US President Donald Trump wants the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to have the human mission to Mars, more known as the Mars One mission, by the end of his supposedly second term by 2024. However, the space agency believes that it is not feasible due to the cost and technical assistance.
In an article published in Space News, Trump had a conversation with NASA astronauts Peggy Whitson and Jack Fischer on the International Space Station last April 24, asking if they could have the mission by 2024. However, Whitson and Fischer said that it is not feasible because of its cost and it should still be pushed through in the 2030s, as what the bill has stated.
The bill, which is the NASA authorization act that Trump has signed into law last March 21, indicated that the Mars One mission will be feasible approximately by the 2030s. The bill also includes a requirement for NASA to have a contract with an independent non-governmental systems engineering and technical assistance organization in order to study the feasibility of human Mars mission by 2033.
"Unfortunately, spaceflight takes a lot of time and money, so getting there will require some international cooperation to get it to be a planet-wide approach in order to make it successful, just because it is a very expensive endeavor," Whitson said to Trump. She also added that it would be worthwhile doing.
However, Trump still insisted for the mission to have a faster timeline. He said that he wants to start it by his first term or "at worst," during his second term. He emphasized that he signed the bill that would help NASA in sending American astronauts to Mars so it would make sense if the space agency would have an accelerated timeframe.
Currently, NASA does not plan on starting the project of sending a human mission to Mars orbit any earlier than 2033. Unlike what Trump wants, they want to build up a Deep Space Gateway, a habitat in cislunar space, in the 2020s.
Previously, Whitson broke her own record for the NASA astronaut with most days in space. NASA reported that Trump congratulated her with this achievement.
If Trump's plan would push through, it would run to some issues like the development of spacecraft needed for the mission and some key technologies. NASA reiterated that they need to operate the ISS through 2024 in order to test life support systems needed for the Mars One mission.
