NASA's Plan for Manned Journey to Mars

NASA said yesterday (October 8) that it is still on track for a manned mission to Mars, and they have prepared a 36-page document outlining their strategy and plans and what needs to be done to achieve those plans. They don't give a date by which they think a manned mission may happen, but some others have estimated that it could be as early as the 2030s.

NASA Releases Plan Outlining Next Steps in the Journey to Mars

“NASA is closer to sending American astronauts to Mars than at any point in our history,” said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. “Today, we are publishing additional details about our journey to Mars plan and how we are aligning all of our work in support of this goal. In the coming weeks, I look forward to continuing to discuss the details of our plan with members of Congress, as well as our commercial and our international and partners, many of whom will be attending the International Astronautical Congress next week.”

Full 36-page document:

Journey to Mars: Pioneering Next Steps in Space Exploration
[Note: link opens directly to a PDF file]


More information on NASA's plans for Mars:
NASA's Journey to Mars

20 years from now (or whenever it happens) I wonder if ATS will still be around? In the event that it is, I wonder how quickly people will say it's all fake?

And then us old timers can be like "yea, it's fake, that's why it took them 20 years from writing a paper up to actually launching. Dummy."

And then have our comments edited because of the obvious t&c issue.

15 years is still a very long time. Wish it was sooner.
Hopefully another private organization attempts to before hand. Heck i would raise my hand to go

Great work!!!

36 pages......... yeah, funny.... real funny.....

Earth Independent activities build on what we learn on the space station and in deep space to enable human missions to the Mars vicinity, possibly to low-Mars orbit or one of the Martian moons, and eventually the Martian surface

Which moon?

a reply to: Macenroe82

15 years.... wow... i can't help but feel crushed...

originally posted by: Shamrock6
20 years from now (or whenever it happens) I wonder if ATS will still be around? In the event that it is, I wonder how quickly people will say it's all fake?

And then us old timers can be like "yea, it's fake, that's why it took them 20 years from writing a paper up to actually launching. Dummy."

And then have our comments edited because of the obvious t&c issue.

Once we actually start to go to other planets, both governmental and independent, I believe that we will have a sea change as regards opinion.
Really, I think that once we are on our way, the whole world view will change. We will not allow governments to hold us back.

a reply to: Jonjonj

Ill give you the best answer to your wishes, strip naked of everything you know, and you will see a monkey with a great imagination.

originally posted by: Hyperia
a reply to: Jonjonj

Ill give you the best answer to your wishes, strip naked of everything you know, and you will see a monkey with a great imagination.

...buh...buh...bwahaaaaaahaaaahaaa

a reply to: Soylent Green Is People

The first paragraph of the report that you quote is pretty clear, if true: "we are aligning all of our work in support of this goal". So is this it, is this NASA finally saying that 'here's what we're going to do next, this is what everyone will be focused on' in terms of design, experimentation, and hardware? Reading it that way, and if they can get a few of the heavy hitters on Capitol Hill, a former president or two and a dozen president-wannabees, and tech-and-space minded campaign funders to come on board maybe Congress can double or triple their yearly expenditure to NASA for a decade or so.

NASA has been planning missions to Mars for over 50 years. I think it's a hobby of theirs. Presidents love to talk about it, too. Of course when it comes time to put up the money or shut up, the money never happens (except to make more plans, which are cheap).

Nice timing with The Martian movie out. What a coincidence.

This will happen, the cost doesnt matter. The choices are either Mars or one of its moons, humanity needs to see the future not the past.
Fear is what stopped us before, i think the outcome is highly likely a lot worse, so fear is a motivator if you know that the outcome will take humanity back several millenia if we dont go.

I think the talk is over, you act or you dont. And take the consequence thereafter. I believe its borrowed time, and one mistake will be very dire.

I believe in NASA and their team, I believe in any man who strives for humanity to achieve a goal for a greater good. But i dont believe in the rest of humanity as a whole, maybe they can make us come together as humans.

This world will survive with or without the concept of being a human.

They might "want" to go with a manned mission they probably will create a workable plan to go
the real question is what will it cost and who will fund it?

Does this mean I will be to old to go? I don't need paying or owt I will be only 61.

Good news, so its going to take another 15 years +.
So what have they been doing for the past 30 years?

Lets hope they use some smarts this time, and do it properly.

Building the "Spaceship" is simple....getting it into space is the hardest part.

No more tin cans, with little bits hanging off and small hole to crawl thru.

Build a spaceship, exactly like we build an Earth ship............Like a Submarine.

Build a space submarine, but with out all the underwater stuff of course, use these new engine that we know are/have been developed, for space propulsion. Perhaps equip the Sub with retractable wings and jet engines for return to Earth atmosphere use, and Use thrusters for space navigation. Use gyros for in ship gravity.
Have large living quarters and a food/flora deck. Take 2 or more planetary explorers.....ie the Black Triangles that we know use anti grav tech....so will also work on Mars.
Have the "Submarine spaceship" orbit Mars and use the shuttle triangles on the planet.
Also take prefabricated dome Human Life containers, as accommodation units.
Would need water processing units to convert the H2O to O2 and H for power.
Solar power generators........

Could be done with todays tech.

The "Submarine" idea falls right into the many reports of "Cigar shaped or cylinder shaped" UFOs that have been reported for years..........And even mentioned by contactees like Edwin with the Koldasians and Lacerta with her sauran family......they all use cylinder shaped craft....if you believe the "Information".

a reply to: gort51

All we need is a massive 3d printer in space to print space ships.

2030 is small thinking. Ambitious projection? So far from ambitious. More bureaucratic BS and milking. This is why we need new leadership for space agencies.

All we need is a massive 3d printer in space to print space ships.

Nanotech+3D printer+virus template exponential=progress

a reply to: Soylent Green Is People

and in 2030 we will be shown paperwork showing a manned mission to Mars in 2070. All we need to do is look at the promises made going back to the 1960's and where we are now. This is nothing more than a stick and carrot lie.

Had the politicians not lied and Congress not gutted the budgets year in and year out in favor of welfare and a Roman Army equivalent we might be there by now.

originally posted by: Xcathdra
a reply to: Soylent Green Is People

and in 2030 we will be shown paperwork showing a manned mission to Mars in 2070. All we need to do is look at the promises made going back to the 1960's and where we are now. This is nothing more than a stick and carrot lie.

Had the politicians not lied and Congress not gutted the budgets year in and year out in favor of welfare and a Roman Army equivalent we might be there by now.

people on welfare might take issue with that statement...