President Bush called on Wednesday for a massive expansion of U.S. presence in space. He called for the establishment of a permanent base on the moon and for astronauts to travel to Mars and beyond. He said the ambitious project would eventually establish “a human presence across our solar system.” The Washington Post estimated the project will cost at least $170 billion over the next 16 years. The Pentagon and private companies will also collaborate with NASA on the venture.

Fiscal conservatives who have previous expansions of the space program are expected to back the plan because it will expand U.S. military supremacy in space. The Pentagon has been discussing a military base as far back as 1959 when it proposed to put 150 rockets on the moon.

The Global Resource Action Center for the Environment warned on Wednesday that the Bush initiative “will create a new arms race to the heavens.” Among the private companies that will benefit from the space program may include Halliburton and Shell Oil. According to a 2001 article in Petroleum News, NASA has been working with Halliburton, Shell, Baker-Hughes and the Los Alamos National Laboratory in identifying drilling technologies on Mars.

The Washington Post is also reporting that the roots of the space proposal was based largely in Bush’s 2004 re-election bid. The paper reports the idea came up when presidential advisors were searching “for a bold goal that would help unify the nation before Bush’s reelection race and portray him as visionary.”