NASA, We Have a Problem

How much would the moon-Mars mission ultimately cost? Nobody really knows, and NASA hasn't provided an official estimate. But when George Bush père proposed a manned earth-to-Mars mission in 1989, the total program cost was estimated at $400 billion. One thing is known: NASA's costs typically soar far beyond budget. When first proposed in 1984, the International Space Station was supposed to cost $8 billion, but so far Congress has appropriated $32 billion for it.

NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe said public interest in Mars exploration is reflected in the large number of hits registered by the agency's Website in recent months. But a CBS/New York Times poll taken in January reported that only 48 percent of Americans favored a manned mission to Mars, the first time in the poll's history that the question had received less than 50 percent approval. Meanwhile, a mere 17 percent thought the United States should be spending more on space programs.

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