Dream of Mars exploration achievable
US: NASA and private sector experts now agree that a man or
woman could be sent on a mission to Mars over the next 20 years, despite
huge challenges.
The biggest names in space exploration, among them top officials from
the US space agency and Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon,
will discuss the latest projects at a three-day conference starting
Monday in the US capital.
Renewed interest in the red planet has triggered the launch of
several initiatives in recent months, including one proposing a simple
one-way trip to cut costs.
The American public also favours sending astronauts to Mars,
according to a survey by non-profit group Explore Mars and aerospace
giant Boeing.
The poll in March of more than a thousand people published in March
found that 71 percent of Americans expect that humans will land on Mars
by 2033.
Seventy-five percent say NASA's budget should be doubled to one
percent of the federal budget to fund a mission to Mars and other
initiatives.
NASA receives only 0.5 percent of the US federal budget, compared to
four percent during the Apollo project to conquer the moon in the 1960s.
The US space agency's chief Charles Bolden has stressed that "a human
mission to Mars is a priority." AFP |