Bush shoots for moon, Mars and beyond

US PRESIDENT George W Bush urged the US “forward into the universe” last night, outlining a costly new effort to return Americans to the moon as early as 2015 and use it as a way-station to Mars and beyond.

Mr Bush said he envisioned “a new foothold on the moon ... and new journeys to the world beyond our own”, underscoring a renewed commitment to manned space flight less than a year after the loss of the space shuttle Columbia and its seven crew.

In a speech delivered at NASA headquarters, Mr Bush unveiled a plan to withdraw the US from the International Space Station by 2010 and retire the shuttle fleet around the same time.