KEY POINTS:
John F. Kennedy famously vowed Americans would walk on the Moon before the Soviets. But for Barack Obama - so often compared to JFK - a return to the Moon may be a frontier too far in these tough economic times.
To the consternation of Nasa executives, Obama has sent a six-member team, all with backgrounds in space policy, to see if money can be saved by trimming the planned space exploration programme.
A shouting match that allegedly erupted between the head of Nasa and members of the Obama transition team at a book-launch party last week has added to the tensions.
Behind that row is Mike Griffin, a Nasa administrator appointed by President George W. Bush, who is desperately trying to save his signature project - the delayed and over-budget Moon-rocket Constellation programme. It was boosted by Bush's 2004 decision that he wanted US astronauts back on the Moon by 2020 as the first leg of a mission to colonise Mars.
But Nasa's human space flight programme is again under its biggest threat since the Apollo era ended in the 1970s. The space shuttle is soon to be retired, with at least a five-year gap before the next-generation Constellation rockets are ready in 2015.
One of the transition team's first questions was how much could be saved by cancelling plans for a new rocket, the Ares 1, designed specifically for sending humans into space.
Griffin apparently believes that simply upgrading existing rockets could put astronauts' lives in danger.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, a red-faced Griffin erupted during a discussion at the book launch, accusing Lori Garver, Obama's transition team emissary, of not being "qualified" to judge his programme.
Garver is a former senior Nasa administrator but is not an engineer. She will be key, however, in deciding if Griffin keeps his job.
Witnesses to the heated 40-minute conversation said Griffin voiced his anger at the fact that Obama had not spoken to him directly. Garver intervened to say: "Mike, I don't understand what the problem is. We are just trying to look under the hood."
"If you are looking under the hood, then you are calling me a liar," Griffin replied. "Because it means you don't trust what I say is under the hood."
Over the past few weeks, Obama has sent review panels to scrutinise government agencies. Though sent to smooth the transition between administrations, they have come with long lists of questions as they look to root out waste or overspending.
Emails obtained by the Sentinel said Nasa began leaning on its contractors to stonewall the transition team by saying any change would cast Nasa in a bad light.
Griffin has denied obstructing the team, saying in an email to Nasa workers: "We are fully co-operating with the team members."
Associates also said the exchange with Garver was not an argument but "a discussion about stuff".
- INDEPENDENT
