Month: July 2020

Human Exploration of Mars is on the Horizon

During an event today with the Space Foundation, I was excited to be part of a discussion on how our upcoming Mars 2020 Perseverance launch and the Artemis program are critical to opening the door to smarter, safer human missions to Mars.

Throughout our history, people have always explored the world around them to discover the unknown, find new resources, expand their presence, and improve their existence. This primordial urge continues within us today, driving humanity to overcome what we once thought impossible. It is pushing our limits beyond terrestrial borders and farther into the universe.

We have a big agenda to return to the Moon by 2024, and to do so sustainably by the end of the decade. Our sights remain set on sending humans to Mars and the Artemis program will give us the experience living on another world closer to home. Artemis missions on and around the Moon will help us make our next giant leap while robots like the Perseverance rover pave the way for our first human explorers to Mars.

Among the investigations onboard, the rover will carry two that will support future crewed missions to the fourth planet – one to produce oxygen from the Martian atmosphere and another to aid in development of weather forecasting. The mission will also use new terrain navigation and landing technologies as well as study how a potential spacesuit material is affected by the Martian environment.

It’s crazy to think this, but we know more about Mars today than we did about the Moon when we sent the first humans to the lunar surface. The Perseverance rover as well as future Mars Sample Return and Mars Ice Mapper missions will teach us even more about the Martian environment and water resources before we send astronauts on the most challenging human exploration mission in our history.

An investment in the Moon is an investment in Mars

We’re going to the Moon with the purpose of getting to Mars – I absolutely believe this is the right approach technically and politically. What do I mean by that? It means we’re prioritizing investments today in lunar exploration that support successful human exploration of Mars in the future. Both destinations are hard, but possible with our current approach.

Our plans for the Artemis program will ultimately lead us to a better understanding of the deep space environment, allow us to design and test common Moon-Mars systems and mature specific technologies needed for the Mars journey. The first woman and next man will land on the Moon by 2024 and help us take our next steps toward greater exploration than ever before.

Just as we’re doing at the Moon, we will build up our capabilities at Mars over time, and we anticipate sending humans to the fourth planet as early as the 2030s. What seems like science fiction – getting a crew to Mars, landing them on the surface to explore and conduct experiments, and bringing them safely home – is on the horizon!

We’re planning for our first round-trip voyage to Mars to take about two years using advanced propulsion systems to enable a faster journey while limiting radiation exposure for our astronauts and other mission risks. Our preferred launch window will give the crew about 30 days on the Martian surface, which is ample time to search for life on another world. Other options could require crew to be on the surface for more than a year and away from Earth for as long as three years, but it will be a long time before we have the funding, technology, supplies, and capabilities to sustain such a mission.

In our new video below, we highlight just six of the technologies NASA is developing right now to push human missions farther in the solar system: advanced propulsion, inflatable entry and landing systems, high-tech spacesuits, a Martian home and lab on wheels, an uninterrupted power source, and laser communications.

While we’re continuing to refine our overall Mars architecture, I encourage you to read our new document, How Investing in the Moon is Preparing NASA for Mars.

Finally, don’t forget to tune in to NASA TV for our upcoming launch! Perseverance is heading for the Red Planet at 7:50 a.m. EDT, July 30 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Go Perseverance! Go Artemis!

Congratulations to the UAE on an Inspiring Mission of Hope

On behalf of NASA, I congratulate our friends in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the launch of the Emirates Mars Mission, Hope. Today marks the culmination of tremendous hard work, focus, and dedication, as well as the beginning of the UAE’s journey to Mars with the ultimate goal of human habitation of the Red Planet. This mission is aptly named since it’s a symbol of inspiration for the UAE, the region, and the world.

We are in awe of the speed and commitment the UAE, through both the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center and the UAE Space Agency, has demonstrated in developing its first interplanetary spacecraft. Moreover, your dedication to advancing the world’s understanding of Mars by publicly sharing the science and data produced by Hope represents the values of unity, peace, and transparency, that will be so important as humanity moves ever farther into the solar system.

We are pleased American universities, including the University of Colorado at Boulder, Arizona State University, and the University of California, Berkeley, were able to assist you in this mission. We are also happy to facilitate NASA’s Deep Space Network to communicate with Hope. All of us at NASA are excited about the prospects for ambitious future partnerships with the UAE in low-Earth orbit and, via the Artemis program, on and around the Moon with the ultimate destination of Mars.

