"The long-term vision he outlines today for further exploration of space is a journey, it's no longer a race," spokesman Scott McClellan said ahead of Bush's speech at National Aeronautics and Space Administration headquarters.

"We want to pursue this journey together with other nations in a spirit of cooperation and friendship," he said. "Our space program has a proud history of expanding human knowledge and advancing technology for the benefit of all."

At the height of the Cold War, Washington and Moscow fiercely competed in a "space race," which came to an end when US astronauts first walked on the moon in 1969.

And Bush's announcement came after China, heartened by its first successful manned space flight, said in December that it would send a spacecraft to orbit the moon within three years and planned an unmanned landing in 2010.

The president was expected to call for establishing a permanent human base on the moon with an eye on sending manned missions to Mars, coupled with ending the US space shuttle program, according to media reports.

Asked whether the White House had considered the potential military benefits of such a mission, McClellan told reporters that "what the president is talking about is really focused on the civilian side of space exploration today.

"We have had great success in our space program yet there is much that remains for us to explore and learn and that's what the president will be talking about today," said McClellan.

SPACE.WIRE