- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

NASA Plans to Put Boots on Mars Before 2040

© REUTERS / NASADark, narrow, 100 meter-long streaks on Mars inferred to have been formed by contemporary flowing water are seen in an image produced by NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the University of Arizona. Scientists have found the first evidence that briny water may flow on the surface of Mars during the planet's summer months, a paper published on Monday showed
Dark, narrow, 100 meter-long streaks on Mars inferred to have been formed by contemporary flowing water are seen in an image produced by NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the University of Arizona. Scientists have found the first evidence that briny water may flow on the surface of Mars during the planet's summer months, a paper published on Monday showed - Sputnik International
Subscribe
NASA has laid out a three-stage Mars exploration program which aims to send astronauts to the Red Planet during the 2030s.

A self-deployable habitat can save crews valuable time in setting up quarters on faraway locales like Mars. - Sputnik International
Pack Your Bags: NASA Details Plans for Astronauts to Live on Mars
The first step in the three-phase Mars plan is already underway; NASA astronauts and their international colleagues have been living aboard the International Space Station continuously, in roughly six-month-long crew rotations, since November 2000, Space.com wrote on Friday.

These astronauts’ experiences are helping researchers and mission planners better understand how spaceflight affects the human body and mind.

In addition, the space station allows NASA and its partners to develop and test critical technologies in areas such as life support and space-to-ground communications, agency officials said.

Next, NASA aims to gain deep-space experience near the moon on a series of missions over the next decade or so. In one such project a robotic probe will pluck a boulder off a near-Earth asteroid and haul it to lunar orbit, where it can be visited by astronauts in the future.

During the first such astronaut visit, slated for 2015, the astronauts will rendezvous with the asteroid chunk using NASA's Orion crew capsule and Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket.

Sending astronauts to Mars is the third stage of the plan.

NASA currently has two operational Mars rovers (Opportunity and Curiosity) and three functioning orbiters circling the Red Planet — Mars Odyssey, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and MAVEN. 

India and Europe also control active Mars orbiters, called Mangalyaan and Mars Express, respectively.

NASA is still working out the details about the journey to Mars. For example, astronauts may stop at one of Mars' two tiny moons, Phobos and Deimos, along the way.

But putting boots on the Red Planet's surface, and setting up a permanent outpost, remains the ultimate goal, Space.com wrote.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала