Latest news with #MoontoMarsProgram
Business Mayor
17-05-2025
- Science
- Business Mayor
The challenges facing Elon Musk and NASA in sending humans to Mars
President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the world's richest man, want to make living on Mars a reality. Musk has said that his company, SpaceX, can get humans to Mars as early as 2029. Meanwhile, NASA officials have said that sending humans to Mars even by 2040 would be an 'audacious' goal. China also has ambitions, with the country planning to establish an autonomous Mars research station by 2038. In Musk's view, going to Mars is tantamount to preserving humanity and escaping the ever-growing threats to Earth, including natural disasters and warfare. For scientists, Mars offers possible answers to questions such as the prevalence and diversity of life in the universe. 'The early Earth and Mars were twins. They were both rocky planets with liquid water, CO2 dominated atmospheres,' says Robert Zubrin, president of The Mars Society, a nonprofit. 'So if the theory is correct that life originates naturally from chemistry, wherever the right physical and chemical conditions, then it should have appeared on Mars.' But landing humans on Mars and settling the planet will mean overcoming a number of daunting technical challenges and risks that humans have never before faced. 'The Mars landing problem is complicated. The transit problem, super complicated. You know, the radiation environment is very severe. The life support problem. The reliability has to be super high,' said Amit Kshatriya, deputy associate administrator of the Moon to Mars Program at NASA, during a panel discussion in February. 'The propulsion capability is not – you know, we got to get better in all those areas.' At the core of Musk's plan to reach Mars is the tallest and most powerful rocket ever built: Starship. In March, SpaceX conducted Starship's eighth test flight. While SpaceX was able to successfully retrieve the Super Heavy booster, the Starship spacecraft exploded, leaving a trail of debris in its wake and disrupting commercial flights. SpaceX's next test flight for Starship is expected soon. CNBC visited the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah to get a behind-the-scenes look at what life on Mars could be like, and spoke to experts about what challenges remain to landing humans on the red planet. Watch the video to find out more.
CNBC
17-05-2025
- Science
- CNBC
The challenges facing Elon Musk and NASA in sending humans to Mars
President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the world's richest man, want to make living on Mars a reality. Musk has said that his company, SpaceX, can get humans to Mars as early as 2029. Meanwhile, NASA officials have said that sending humans to Mars even by 2040 would be an "audacious" goal. China also has ambitions, with the country planning to establish an autonomous Mars research station by 2038. In Musk's view, going to Mars is tantamount to preserving humanity and escaping the ever-growing threats to Earth, including natural disasters and warfare. For scientists, Mars offers possible answers to questions such as the prevalence and diversity of life in the universe. "The early Earth and Mars were twins. They were both rocky planets with liquid water, CO2 dominated atmospheres," says Robert Zubrin, president of The Mars Society, a nonprofit. "So if the theory is correct that life originates naturally from chemistry, wherever the right physical and chemical conditions, then it should have appeared on Mars." But landing humans on Mars and settling the planet will mean overcoming a number of daunting technical challenges and risks that humans have never before faced. "The Mars landing problem is complicated. The transit problem, super complicated. You know, the radiation environment is very severe. The life support problem. The reliability has to be super high," said Amit Kshatriya, deputy associate administrator of the Moon to Mars Program at NASA, during a panel discussion in February. "The propulsion capability is not – you know, we got to get better in all those areas." At the core of Musk's plan to reach Mars is the tallest and most powerful rocket ever built: Starship. In March, SpaceX conducted Starship's eighth test flight. While SpaceX was able to successfully retrieve the Super Heavy booster, the Starship spacecraft exploded, leaving a trail of debris in its wake and disrupting commercial flights. SpaceX's next test flight for Starship is expected soon. CNBC visited the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah to get a behind-the-scenes look at what life on Mars could be like, and spoke to experts about what challenges remain to landing humans on the red planet. Watch the video to find out more.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Space photo of the day for May 7, 2025
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. NASA and Lockheed Martin officials pose together during a handover ceremony for the Artemis 2 Orion spacecraft at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 1, 2025. | Credit: NASA/Cory S. Huston With the completion of its assembly and testing of the first Orion spacecraft set to fly astronauts to the moon, Lockheed Martin transferred possession of the Artemis 2 capsule to NASA's Exploration Ground Systems team. What is it? A modern spacecraft deserves a modern set of keys, so when it came time to hand over the Artemis 2 spacecraft to NASA, Lockheed Martin presented the space agency's Exploration Ground Systems team with a ceremonial enlarged key fob, complete with Artemis 2 mission patch key ring dongle. From the left to right: Kelvin Manning, acting director of NASA's Kennedy Space Center; Shawn Quinn, Exploration Ground Systems program manager; Lakiesha Hawkins, assistant deputy associate administrator, Moon to Mars Program office; Howard Hu, Orion program manager; Debbie Korth, Orion deputy program manager. Where is it? The May 1, 2025, handover ceremony took place inside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Artemis 2 Orion spacecraft was then moved to the Multi-Payload Processing Facility three days later to undergo fueling and processing for prelaunch operations. Why is it amazing? Beyond the fun fob, the Artemis 2 Orion is the first spacecraft in more than 50 years to begin launch preparations to fly astronauts to the moon. The mission will see NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch together with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen fly around the moon, possibly flying further away from Earth than any human has ever done so. "This achievement is a testament to our employees and suppliers who have worked tirelessly to get us to this important milestone," said Kirk Shireman, vice president of Human Space Exploration and Orion program manager at Lockheed Martin, in a statement. "The Orion spacecraft completion for Artemis 2 is a major step forward in our nation's efforts to develop a long-term lunar presence." "It's exciting to think that soon, humans will see the Earth rise over the lunar horizon from our vehicle," he said. Want to know more? You can read more about the Artemis 2 Orion spacecraft hand over to NASA and the latest about the assembly of the mission's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. You can also read about the mission's patch as reproduced as part of the ceremonial key fob.
