Grassley says new moon mission may have trouble flying in Congress

President Bush will unveil his plan this afternoon to build a permanent moon base from which to launch a manned mission to Mars, but even one of the state’s top Republicans is hesitant to jump on board.U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley predicts the Kennedy-esque call to reach farther into space may fall flat, -quote- “it will not be a slam-dunk for the President.” Grassley says adding an extra billion dollars to NASA’s budget won’t sit well with many members of Congress, especially given the highly expensive war on terror and “tremendous budget deficits.” Grassley acknowledges the many benefits that have come from the space program.Grassley says NASA missions do a lot of good for those of us on earth, -quote- “so you can’t say that they’re so heavenly they’re no earthly good,” but he adds this Bush proposal simply may not make it to the launch pad. A recent poll found about half of Americans surveyed opposed a return to the moon and beyond, about the same as a similar poll conducted four decades ago after President Kennedy first challenged NASA to go to the moon..