A nonprofit foundation is seeking to recruit a man and a woman, potentially a married couple, for a minimalistic 501-day journey to Mars and back, according to project organizers.
This mission, anticipated to exceed US$1 billion in costs, will be financed privately through donations and sponsorships.
Dennis Tito, the project’s founder and a multimillionaire who in 2001 spent US$20 million for a trip to the International Space Station, mentioned that he will cover the start-up expenses for the first two years to initiate the development of essential life-support systems and other crucial technologies.
Presently, the U.S. has no operational human spaceships, although several are progressing through development and are expected to be in the air by 2017.
This situation leaves limited time to seize a rare planetary alignment that would enable a spacecraft to loop around Mars, coming as close as approximately 240 kilometers to the planet’s surface before heading back to Earth.
The launch window for the mission is set to open on January 5, 2018, with the next chance not occurring until 2031.
Tito remarked, “If we don’t make 2018, we’re going to have some competition in 2031.”
He added, “By that time, there will be many others that will be reaching for this low-hanging fruit, and it really is low-hanging fruit.” Tito established the nonprofit Inspiration Mars Foundation to facilitate the mission.
Taber MacCallum, the project’s chief technical officer, stated that the U.S. industry welcomes this challenge.
“That’s the kind of bold thing we used to be able to do,” MacCallum commented, who also heads Paragon Space Development Corp.
He expressed, “We’ve shirked away from risk. I think just seriously contemplating this mission recalibrates what we believe is a risk worth taking for America.”
TIGHT QUARTERS
The spacecraft is intended to be minimalistic, providing about 17 cubic meters of living space for a two-person crew. Mission planners prefer to have a man and a woman, ideally a married couple who would be able to maintain compatibility during an extended period of isolation.
The capsule will be equipped with a life-support system similar to NASA’s, which recycles air, water, urine, and perspiration.
“This is going to be a very austere mission. You don’t necessarily have to follow all of NASA’s guidelines for air quality and water quality. This is going to be a Lewis and Clark trip to Mars,” MacCallum stated, referencing the explorers who journeyed across the uncharted American Northwest in 1803.
If the launch takes place on January 5, 2018, the capsule is projected to reach Mars 228 days later, looping around its far side before slingshotting back toward Earth.
The return journey will last 273 days, culminating in an unprecedented 51,119-kph crash into Earth’s atmosphere.
Once the spaceship is en route, there will be no option for a return.
“If something goes wrong, they’re not coming back,” MacCallum explained.
The crew would dedicate a substantial amount of their time to maintaining their habitat, conducting scientific experiments, and communicating with individuals on Earth.
Tito anticipates that the costs will be comparable to a robotic mission to Mars, noting that NASA’s ongoing Curiosity rover mission cost US$2.5 billion, while a subsequent mission aimed for launch in 2020 is expected to cost US$1.5 billion.
“You’re essentially conducting this mission without a propulsion system on the spacecraft. It’s in the simplest form possible,” Tito mentioned.
NASA is developing a heavy-lift rocket and Orion space capsule that could transport crews of four to an asteroid and eventually to Mars.
“We can just barely, every 15 years, fly by Mars with the systems we have right now,” MacCallum remarked. “We’re striving to be a stepping-stone.”
