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NASA Can't Afford to Visit Moon by 2020

By John Johnson, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 13, 2009 7:01 PM CDT

(Newser) – With all the hoopla of the Apollo anniversary safely behind us, a White House panel is ready to deliver a sobering assessment of the nation's current moon plans: They're too expensive. The panel, set up by President Obama to review NASA's human space flight program, says the agency's budget is far too skimpy to afford a return trip by the stated goal of 2020, reports Space.com.

Instead, NASA should consider other explorations, such as a rendezvous—not a landing—on sites such as a tiny moon of Mars known as Phobos, notes the Washington Post. The 10-member panel will brief Obama officials tomorrow, then deliver a full report with recommendations by the end of the month.

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A full moon. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)

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This budget is just simply not friendly to exploration. It is very difficult to find an exploration scenario that actually fits within this very restrictive budget guidance that we've been given. - Sally Ride, panel member
and former astronaut

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