U.S. President Barack Obama delivers remarks at opening session of Space Conference at NASA Operations and Checkout Building in Cape Canaveral Thursday. (Jim Young/Reuters)



U.S. President Barack Obama predicts his new plans for space exploration will lead American astronauts on historic journeys to an asteroid and then to Mars -- in his lifetime.

"I expect to be around to see it," he said Thursday about pioneering U.S. trips, starting with a landing on an asteroid before the long-dreamed-of expedition to Mars.

He spoke near the historic Kennedy Space Center launch pads that sent the first men to the moon, a blunt rejoinder to critics, including several former astronauts, who contend his planned changes will instead deal a staggering blow to the country's manned space program.

"We want to leap into the future," not continue on the same path as before, Obama said as he sought to reassure NASA workers that America's space adventures would soar on despite the impending termination of space shuttle flights.

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