By 2020, NASA hopes to begin construction on a permanent moon base that would be used as a midway point for human missions to Mars. The outpost will be constructed at one of the moon's poles where the increased sunlight could provide power. From CNN:
NASA's lunar architecture team decided it would be better to establish a base than to conduct individual missions to the moon, as in the Apollo program of the 1960s and 1970s, (NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale) said.
Team scientists believe astronauts could use the moon's natural resources to maintain the outpost, and could use the base to prepare for the trip to Mars, an objective also set forth by Bush.
Sorties to other locations on the moon could also be carried out from the outpost, Dale said.
