Blog written by Mary Upritchard, InnovaSpace Admin Director It really is just a matter of time before a manned space mission is launched into deep space, whether once more to the Moon or more likely to Mars. Of course, the time scale is still being measured in years, but interest in such a venture is growing fast and there are already leading players with plans to reach the Red Planet in the next decade.
Elon Musk of SpaceX has an ambitious plan to send a crewed rocket to Mars by 2024 using an under-development reusable rocket that will ultimately replace his Falcon rockets; the Mars One group are aiming to land a Mars crew by 2031 using technology bought from other aerospace companies; and NASA is currently testing its Orion spacecraft for use with the heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS), a rocket that will be capable of propelling humans and cargo out of Earth orbit. The NASA journey to Mars will include a series of stages, an ambitious step-by-step plan to put humans into low-Mars orbit by the 2030's. The Earth Reliant phase will continue to build on research already being conducted on the International Space Station; the Proving Ground phase will see a series of missions near the Moon – called “cislunar space” – assessing the capabilities needed to live and work on Mars; and finally, the Earth Independent phase will test the entry, descent and landing techniques needed to alight safely on the Martian surface, and study how the natural planet resources can be used to sustain a human presence.
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