This (march 06) time magazine has a nice article highlighting America's space ambitions.
The plan generally includes a stellar budget approved by the Bush administration, and the developement of a spacecraft by nasa, et al whose sophistication will make the last flight to the moon look like nothing. Furthermore, according to the Time magazine article, if the next mission to the moon is undertaken successfully, there will be "empirical" evidence (tologically based) that we (america) are ready to put a man on mars. I hope I live to see it.
