Bush Shows Interest in NASA Earth Study

White House officials preparing a major space message for President Bush asked for extensive briefings on a NASA plan called “Mission to Planet Earth,” a proposal for an intense environmental study of the planet from space, a source said Tuesday.

Bush is expected to make a statement on a national project in space on Thursday, the 20th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon. Among proposals that have been considered are a return to the moon and a voyage to Mars.

But a source at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said officials at the White House and the Office of Management and Budget ignored the moon and Mars projects and have asked for detailed briefings on a plan called “Mission to Planet Earth.”

The Planet Earth project calls for an intensive study of the Earth and its environment, using data gathered by sophisticated satellites and by scientists and instruments orbiting aboard the space shuttle.