courtesy: NASA
Planning for Mars, so far is seen as a daunting preposition. The trip, with our limited means, is nearly 1 year long. A round trip, with all the trimmings, could take almost two years.
The idea of a man in space, confined for one year, each way, inside a narrow vessel, is enough to send psychiatrists and scientists back to the board.
First of course there is the psychological aspect, which has been partly addressed by lengthy stays aboard the International Space Station. The ISS has been a good starting point for the study of man's long term habitation of space vessels and the rigors of confinement.
But the whole boredom, food, space effects, has yet to be sorted out entirely. Not that Nasa is not trying. There are already programs in place to train and plan, although without a definite date or even a tentative one.
For a while rumors were circulating of a no return mission to Mars. You heard right. One way ticket. And some aging astronauts had already lined up to volunteer, eager to serve mankind and their own curiosity by undertaking what many see as a suicidal mission. Amongst them a honored female Russian cosmonaut, who expressed no fear in volunteering for the mission.
But now an indipendent company, a non profit foundation called the "Mars Foundation" appropriately enough is making plans for a trip that could be realized as soon as 2018. The venture is called "Mission for America".
Now one thing is not clear: the mission does not say whether or not it will be manned, which kind of throws a bit of cold water for those who want to see flesh and bone press against that martian soil. A so called 'further step for mankind' if you will.
But the mission statement says that the foundation is doing this to further knowledge, science and accelerate America's span of exploration, which are seen as essential for the growth, national prosperity, knowledge and global leadership of the US.
The leader of this efforts is a man with deep pockets. His name is already familiar in space circles. Dennis Tito, the same man who spent 20 million to go to the space station in 2001, making him the first civilian man in space.
Tito is no stranger to space exploration. He was part of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the 1960s, and was a pivotal part of the Mariner probe project that orbited Mars.
His foundation is attempting to do the whole trip in 501 days. However details are still scant on who would fund the project, or whether the austronauts would be able to survive the trip or not.
Partial sourcing: CNN 2.22.13/Packing for Mars-Mary Roach
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