Details of 1st Private Manned Mars Flyby Mission Unveiled

[Buster's Uncle]

Details of 1st Private Manned Mars Flyby Mission Unveiled
SPACE.com
By Mike Wall, Senior Writer  19 hours ago






A nonprofit space exploration group revealed today (Nov. 20) exactly how it plans to launch two married astronauts on an ambitious manned flyby mission to the Red Planet by early 2018, a scenario that would involve NASA and federal funding along with a healthy dose of the pioneering spirit.

The Inspiration Mars project — which is led by multimillionaire Dennis Tito, the world's first space tourist — hopes to partner with NASA, using much of the space agency's equipment and expertise as well as an infusion of federal money to get off the launch pad by early January 2018.

"Perhaps several hundred million dollars in new federal spending can make this mission happen," Inspiration Mars officials wrote in a report, released today, that outlines the mission's proposed architecture. "We now call on our nation’s leaders to seize this singular opportunity to begin human exploration of the solar system and affirm America’s leadership throughout the world."

The proposed "Mission for America" would launch a married couple toward the Red Planet sometime between Dec. 25, 2017 and Jan. 5, 2018, to take advantage of a rare favorable alignment of Mars and Earth.

The two astronauts would not land on the Red Planet but would cruise within 100 miles (160 kilometers) of its surface before heading back home, eventually touching down on Earth in May 2019 after spending 501 days in space.



An artist's depiction of the planned Inspiration Mars spacecraft to send a married couple on a flyby mission around Mars.


The flyby mission will help inspire the next generation of researchers and engineers, preserving America's competitive edge in science and technology, Inspiration Mars officials say. It should also lay the foundation for even more ambitious manned exploration of the solar system, they add.

"There'll be a lot of science return and techology return," Taber MacCallum, Inspiration Mars' chief technology officer, told reporters during a teleconference today. "We will, I think, sort of break the sound barrier for going to Mars and back, enabling a range of missions to occur in the future."

The current mission plan, as outlined in the report, calls for using NASA's Space Launch System mega-rocket (SLS), which is in development with a first flight slated for late 2017.

The flyby mission would require two launches in quick succession. In the first liftoff, an SLS would loft four payloads to Earth orbit: an SLS upper-stage rocket; a 600-cubic-foot habitat module derived from Orbital Sciences' Cygnus cargo vessel; a service module that would support the habitat module with power, propulsion and communications systems; and an Earth re-entry pod, which would be based on NASA's Orion capsule.

The second launch — this one likely using a commercial rocket — would deliver the two astronauts to orbit aboard a yet-to-be-selected private spaceship. The crewmembers would then transfer to the habitat module, and the SLS upper stage would propel them on toward Mars.



This image from an Inspiration Mars fact sheet shows the nonprofit space exploration group's vision


The married couple would spend virtually the entire mission in the habitat module, transferring to the re-entry pod in the last few hours of the mission.

Inspiration Mars officials acknowledge that making all of this happen will be challenging. The re-entry pod, for example, will have to protect the astronauts from the blazing heat generated when it slams into Earth's atmosphere at about 32,000 mph (51,500 km/h).

But it can be done, and the current plan — which emphasizes the use of technology already proven or in development whenever possible — gives the mission the best chance of success, Inspiration Mars officials say.

"We submit this report with unreserved faith in the men and women of NASA, with a singleminded commitment to surmounting every obstacle, and with complete confidence that this mission can be done," they write in the report.


http://news.yahoo.com/details-1st-private-manned-mars-flyby-mission-unveiled-231354194.html

[Buster's Uncle]

World's first space tourist gives details on manned mission to Mars in 2017
By Kwame Opam on November 20, 2013 04:19 pm



dennis tito (Wikimedia)



Dennis Tito, the American entrepreneur who paid $20 million in 2001 for a trip to the International Space Station, spoke before a House subcommittee on space today to outline his plans for reaching Mars. According to Tito, the "Inspiration Mars" endeavor will be a fly-by mission that'll take two astronauts 808 million miles from Earth to Mars and back again in 501 days. And he'll need more than $1 billion to do it.
 

No longer is a Mars fly-by mission just one more theoretical idea. It can be done.

The plan works within a narrow timeline that takes advantage of a rare alignment in Earth and Mars' orbits. According to Tito's written testimony, the launch will need to take place between Christmas 2017 and January 5th, 2018 to ensure a speedy trip. So to pull that off, Inspiration Mars will need complete cooperation from NASA — the two-man crew aboard the Inspiration Mars' commercial craft will need the space agency's huge Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to propel them there. The SLS rocket is still under development.

This plan comes at a premium, however, and nothing is assured just yet. Tito told the committee that he expects private donors to give $300 million in funding, and needs the government to pony up $700 million. NASA, for its part, issued a careful statement in October saying, "The agency will continue discussions with them to see how NASA might collaborate on mutually-beneficial activities that could complement NASA’s human spaceflight, space technology and Mars exploration plans. The agency has not made any commitments to Inspiration Mars related to launch vehicles." Having just weathered a government shutdown, it can be assumed the agency is in no rush to fund anything just yet.

Tito has been pushing for a manned mission to Mars since February, and there's still time for the plan to get off the ground. Once all the details concerning funding and development are ironed out, it will fall on NASA to determine if a launch in Tito's proposed window is possible.


http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/20/5126764/worlds-first-space-tourist-gives-details-on-manned-mission-to-mars

[Geo]

What happened with his millions? He can't pay up something himself?

[Buster's Uncle]

He's not a Billionaire.

[Geo]

He had enough spare cash to spent $20 million on his own trip over a decade ago. Wonder what's the size of his bank accounts is now...