The crew exploration vehicle will be capable of ferrying astronauts and scientists to the space station after the shuttle is retired.

CNN: Bush: 'It is time for America to take the next steps' in space

Our second goal is to develop and test a new space craft, the crew exploration vehicle, by 2008, and to conduct the first manned mission no later than 2014.

CNN: Bush: 'It is time for America to take the next steps' in space

Using the crew exploration vehicle, we will undertake extended human missions to the moon as early as 2015, with the goal of living and working there for increasingly extended periods of time.

CNN: Bush: 'It is time for America to take the next steps' in space

Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: NASA and the European Space Agency have signed an agreement calling for the Europeans to provide the service module for the Orion space capsule, the U.S. space agency's crew vehicle for exploration beyond Earth orbit.

MSN: Mars rover survives 'brain transplant' with flying colors