Space experts worry that the United States does not reach Mars by 2030

TAMPA – The United States promised to send the first humans to Mars by the 2030s, but space experts and lawmakers have expressed concern that the planning and lack of funds are delaying these plans.

the goal of again sending Americans to the moon for the first time since the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 1970s, by building a lunar bridge to test technology and the spaceships that will transport the humans to Mars.

? "Underground lake" found on the red planet

At a hearing in Washington, Senator Bill Nelson declared that the White House's decision to return to the moon – a program that the former president Barack Obama quit to reach Mars – could "We do not want to steal NASA's budget from the goal, and the goal is to reach Mars with humans," said Nelson, a Democrat of Florida, which is home to Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center

"Do these missions help us reach our goal of bringing humans to Mars?" In 1965, an independent panel of experts called the Augustine Commission warned that NASA's resources did not match its lofty goals.

With an annual budget of about $ 18 billion, NASA would need an additional $ 3 billion.

READ : The formation of the Mars crust is produced quickly: study

NASA officials said that this year they were trying to create a deep space program with much less, using only increases based on inflation in the budget.

And the National Academies of Science calculated that if NASA's budget continued on its current path, "forget the scenario of arriving at Mars in the 2030s."

"I do not think that we wanted to wait that long. "

Global Partners Concerned

In 2017, NASA's congressional authorization law required NASA to define and present to Congress a plan step by step step to reach Mars.

"We have not yet this road map. It's seven months late, "said Nelson.

" What gives? Let's see the program to go to Mars and see where all this is. "

READ : NASA data show that Mars needed ingredients for life

Testimony in the hearing, Chris Carberry, The general manager of Mars said that international and private partnerships could help the United States make Mars more affordable.

"Our international partners want us to lead," he told lawmakers. direction. "They are not sure we will follow the direction."

READ : NASA plans to send a mini-helicopter to Mars

More so, the experts of the Aerospace have identified a dozen technologies "We need to start working almost immediately if we have the hope of landing humans on Mars in the 2030s." Carberry added.

These include the development of spaceships that can survive difficult entry on Mars and land softly. like the ability to get people out of the surface and back to Earth.
Carberry said, "We need to start working on them now."

Praying bipartisan support for NASA, he sees among legislators, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican who heads the Senate subcommittee. He hopes the next NASA funding bill will present a longer term vision rather than going year after year.

READ : South Africa will see the longest eclipse in a century

This next authorization from NASA, the hope is that it will go over far and be bolder in his aspirations, "he said.

Cruz then asked retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who spent an American record of 665 days in space

"The most important thing is the constancy of the goal," she replied, "

" We need to have a vision that lasts more than one administration.We must have a budget line that will support the goals and objectives we are trying to achieve. "

AFP