Post by Ravenchamp on Nov 20, 2013 21:01:25 GMT -5
Details of 1st Private Manned Mars Flyby Mission Unveiled
A nonprofit space exploration group revealed today (Nov. 20) exactly how it plans to launch two married astronauts on an ambitious manned flyby mission to the Red Planet by early 2018, a scenario that would involve NASA and federal funding along with a healthy dose of the pioneering spirit.
The proposed "Mission for America" would launch a married couple toward the Red Planet sometime between Dec. 25, 2017 and Jan. 5, 2018, to take advantage of a rare favorable alignment of Mars and Earth.
The two astronauts would not land on the Red Planet but would cruise within 100 miles (160 kilometers) of its surface before heading back home, eventually touching down on Earth in May 2019 after spending 501 days in space.
The flyby mission will help inspire the next generation of researchers and engineers, preserving America's competitive edge in science and technology, Inspiration Mars officials say. It should also lay the foundation for even more ambitious manned exploration of the solar system, they add.
"There'll be a lot of science return and techology return," Taber MacCallum, Inspiration Mars' chief technology officer, told reporters during a teleconference today. "We will, I think, sort of break the sound barrier for going to Mars and back, enabling a range of missions to occur in the future."
www.space.com/23671-inspiration-mars-manned-flyby-mission-details.html
A nonprofit space exploration group revealed today (Nov. 20) exactly how it plans to launch two married astronauts on an ambitious manned flyby mission to the Red Planet by early 2018, a scenario that would involve NASA and federal funding along with a healthy dose of the pioneering spirit.
The proposed "Mission for America" would launch a married couple toward the Red Planet sometime between Dec. 25, 2017 and Jan. 5, 2018, to take advantage of a rare favorable alignment of Mars and Earth.
The two astronauts would not land on the Red Planet but would cruise within 100 miles (160 kilometers) of its surface before heading back home, eventually touching down on Earth in May 2019 after spending 501 days in space.
The flyby mission will help inspire the next generation of researchers and engineers, preserving America's competitive edge in science and technology, Inspiration Mars officials say. It should also lay the foundation for even more ambitious manned exploration of the solar system, they add.
"There'll be a lot of science return and techology return," Taber MacCallum, Inspiration Mars' chief technology officer, told reporters during a teleconference today. "We will, I think, sort of break the sound barrier for going to Mars and back, enabling a range of missions to occur in the future."
www.space.com/23671-inspiration-mars-manned-flyby-mission-details.html
