Obama axes NASA moon plan

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla: President Barack Obama wants to end NASA's moon program, turn over space transportation to commercial companies and jump-start technologies needed for future human exploration of Mars and other destinations, officials said yesterday.

The plan is part of Obama's budget for the fiscal year to Sept. 30, 2011.

NASA, which currently receives about $18 billion a year, has been working to develop a replacement for the space shuttles, which are being retired this year after five more missions to complete construction of the orbiting International Space Station, a $100 billion project of 16 nations. NASA currently spends more than half of its budget on human space programs.