Dan Vergano, USA TODAY July 20, 2008

"The success of NASA's Phoenix lander has capped a decade of robotic derring-do and discoveries by uncovering chips of ice on the barren surface of the Red Planet's north pole. The find proves the existence of water, a key ingredient of life.

"But economic and political uncertainties are casting doubt on the future of such exploration as budgets are cut, priorities are questioned and the unknowns about the next president shadow the horizon."

"Democrat Barack Obama has called for debate on NASA's goals, and his opponent, John McCain, who says he supports manned missions to Mars, has called for a freeze on federal spending."

"In fact, Congress barred NASA from spending any money on Mars astronauts in 2008, and the agency didn't ask for any in next year's budget. Most of the $8 billion NASA spends on manned missions goes to the space shuttle program, the International Space Station and Constellation, the new manned rocket intended for trips to the station in 2015 and the moon in 2020."

Arf