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Nasa Unveils Its Plan To Send Humans To Mars Permanently by Gluthatione: 2:45pm On Oct 12, 2015 |
NASA has laid out a detailed plan for how it intends to send humans
to Mars in the next few decades. The 36-page report explains the
technology and infrastructure that will be needed to make missions
to Mars a reality.
Interestingly, the plans indicate that the ultimate goal is to be "Earth
independent," meaning they want people to stay there, not just go
and come back, although they don’t go so far as to use the word
"colonize" in their rhetoric. "Like the Apollo Program, we embark on
this journey for all humanity," NASA says in the report, which you can
read online . "Unlike Apollo, we will be going to stay."
The journey to Mars involves three major steps, according to NASA.
The first is Earth Reliant exploration, which is focused on
International Space Station (ISS) research. This involves testing
technologies such as 3D-printers and life support systems that will
be useful for eventual Mars missions. On the ISS at the moment, for
example, astronaut Scott Kelly and cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko are
completing the first "year in space" on the station, a vital step
towards long-haul Mars missions.
Next, the agency will move into a "Proving Ground." This will involve
testing various components beyond low-Earth orbit. The agency is
already building the huge Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which
will be capable of taking humans to Mars, and the Orion spacecraft,
which the astronauts will launch in and return to Earth in. Both of
these will be flown for the first time together by the end of the
decade, and in the 2020s, NASA plans to capture an asteroid and
have astronauts go and visit it in cislunar space (between Earth and
the Moon).............. |
Re: Nasa Unveils Its Plan To Send Humans To Mars Permanently by Gluthatione: 2:47pm On Oct 12, 2015 |
The final step is that "Earth Independent" one. Although there’s no
strict time scale, NASA plans to use its previous experience to take
humans first into Martian orbit in the 2030s, possibly its moons
Phobos and Deimos, before ultimately landing on the surface. "With
humans on Mars, we will be able to advance science and technology
in ways only dreamed of with current robotic explorers," says the
report.
The report also emphasizes the importance of the Mars missions
being a "collaborative effort" with other countries. ESA is already
involved with the Orion spacecraft, and other countries – perhaps
including Russia, Japan, India, and maybe even China – are expected
to join in the final endeavor.
Whether the lofty goals will be achieved depends on continuous
funding flowing to the agency. And at the moment, it’s not looking too
bad. NASA currently has about $4 billion (£2.6 billion) per year to
developed its manned exploration efforts, and when the ISS is retired
some time in the next 10 years (it has to be, as the outpost is getting
fairly old), that will free up another $4 billion for exploration. Of
course, more money wouldn’t go amiss, but it should be enough.
With the building of the SLS and Orion, and significant research into
long-term human spaceflight, habitats, spacesuits, and so on, NASA
is pushing purposefully forward with their Mars efforts. Some may be
skeptical that it will all come to fruition, but the agency is slowly but
surely making headway.
Our bet? See you on Mars in the 2040s. |
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