Obama says work has begun on habitats to
help humans reach Mars
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[October 12, 2016]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.
President Barack Obama, highlighting his pledge to send people to Mars
by the 2030s, on Tuesday announced further public-private efforts to
build habitats that could help humans live long-term far from the Earth.
"We are working with our commercial partners to build new habitats that
can sustain and transport astronauts on long-duration missions in deep
space. These missions will teach us how humans can live far from Earth -
something we'll need for the long journey to Mars," Obama said in an
opinion piece on CNN's website.
His comments come ahead of a meeting planned by the White House in
Pittsburgh this week to team up scientists, students and others to
advance the commercial space market, Obama said.
NASA separately said it was coordinating with commercial space companies
to develop "deep space habitat modules" and create opportunities for
companies to use the International Space Station's docking port.
Obama has previously sought to boost space exploration and renewed that
pledge on Tuesday: "We have set a clear goal vital to the next chapter
of America's story in space: sending humans to Mars by the 2030s and
returning them safely to Earth, with the ultimate ambition to one day
remain there for an extended time."
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The two-term president's recommitment comes in the final months of his
tenure and faces an uncertain future after he leaves office in January.
His successors will be chosen on Nov. 8 in an election that could also
reshape Congress, which allocates government funding.
Obama, a self-described "nerd" who last year hosted budding astronomers
at the White House, has made known his love of space. Democratic
presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her rival, Republican Donald
Trump, have given little, if any, attention to the issue on the campaign
trail.
Humans have yet to travel to Mars, Earth's neighbor some 35 million
miles (56 million km) away. Like Earth, the so-called Red Planet also
has seasons, and a 2012 National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) mission found conditions there once supported microbial life,
according to the U.S. space agency.
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Dark, narrow, 100 meter-long streaks on Mars inferred to have been
formed by contemporary flowing water are seen in an image produced
by NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the University of
Arizona. Scientists have found the first evidence that briny water
may flow on the surface of Mars during the planet's summer months, a
paper published on Monday showed. NASA/JPL/University of
Arizona/Handout
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It would take about eight months to get there, depending on rocket
velocity, according to NASA experts.
Efforts to fund the space program have faltered in recent years over
concerns about fiscal priorities.
As part of the space habitat effort, NASA said on Tuesday it was
entering the so-called "proving ground" stage to demonstrate and
test various technologies over the next 10 years.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Mohammad Zargham and Andrew
Hay)
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