Page 63 - (DK) Eyewitness - Mars

Manned missions to Mars

Mars swings closest to Earth every two years, when a trip between
the two planets requires 180 days. September 2007 offers the next
opportunity to launch a manned program to Mars, but likely is too
soon. NASA is considering the launching of three landers loaded
with gear, supplies, and an astronaut return-vehicle. Two years later,
two more supply landers would be sent. These would be followed
two years after that by a spacecraft with a crew. Manned missions
then could be sent every two years.

A BASE ON MARS Model of
The transit module that carried the transit module
astronauts to Mars would serve as the
crew’s main quarters during their stay.
Solar arrays would provide power,
and astronauts could travel in large-
sized rovers. Short-term stays would
last 30–90 days, while long-term stays
could be as long as 600 days.
ASTRONAUT GEOLOGISTS
Even the most sophisticated robotic rovers cannot go where
Large-scale rover an astronaut can. Future astronauts investigating Martian
geology may rappel their way down cliff faces in search of
specimens or to study rock formations up close. This artist’s
Solar panels rendering shows astronauts scouting an outcrop, which they
reached in a rover-type vehicle.

FUTURE SPACECRAFT
Laser-powered stations might one day propel
spacecraft throughout the Solar System, as
shown in this painting, which was created for
NASA. The craft’s dish antenna connects with a
distant laser beam that provides energy. This
spacecraft design is based on NASA studies, but
since hardware and technology change rapidly,
new space vessels will likely be different from
the one pictured here.

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