Mars Flyby Proposed for 2021 NASA Astronaut Mission
A space agency trip around the red planet for astronauts has picked up some supporters in Congress.
Mars or bust? A daring mission to send NASA astronauts on a nearly 600-day mission to fly by Mars and Venus in the early 2020s has picked up some fans in the U.S. Congress. (See: "Future of Spaceflight.")
Even as NASA confirmed plans in its latest budget proposal Tuesday to develop a human mission to visit a nearby asteroid, members of the House Science Committee endorsed the alternative Mars mission.
"It is the least complex mission profile for reaching the Mars vicinity," said Doug Cooke, a former NASA associate administrator for exploration, during a committee hearing on February 27. "The mission provides an opportunity for an incredible first step that will make travel to Mars real to
