NASA’s emerging exploration plan will call for safely sending humans to Mars, possibly by the 2030s, and de-emphasize exploration of the moon, the agency’s leader said Tuesday.
“That is my personal vision,” NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. “I am confident that, when I say humans on Mars is a goal for the nation, not just NASA, I’m saying that because I believe the president will back me up.”
Bolden cited appearances set before congressional committees on Feb. 24 and 25 as a deadline for creating the “beginnings of a plan” for human exploration.
At those hearings, Bolden said, he will be able only to give a range of dates for a Mars trip because scientific questions, such as mitigating radiation exposure and bone loss, remain unanswered.
But he confidently said the 2030s, even the early 2030s, were viable if given a reasonable and sustained budget.
NASA chief: Mars is our mission
Obama Gazes Past the Moon to Mars TechNewsWorld
President Obama has decided to abandon plans to return to the moon and focus on a much more ambitious effort — a manned trip to Mars — instead. A return to the moon would have been possible within this decade, but going to Mars will require cooperation among space-faring nations and is likely 30 years, give or take, into the future. The president’s new budget request provides US$3 billion over five years for “robotic exploration precursor missions that will pave the way for later human exploration of the moon, Mars and nearby asteroids,” Bolden explained. “These missions will inform us of the most interesting places to explore with humans, and validate our approaches to get them there safely and sustainably.” Also included in the proposed $3.8 trillion budget are funds for developing new engines, propellants, materials and combustion processes, as well as cross-cutting technologies such as communications, sensors and robotics, NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden said.
NASA Plans Manned Missions To Mars InformationWeek
Defending a budget that effectively cancels a program that would have returned humans to the moon by 2020, NASA’s top official said the space agency is looking beyond the lunar surface—to Mars.
In a statement, NASA administrator Charlie Bolden noted that the $3.8 trillion federal budget proposal handed down earlier this week by President Obama provides $3 billion over five years in funds “for robotic exploration precursor missions that will pave the way for human exploration of the moon, Mars, and nearby asteroids.” Bolden said robotic exploration is an essential precondition for manned missions to Earth’s closest celestial neighbors.
“These missions will inform us of the most interesting places to explore with humans, and validate our approaches to get them there safely and sustainably,” said Bolton.
Aldrin: ‘Mars Is The Next Frontier For Humankind’ Discovery
This certainly isn’t a surprise, considering Buzz Aldrin has been advocating manned missions to destinations other than the moon for some time, but it’s certainly worth hearing what the second man on the moon has to say about today’s announcement about NASA’s shake-up.
In a nutshell, Aldrin supports President Obama’s revised vision for NASA space exploration. This means canceling a return trip to the lunar surface and concentrating on other destinations first, pushing the envelope of human endeavor.
Students from India, Pak create space craft for Earth to Mars DNA India
Notwithstanding the chill in Indo-Pak ties, students from both the countries have come together in designing an innovative crew ship to travel from Earth to Mars and jointly compete with students from other countries at NASA.
Under the Sixteenth Annual International Space Settlement Design Competition, sponsored by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Boeing, school students from Lahore and Delhi have prepared a novel project on future of human civilisation in Mars.
The project on crew ship is to travel from Earth to Mars reflects an innovative idea of people of the Earth going to Mars by this space craft.
“You can go from Earth to Mars by a space craft. You can leave the space craft in the orbit between Earth and Mars and it will cross the orbit of Mars from where people can safely go to Mars,” said Sanaa Nusreid, a student from Lahore Grammar School.
As per the project, 8,800 people, including 2,300 crew members and 6,500 travellers, can go Mars in the space craft.
NASA may abandon plans for moon base New Scientist
NASA will probably not build an outpost on the moon as originally planned, the agency’s acting administrator, Chris Scolese, told lawmakers on Wednesday. His comments also hinted that the agency is open to putting more emphasis on human missions to destinations like Mars or a near-Earth asteroid.
NASA has been working towards returning astronauts to the moon by 2020 and building a permanent base there. But some space analysts and advocacy groups like the Planetary Society have urged the agency to cancel plans for a permanent moon base, carry out shorter moon missions instead, and focus on getting astronauts to Mars.
Urban Red Planet: Human Habitats On Mars WebUrbanist
Most space scientists, sociologists and sci-fi writers agree: when humankind finally sets down roots somewhere other than the planet of our birth, Mars is our most likely destination. Chilly, lifeless (as far as we know) and frighteningly far away, Mars still offers the best hope for a human race whose figurative eggs have been kept in one basket for far too long.
NASA finds fix for Ares 1 vibration concerns Spaceflight Now
Engineers have identified a way to shield astronauts riding the Ares 1 rocket from potentially dangerous vibrations caused by the launcher’s solid-fueled first stage, according to NASA. Managers decided last week to incorporate an upper plane C-spring isolator module and upper stage liquid oxygen damper on the Ares 1 rocket to ensure astronauts inside the Orion crew module will not experience intense vibrations during launch, according to a posting on a NASA Web site.
Obama Backs New Launcher and Bigger NASA Budget ScienceInsider
President Barack Obama will ask Congress next year to fund a new heavy-lift launcher to take humans to the moon, asteroids, and the moons of Mars, ScienceInsider has learned. The president chose the new direction for the U.S. human space flight program Wednesday at a White House meeting with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, according to officials familiar with the discussion. NASA would receive an additional $1 billion in 2011 both to get the new launcher on track and to bolster the agency’s fleet of robotic Earth-monitoring spacecraft. According to knowledgeable sources, the White House is convinced that scarce NASA funds would be better spent on a simpler heavy-lift vehicle that could be ready to fly as early as 2018. Meanwhile, European countries, Japan, and Canada would be asked to work on a lunar lander and modules for a moon base, saving the U.S. several billion dollars. And commercial companies would take over the job of getting supplies to the international space station.
House speaker questions more NASA funding, Mars trip Florida Today
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi raised questions Wednesday about boosting NASA funding, in competition with other budget priorities, and pursuing a Mars trip. The California Democrat also said any boost in funding, as recommended by a recent commission, would have to be measured against other priorities to create jobs.
“I, myself, if you are asking me personally, I have not been a big fan of manned expeditions to outer space, in terms of safety and cost,” Pelosi told reporters a roundtable on legislative accomplishments this year. “But people could make the case; technology is always changing.”
President Barack Obama, who met Wednesday with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, is weighing how to support the agency. A recent report from the U.S. Human Spaceflight Plans Commission recommended phasing in a $3 billion boost in funding in order to pursue spaceflight safely, but Obama hasn’t signaled what suggestions he will adopt.