Study: NASA cannot afford a trip to Mars yet, but deserves funding for this program.

It's no secret that NASA's long-term goal is to fly people to Mars. But how realistic is its implementation? Unfortunately, now the prospects are not particularly bright. The National Research Council (NIS) analyzed the NASA space program and concluded that the available budget was insufficient for spacewalks. "While the pace of financing NASA lags behind inflation, any attempt to promote the Martian program will fail," - stated the NIS.

However, the National Research Council does not believe that NASA should reduce its ambitions. Instead, he offers the US government to fork out for NASA to implement its plans. Growth of funding by only 5 percent per year may be enough for the agency to arrange for sending people to Mars with minimal risk. But in order to increase the budget, NASA will have to not only report on the progress of the program, but also improve the political position of the United States through international cooperation in the space sector. This will not be easy, given the chill in the space agency's relations with China and Russia.

However, NIS claims that the game is worth the candle. In addition to fulfilling short-term political and scientific goals, as well as developing joint Mars exploration plans, NASA’s ambitious space program will inspire students for new research, unite humanity with a common goal, and even possibly save our species from extinction. True, it is not yet clear whether the White House will heed the advice in the era of budget cuts, but it is obvious that NASA has at least one powerful ally - the NIS.
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According to RIA Novosti , the total amount of funding by NASA in 2014 will be $ 17.7 billion. The same amount was requested last year, but in fact the agency received only $ 16.6 billion.