The UPI report says America will look at using Russian Soyuz and European Ariane rockets for human and cargo transport both to support the International Space Station and in the lead up for a return to the moon.

The new space plan comes in the wake of the Shuttle Columbia disaster that saw seven astronauts killed when their three billion dollar space shuttle lost control after a burn through in the left wing on reentry before exploding over Texas on January 31, 2003.

Since then the US has been engaged in a difficult reassessment of the entire American human space program that has been stuck in Low Earth Orbit since the last lunar explorers returned to Earth aboard Apollo 17 December 19, 1972.

Having spent hundreds of billions of dollars developing, building and maintaining the space shuttle fleet, that over time has numbered six vehicles, many are asking just what has been achieved other than a very expensive space station designed for a crew of seven which is currently in caretaker mode with just two astronauts onboard.

According to the UPI report by veteran space journalist Frank Sietzen and NASAwatch editor Keith Cowing the eventual aim of a return to the moon is to lay the groundwork for the technology and infrastructure to send people to Mars.

Quoting unnamed senior administration officials, the UPI says that, "to pay for the new effort -- which would require a new generation of spacecraft but use Europe's Ariane rockets and Russia's Soyuz capsules in the interim -- NASA's space shuttle fleet would be retired as soon as construction of the International Space Station is completed.

The UPI report says, the President will ask Congress for funding of $800 million in 2005 to help design new root space vehicles.

Most controversially will be a request for NASA's budget to be boosted annually by five percent over the next few years.

But the biggest obstacle to any new plans to push out again into deep space is developing new man rated vehicles. In the years since the shuttle was designed in the late 70s NASA has failed to finish a single other man-rated spacecraft program - despite spending over five billion dollars attempting to do so via a succession of programs that differed as much in name as they did in technologies.

It will be this issue more than anything that could bring the new plan to a crashing halt when Congress is asked to provide many billions more to a Federal agency that is renowned for doing things as badly as it can do them right - as can now be seen on Mars with the stunningly successful Mars Exploration Rover program.

However, the UPI report quotes Administration officials as saying 2007 is the target for the first test flights of an unmanned prototype vehicle called the "Crew Exploration Vehicle." A second variation of a common basic vehicle would be used for crew transport to and from the space station.

Another area of controversy will be a reported decision to end all of NASA's non-human space science and technology work onboard the space station and focus solely on sustaining people in space. All other station work by NASA would end or be phased out.

Because NASA has sold the Space Station on the basis of fundamental science, Congress cannot be expected to just sign off on such a sweeping decision without a full and detailed explanation as to what went wrong with the station program and why it would be any different on the moon.

As many had expected the next NASA manned spacecraft will be a capsule design that dispenses with wings and uses parachutes for Earth recovery. And while this will simply return to Earth, the key goal of any new manned spacecraft will be to develop a common spacecraft module that can be refitted for various applications ranging from Lunar missions, to exploring near Earth Asteroids and eventually as part of manned Mars missions.

According to the UPI report the first Mars missions might be restricted to orbital missions only to enable crews to conduct an initial photo reconnaissance ahead of any landing.

But, it makes little sense to send people on a three-year trip to take photos from Mars orbit when it can be done just as easily with satellites. In fact, human-based Earth Observation provides little or no added value as the images produced by unmanned satellites far surpass anything obtained by Shuttle or Station crews using hand-held cameras or telescopes.

The new space plan to be announced by President Bush was originally expected to form the core of the President's speech on December 17 last year at Kitty Hawk as part of the 100-year anniversary of powered flight.

However, the initial trial balloon sent up via the media did not get the traction the Administration had hoped for as many in the wider community question the value of a return to the moon in a time of growing budget deficits. But with the first Mars Rover down safely on Mars and the general mood on an upswing, the Administration is clearly hoping that now is a good time to unveil a bold program for the future.

Whether the new space program ever gets anywhere remains an open question as opposition to it will be broad based and even where there is support in principle, real politics and economic reality might leave the President's new space program as just another report of pretty pictures and nice sounding platitudes about the human spirit of exploration and discovery.

Meanwhile the latest Internet gossip at NASAwatch points to next Wendesday as the expected day the new plan will be unveiled by President Bush.

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