CLEVELAND (AP) - Researchers in Ohio are helping NASA meet a goal President Bush set four years ago: to send astronauts back to the moon by 2020.

The NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland is working on lunar projects with scientists from universities across the state and the country.

To pave the way for the first moon landing since 1972, NASA will launch an orbiter this fall with a camera that will take detailed pictures of the lunar surface. An expert at Ohio State University will use the images to create 3-D maps NASA will use to pick landing and exploration sites.

A professor of civil engineering at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland is working on tools to dig up soil and rocks from the moon.

Information from: The Plain Dealer

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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