Mission to Mars

We need to get to Mars, and we have to get there by 2033. At least, that’s what Norm Augustine, former chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin, Mark Kelly, former NASA astronaut, and Scott Hubbard, former director of the NASA Ames Research Center, think.

“With great pride and confidence, our new President and Congress should commit together to NASA sending Americans to Mars by 2033—a realistic goal consistent with the demands of both rocket science and political science,” a recent article by Wired states.

The article cites three clear and simple reasons why the U.S. needs to get to Mars so quickly. The first reason is for science. With the recent discoveries about Mars, especially the existence of water and the possibility of microbial life, the article states that getting there “offers the chance to help answer a fundamental question: ‘Are we alone?'” The second reason is more practical, as “a national push to go to Mars would require new technologies, goods, and services that would yield an enormous return on investment to our economy. With such an effort, the American space program could generate considerable economic activity and create many US-based jobs.”

Finally, the third is a matter of principle: “Americans must not cede the finish line,” the Wired article claims. China, the European Space Agency, and even Russia have plans to get to Mars — although Russia would probably settle on the moon first.

Team Effort

Now, 2033 isn’t an arbitrary date. It is an estimate that has been calculated based on current progress. Getting to Mars is, predictably, technologically and logistically taxing. But, thankfully, it’s a team effort between NASA and multiple private space companies, notably SpaceX.

Experts write:

The dream of sending people to Mars is alive. We need to make the program and strategy to do it a reality. The alternative is to give up, to take our players off the field, to concede the human exploration space frontier to other countries, and thereby guarantee defeat. […]

The big question before us and our leaders in Washington is whether we will make the investments and develop the plan we need to ensure that budding explorer and soon-to-be pioneer is an American.

In past years, the government hasn’t been remiss in ensuring the success of US space exploration efforts. Last December 2016, U.S lawmakers passed a bill for NASA’s budget for fiscal year 2017. “Today, NASA’s budget is 0.5 percent of the federal budget; the agency receives about $19 billion per year, of which about $8 billion is spent on human space flight,” according to the wired article.

The dream to reach Mars isn’t as far off as it had been when it was first conceived in the 1960s. And thanks to efforts from both the public and private sectors, we may actually get there by the hopeful year of 2033. Augustine, Kelly, and Hubbard are keeping their fingers crossed: “We hope the world will watch us be the first to send Americans to Mars and bring them home safely.”