Looks like the BBC is first with details on NASA's thoughts for sending men to Mars, as outlined in a meeting in Texas.
According to the Beeb, the space agency sees sending what it calls a "minimal" crew to the Red Planet for a 30-month round trip. A 880,000lb ship would be assembled in Earth orbit, with pieces ferried up by heavy Ares V rockets.
Once built, the ship would be be powered through its seven to eight month trip with an "advanced cryogenic fuel propulsion system." Cost? Anywhere from $20 billion to $450 billion. Translation: No real idea yet, but lots of guesses, based on technology that's not built yet.
A cargo lander and habitat could be sent several years in advance, for astronauts to pick up on the surface. Once there, they'd face about 16
months, with – this seems a wry touch to me - "extremely limited"
chances of aborting the mission or being resupplied.
According to the BBC, the document outlining the ideas says plans are very likely to change, but that the ideas represent the Agency's "best strategy" to date for landing on the Martian surface. More details at the full story here.
More power to them for thinking this through, I think. They'll learn much by testing equipment in the next decades on the moon. The Mars mission, as outlined here, is tentatively slated for 2031, but that's a very, very tentative date, they have ample time to continue planning.
Nasa outlines manned Mars vision [BBC]
(Image: The view from Cape Verde, a lovely vacation spot on Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell)
