President Obama said Thursday that he is ‘100 percent committed’ to the mission of NASA. (PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images)


CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (CNN) - President Obama said Thursday that he is "100 percent committed" to the mission of NASA and its future.

Speaking at the Kennedy Space Center, the president sought to try to sell his vision for the space program and assuage workers' concerns about his plan.

Obama's proposal would pump an additional $6 billion into NASA over the next six years, but would pull the plug on a project to send astronauts to the moon.

The White House budget office said the Constellation Program, which had sought to send astronauts back to the moon by 2020, is behind schedule, over budget and overall less important than other space investments.

The administration would instead invest in deep space exploration and scientific development.

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President Obama will unveil his vision for the space program.

Washington (CNN) - The Obama administration's vision for the future of manned space flight will bump the United States to "second or even third-rate" status as a space-faring nation, the commanders of three U.S. moon missions warned Thursday.

The letter was signed by the first and last men to walk on the moon - Neil Armstrong from Apollo 11 and Eugene Cernan from Apollo 17 - and James Lovell, who commanded the heroic Apollo 13 flight.

"Without the skill and experience that actual spacecraft operation provides, the USA is far too likely to be on a long downhill slide to
mediocrity," the letter said. "America must decide if it wishes to remain a leader in space. If it does, we should institute a program which will give us the very best chance of achieving that goal."

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