"We're the kind of species that needs a frontier — for fundamental biological reasons. Every time humanity stretches itself and turns a new corner, it receives a jolt of productive vitality that can carry it for centuries. There is a new world next door. And we know how to get there." - Carl Sagan
The idea that one day astronauts might step into a tiny tin can and soar into the untouched vastness of space once again, inspires me in a way that no other idea can. It makes me think about what it means to be human, and question what our true limitations as a species are. There is a transcendent quality about the challenge of reaching Mars, a quality that borders on the realm of myth and legend. And yet, Mars still floats untouched, a crimson beacon in the sky, beckoning for us to reach higher if we dare.
Ever since the Apollo program's Moon landings set a stirring precedent for the possibilities of human spaceflight decades ago, a manned mission to Mars has remained only a dream. Over the years, in the hopes of reaching Mars once and for all, NASA has drawn up several ambitious mission proposals to get us there, but budget shortfalls and a lack of political will, have doomed them all to be cancelled. As of 2015, NASA's plan is to continue to building a powerful rocket capable of bringing a spacecraft to Mars, named the Space Launch System (SLS). Unfortunately, due to the unpredictable nature of American politics and the constraints of NASA's budget, there is no guarantee that the SLS program won't be cut before it launches humans for the first time 2021. In an attempt to free up more money, NASA has depended on the Russian Soyuz rocket for transport of astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), and is now awarding contracts to private aerospace companies like Boeing and SpaceX to develop an American spacecraft capable of reaching the ISS. Frustration with NASA's Mars program, has led private companies like SpaceX, to announce their own ambitions of exploring Mars. In this blog, I'll be discussing how a Mars mission can be planned and the technological and political challenges that must be overcome before astronauts can ever plant their boots on Martian soil.
