Mars Exploration News  
MARSDAILY
Space Race: NASA Faces Competition From SpaceX For First Mars Mission
by Staff Writers
Washington DC (Sputnik) Jul 18, 2017


Image courtesy NASA Ames Research centre.

Current budget constraints mean that NASA has had to revise its plans to reach Mars in the 2030s, but the target remains feasible with more funding, Professor John Logsdon of George Washington University told Radio Sputnik. NASA can't afford to send humans to Mars on its current budget, NASA's head of human spaceflight William Gerstenmaier said earlier this week.

"I can't put a date on humans on Mars, and the reason really is the other piece is, at the budget levels we described, this roughly 2 percent increase, we don't have the surface systems available for Mars," Gerstenmaier said in answer to a question tabled during a meeting of the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics on Wednesday.

The admission comes after the space agency had previously made a bold target to reach the Red Planet in the 2030s. From 2018 - 2030, NASA is planning groundwork for a Mars mission including expeditions near the moon that test the capabilities needed for humans to live and work on Mars. John Logsdon, Professor Emeritus and former Director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University, told Radio Sputnik that while the possibility is off the table right now, things could change in the near future.

"Bill Gerstenmeier said [that] under the current budget, it's impossible to plan precisely when we could land people on Mars, that future budget increases will be necessary," Logsdon explained. "But our budgets are determined on a year-by-year basis and I think there's general agreement that in the 2020s the budget will have to increase in order to land on Mars in the 2030s. So, it's given the impression that NASA right now is not able to land on Mars and that's true because we're not ready to go."

From a cynic's point of view, NASA's head of spaceflight could be trying to put pressure on the White House to allocate more funds to the space agency. President Trump's proposed $19.1 billion budget for NASA in 2018 is almost as much as the 2017 allocation of $19.3 billion, approved by his predecessor Barack Obama. The budget proposal supports space exploration but cuts some other programs such as NASA's Office of Education and some environmental science missions.

"President Trump has said he wants to send people to Mars, so you could interpret the NASA position as, if you want us to do that, increase our budget," Logsdon said. NASA is already developing the Orion spacecraft, which is undergoing testing and is intended to take humans to destinations including near-Earth asteroids, our own Moon, the moons of Mars and eventually Mars itself.

"They've conceptualized the next two pieces of hardware, a deep space gateway to be in orbit around the Moon as a staging point to go out to Mars, and a deep space transport vehicle that would only carry a few people at least to Mars orbit if not to land. Those are developments for the 2020s and 2030s, not for the immediate future," Logsdon said.

While NASA is currently limited by budget constraints, some private companies such as SpaceX and Mars One have declared intentions to colonize Mars. The expert thinks that SpaceX has the best chance to beat NASA to the prize.

"Of the major aerospace contractors, only SpaceX - or its leader Elon Musk - has said that he wants to send people to Mars. Elon says that he wants to develop a million-person city on Mars. He's very ambitious, he's done a lot of what his past ambitions have laid out, so you can't discount Musk and SpaceX as major players in this."

Whoever does manage to reach Mars first, will have to wait at least two decades to do so, Logsdon said. "By 2033, we could be orbiting Mars and visiting its moons Phobos and Deimos. I would expect the first steps on the surface of Mars to be late 2030s or early 2040s, so still a long way away."

Source: Sputnik News

MARSDAILY
Elon Musk's vision of a self-sustaining city on Mars published in New Space
New Rochelle, NY (SPX) Jun 16, 2017
The Commentary entitled "Making Humans a Multi-Planetary Species presents the vision of Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, for future manned trips to other planets and specifically what will be needed to create a self-sustaining city on Mars. The article, drawn from Mr. Musk's presentation at the 67th International Astronautical Congress, is published in New Space, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary ... read more

Related Links
Journey to Mars at NASA
Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Lunar Dreams and more


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

MARSDAILY
How to rescue a Moonwalker in need

Japanese Space Agency Proposes Plan to Send Astronauts to Moon

Japan reveals plans to put a man on moon by 2030

Russian aerospace firm to cooperate with China on Lunar exploration missions

MARSDAILY
China develops sea launches to boost space commerce

Chinese satellite Zhongxing-9A enters preset orbit

Chinese Space Program: From Setback, to Manned Flights, to the Moon

Chinese Rocket Fizzles Out, Puts Other Launches on Hold

MARSDAILY
Pitted Materials in Craters Could Indicate Buried Ice on Asteroids

Bizarro comet challenging researchers

NASA'S First Asteroid Deflection Mission Enters Next Design Phase

Are asteroids humanity's 'greatest challenge'?

MARSDAILY
Juno Completes Flyby over Jupiter's Great Red Spot

NASA spacecraft to fly over Jupiter's Great Red Spot

New Mysteries Surround New Horizons' Next Flyby Target

Mid-infrared images from the Subaru telescope extend Juno spacecraft discoveries

MARSDAILY
Titan's calm lakes offer space probes a smooth landing

Methanol Points to Evolving Story of Enceladus's Plumes

In a Cosmic Hit-and-Run, Icy Saturn Moon May Have Flipped

Cassini Finds Saturn Moon May Have Tipped Over

MARSDAILY
Nickel key to Earth's magnetic field, research shows

Great Plains to see more dust storms in second half of the 21st century

Quantum mechanics inside Earth's core

SSL To Provide Next-Generation Imaging Satellite Constellation To Digitalglobe

MARSDAILY
NASA Offers Space Station as Catalyst for Discovery in Washington

Counting calories in space

As the world embraces space, the 50 year old Outer Space Treaty needs adaptation

Dutch project tests floating cities to seek more space

MARSDAILY
Gulf of Mexico tube worm is one of the longest-living animals in the world

Big, shape-shifting animals from the dawn of time

Hidden Stars May Make Planets Appear Smaller

Astronomers Track the Birth of a 'Super-Earth'









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.