Congress - NASA: give us a clear manned flight plan to Mars, or we will cancel this project

Yesterday at special hearings, representatives of the special committee of the US Congress on space science and technology demanded from NASA a much clearer work plan for the manned mission to Mars. Let me remind you that the US Congress literally bombarded NASA with money , but now it asks to clarify many of the positions of the plan presented earlier.

Moreover, some members of the committee questioned the feasibility of the Mars Plan itself. Doubtful committee members pointed out the high cost of such a project, which exceeds the budget allocated to the agency, as well as the need for technical progress — this plan is not feasible with current technologies. There is even a possibility that NASA will once again think about paying more attention to the Moon, and not Mars.

Now NASA is building the most powerful launch vehicle Space Launch System (SLS), which will carry the Orion capsule, which, presumably, will be members of the expedition to Mars. But this expedition requires much more than a rocket and a capsule. So, manned modules, landing systems, capsule launch systems are required for the return flight to Earth. So far, none of this in the plans of NASA is not, and work on the creation of the entire life support system of a man on Mars is needed now.
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One of the stages of the Asteroid Redirect Mission as an artist (NASA)

The plan provided by the agency also requires clarification. The first SLS and Orion test is scheduled for 2018. But in the plan there is only this date, without specifying intermediate points of work. The manned flight on SLS with Orion is scheduled for 2023, although now NASA is trying to change the date for 2021. But here, too, there are many "white spots". The carrier rocket itself has a hazy future. In addition to its use for the mission of capturing an asteroid, there are no more plans for its operation - it looks like the rocket will be idle all the rest of the time. There are also no orders for SLS launches from international companies or states. The creation of a rocket and its operation are very expensive, so we would like to see a clearer plan for using SLS in Congress.

The committee members stated that the planned mission to capture the asteroid is too complicated, a demonstration of new technologies can be carried out without it. “This is a mission without a goal, without a launch date, without clear objectives for researching an asteroid. It's a waste of time, ”says Lamar Smith, a Republican. The problem is also in the committee members say that there will soon be presidential elections, on which a lot depends on the implementation of space programs, the allocation of funds, etc. The new president and his team can change everything drastically.

According to the committee representatives, NASA will need about $ 500 billion to reach Mars. This money is required for the creation of new technologies, the development of new engineering solutions to ensure the safe flight of the team. There are many concerns about the radiation that astronauts can get on their way to the Red Planet. But NASA does not yet have a solution to eliminate this threat.

The committee requested the agency to develop a much clearer plan, which will receive considerable attention. A clear mission objective is required, or the project itself can simply be canceled.

Now in the committee, voices of supporters of the return to the Moon, who believe that Mars is an almost unrealistic goal, are becoming more and more active. At the same time, on the moon, as supporters of the flight to the natural satellite of the Earth say, one must already begin to learn how to extract water in order to provide future colonists with this resource. “The moon is closer, it's easier to get to, it is interesting, it can be useful,” says the appeal of Paul Spudis, one of the committee representatives.