Posted on 03/28/2007 6:21:59 PM PDT by KevinDavis
March 28, 2007: The landing site is unknown. The rockets are still on the drawing board. Some of the astronauts haven't even been born yet.
Never mind all that. NASA's journey to Mars has already begun.
The first steps are being taken onboard the International Space Station (ISS). "Astronauts are stationed on the ISS for six months at a time," says Dr. Clarence Sams, lead scientist for the ISS Medical Project at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC). "Coincidentally, that's about how long it takes to travel to Mars. We can't simulate every aspect of a 50 million mile journey to Mars," he says, "but there are many questions we can answer from low Earth orbit."
(Excerpt) Read more at science.nasa.gov ...
see also:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1794297/posts
(more background)
One thing that would be helpfull is the fact that they should be able to lose much of the bulk of a spacesuit on mars. They'll still need them obviously but the mobility of an easier to wear suit will be a big plus.
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