NASA: Obama's re-election draws up plans for a mission to Mars by 2030s

[Deleted_171835]

Space.com has been told that NASA is likely to reveal a set of ambitious goals now that Obama has been re-elected.

Assuming that the rumored plans are indeed true, the next twenty to thirty years of space exploration might play out like a real-life Carl Sagan fantasy. Items on the rumored docket include: more manned missions to the moon, a manned outpost on the far side of the moon, a mission sending astronauts to an asteroid by 2025, and the commencement of manned missions to Mars by the mid-2030s.

In 2010, President Obama directed NASA to work toward sending astronauts to a near-Earth asteroid by 2025, then on to the vicinity of Mars by the mid-2030s. To reach such deep-space destinations, the agency is developing a huge rocket called the Space Launch System (SLS) and a crew capsule named Orion.

NASA officials think they can pull off such manned missions without busting their budget, which stands at $17.7 billion in the proposed 2013 federal budget.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slat...end_men_to_the_moon_an_asteroid_and_mars.html

 

[Fishaman P]

I was under the impression NASA was dead.
This is a pleasant surprise!

 

[Hadrian]

Fuck the economy, I want a Moonbase!

I can see Obama being less like other Presidents and being more risky in his second term.

 

[Gahars]

Proof that Obama is a secret communist: He's sending us to the "Red" Planet.

 

[chyyran]

Like Obamacare, it's great, but I don't feel that the US can afford it at the moment.. Don't get me wrong, Obama > Romney by quite a large margin IMO, and this is great news, I love space exploration, but I'm afraid that it'll just pull the US further in debt, and the rest of the world along with it.


Meh, who cares, it's a fucking moon base.

 

[KingVamp]

Proof that Obama is a secret communistrepublican: He's sending us to the "Red" Planet.

Cool, I will be able to see people go to Mars in my life time. If SOMEONE doesn't jinx me. >.>

 

[Qtis]

Like Obamacare, it's great, but I don't feel that the US can afford it at the moment.. Don't get me wrong, Obama > Romney by quite a large margin IMO, and this is great news, I love space exploration, but I'm afraid that it'll just pull the US further in debt, and the rest of the world along with it.


Meh, who cares, it's a fucking moon base.

Most likely it'll end up being an international operation like the ISS, which was too expensive for one country alone, but was possible with help and money from multiple nations.

"To infinity and beyond!"

 

[chartube12]

But we owe china trillions of dollars. Does he plan on selling them the rights to any technology made in the process of said exploration?

 

[Qtis]

But we owe china trillions of dollars. Does he plan on selling them the rights to any technology made in the process of said exploration?

No offense, but regardless of what you think of China or Obama, China just cannot take all the loans back in one go. And it's not like Obama's the one producing stuff in China. It's, you know, the American companies among others. Also even though the country could be said to own part of the US already, it just cannot stop loaning money and the US cannot stop loaning money (at least at the moment).

 

[chartube12]

sarcasm is lost on you.

 

[Deleted member 194275]

They decided to run a space race alone. At least they will be the winner this time for sure.

I do not doubt of the NASA discoveries, but, it is just good to work on NASA administration, they say "there is liquid water on a ANY-CODE-000-PLANTET" and gov give them money, after that they say that they need to catch some martian radio signal, to defend the earth and stuff, and the gov put even more money. And a lot of other stuffs like diamond planets, and mysterious lights floating around, everything can be used to get more and more money.

 

[Qtis]

They decided to run a space race alone. At least they will be the winner this time for sure.

Alone? Nope. China for example is doing exactly the same with their Mars mission. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_space_program#Mission_to_Mars_and_beyond

Link is for a Wikipedia article, since most of the other sources are in Chinese..

 

[Janthran]

But Obama won't be office by then. :o

 

[DiscostewSM]

I may not be an Obama fan, but I have always been interested in space. Darn you Star Trek!!!!