Motivations
That is an thrilling however unsure time in area exploration. For the primary time in many years, NASA is creating new {hardware} that may take people into deep area. Industrial companions are offering entry to low-Earth orbit.
However NASA’s finances has shrunk whereas its commitments have grown. What can NASA do with this new functionality?
The Planetary Society believes that Mars ought to be the aim for human spaceflight. NASA shares this perception. Nonetheless, the 2014 Nationwide Academies report, Pathways to Exploration, acknowledged that present plans for getting people to Mars are unaffordable underneath reasonable finances projections.
The Planetary Society carried out this workshop and wrote this report in an effort so as to add a constructive voice to the dialog about the way forward for human spaceflight. The query we need to tackle: “is there a approach to construct a sustainable, executable, and inexpensive program to get people to Mars?”
We consider {that a} long-term, targeted, and step-wise method to Mars exploration might present the mandatory framework to construct a broad coalition wanted to assist this endeavor. Orbiting first is a sensible answer to the issue of year-to-year affordability whereas nonetheless clearly advancing the humans-to-Mars aim.
We are going to use the outcomes and knowledge gathered on the workshop as a cornerstone in our efforts to positively impact the path of NASA’s human spaceflight program.
