(editor Chris Vancil: Makes you wonder if it will happen...weren't they saying 2018 or 2025 before...and see what one can actually do with the same info as Cowing had...it's call journalism!)

Manned U.S. mission to Mars by 2030 eyed
Kyoichi Sasazawa Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration plans to send six astronauts on a 500-day mission to Mars, according to its final draft report on the Mars exploration program.

U.S. President George W. Bush promoted a new vision for NASA's space exploration in a speech he gave in January 2004. NASA is aiming to realize the mission before 2030.

More at: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/science/20051230TDY01003.htm