into lunar orbit. Scheduled for blast-off in 2008, the satellites will map the lunar surface in greater detail than ever before, identifying and classifying features such as large rocks and boulders, rills, hills and canyons. The idea would be to create maps that visiting astronauts -- and their robotic companions -- can use to navigate their landers and roving vehicles.

Email This Article Related Links NASA Office Of Exploration Systems - (PDF file 1.3 MB) SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com Lunar Dreams and more MOON DAILY SMART-1 Ion Engine Switched Off and Commissioning Begins Paris (ESA) Feb 09, 2004 The spacecraft is now in its 207th orbit, in good status and with all functions performing nominally. As in previous weeks, the ion drive has only generated thrust around the perigee point to fine-tune the altitude of the apogee point. This strategy has produced a noticeable increase in apogee height, see plot below, which is necessary to minimize the duration of eclipse periods that will occur during March.