Bush Calls for Mars Trip, Moon Base in 21st Century : NASA and Quayle to Set Time

President Bush, marking the 20th anniversary of man’s first lunar landing, proposed today that the United States establish a base on the moon in the 21st Century to be followed by a manned mission to Mars.

Bush offered no price tag for the costly program he promised would lead “back to the moon, back to the future, and this time back to stay.”

“Then a journey into tomorrow,” he said. “A journey to another planet, a manned mission to Mars.” The distance between Mars and Earth varies from 48.7 million miles and 248 million miles.

Bush offered few details beyond his broad goals, and said he was leaving it to Vice President Dan Quayle, the National Space Council and NASA to come up with “realistic timetables.”

No Deadline for Mars Trip

Adm. Richard Truly, administrator of NASA, said the President has asked that the lunar station be established in the first decade of the next century. He said no deadline has been set for the Mars mission.

In a ceremony from the steps of the National Air and Space Museum, the President reasserted the goal of establishing Space Station Freedom in the 1990s, the necessary first step for the moon and Mars projects.

Bush was flanked on the outdoor museum stage by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, the two men who planted their footsteps on the moon on July 20, 1969, and Michael Collins, the third member of the Apollo 11 crew.

“America should never stop seeking distant frontiers,” Bush said. “We dream of distant shores we’ve not yet seen. . . . A dream to be realized by future generations must begin with this generation,” he said.

“We have rested on our Apollo laurels long enough. It’s time to get moving again,” Collins said.

Bush drew Democratic support for his vision, but the decision to provide no budget or deadline prompted criticism.

‘One Small Step’

Rep. Dennis E. Eckart (D-Ohio) said Bush was “calling for one great leap for mankind” but not even providing the money for “one small step,” using a take-off of Armstrong’s first words from the lunar surface.

“The party of John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson applauds the decision of President Bush to recommit America to space exploration,” said Rep. Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.), the House majority leader.

“But the real test of presidential leadership is not whether he can marshal the words but the resources to restore America’s preeminence in space,” Gephardt said. “In sum, Mr. President, there’s no such thing as a free launch.”

Gephardt said that under Democratic presidents of the ‘60s, the NASA budget approached 4% of the U.S. budget. Republican Presidents of the ‘80s have proposed less than 1%, he said.

$30-Billion Start-Up Cost

Truly, in a press briefing at the White House, noted that Congress is already balking at the start-up costs for the $30-billion space station. The station is the essential for the moon project and the trip to Mars.

“It is an irony that at the time we find this sort of leadership and vision for America’s future, that at the same time, this very day up on the Hill, we are in fact fighting very hard for the very life of Space Station Freedom and other things in the civil space program,” he said.