Even during these challenging times, humanity’s spirit of exploration and curiosity remain undeterred. We’re eager for our own Mars mission, Perseverance, to join Hope on its journey to explore Mars. Much like the UAE and the United States of America here on Earth, our two spacecraft will travel to Mars together to benefit the entire world.

Congratulations again, and Go Hope!

45th Anniversary of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project

The United States and Russia have a long and productive history of civil space cooperation dating back to a significant time in the history of our respective nations. On July 17, 1975, NASA astronauts Thomas Stafford, Vance Brand, and Deke Slayton broke free of Cold War tensions and Earth’s gravity to shake hands with Soviet cosmonauts Alexey Leonov and Valery Kubasov in a moment forever associated with peaceful cooperation in space. More than the first time two spacecraft from different nations docked together in orbit, this mission symbolized the potential of what could be achieved when nations work together to further mutual objectives.

Who could have foreseen that this “handshake in space” would lay the foundation for the tremendous accomplishments of the subsequent decades?  From Apollo-Soyuz to the Shuttle-Mir program in the 1990s – from decades-long cooperation on scientific exploration of the Moon and Mars to the International Space Station – together our nations have pushed the boundaries of technology and undertaken new challenges on behalf of humanity.

NASA and the Russian space agency Roscosmos are key contributors to one of the world’s greatest technological achievements, the International Space Station. Together with space agencies from Europe, Japan, and Canada, we built an unprecedented research laboratory in low-Earth orbit. For more than 20 years, U.S. and Russian crews have lived and worked shoulder-to-shoulder aboard the International Space Station. Greater still, more than a hundred countries have used the space station’s capabilities to conduct research and increase the scope of human knowledge.

Space exploration has become a global endeavor that yields advances in science, technology, innovation, and diplomacy for the benefit all of humanity. Nations around the world have navigated complex relationships to achieve unprecedented accomplishments together in space. Although it has not always been easy, the shared experiences of astronauts, cosmonauts, scientists, and engineers working toward a common goal have created indelible bonds and life-long friendships.

Our nation believes in exploration because it is an investment in the future – not just in space, but here on Earth. History has shown us that achievements in space inspire young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. By exploring space, we increase humanity’s knowledge and understanding of our planet, our solar system, and our universe – all while inspiring the next generation to make their own giant leaps. Despite challenges here on Earth, we remain focused on future lunar exploration activities under the Artemis program, which will leverage the largest and most diverse international space exploration coalition in history. However, today we look to the past to celebrate the “handshake in space” that made our present and future plans for international cooperation possible.

Space Exploration Transcends All Terrestrial Borders

International collaboration in space exploration serves as an unparalleled and inspiring example of what humanity can do when it comes together to achieve a common goal for the common good. Our partnerships with the Canadian Space Agency, European Space Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Roscosmos aboard the International Space Station have led to an unprecedented continuous human presence in space for nearly 20 years. None of us could have done that alone.

Space exploration unites the world in a way no other activity can. With more and more emerging space agencies – there’s now 72 – this unity is a necessity in exploration as we learn from each other’s successes as well as failures. A prime example is this week’s United Arab Emirates ‘Hope’ Mars mission. Developed by the UAE, which is relatively young in its space program, the probe will be launched from Japan, bringing these nations together in exploration. This launch is the latest in a long-line of Mars attempts only a few nations can claim, and only two weeks ahead of our next Mars mission, the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover.

Like Hope, NASA’s Artemis program is bringing nations closer together. We have our sights set on sustainable human exploration of the Moon, but we are not doing it alone. We are pleased and humbled by the overwhelming support Artemis has received from the international community. Our lunar program has fostered international cooperation through shared values that will benefit people around the globe as we prepare to send humans forward to the Moon and ultimately to Mars.

Just last week I executed the Joint Exploration Declaration of Intent with our friends in Japan, which describes their planned participation in Artemis. Last month, Canada announced its contract for the development of a robotic arm for the Gateway – a lunar outpost built by commercial and international partners. The Gateway will orbit the Moon and support missions to the lunar surface and beyond. ESA has received unprecedented levels of funding for its participation in the Artemis program, and we’re grateful for the strong support of these 22 European nations. They are contributing the European Service Module for our Orion spacecraft for Artemis missions and the ESA Council recently took action allowing for progress to continue on Europe’s contribution of the International Habitat and ESPRIT refueling module for the Gateway.

We are excited to continue working with our traditional international partners and we are equally eager to engage with as many emerging space agencies as possible. For example, the Australian Space Agency is already dedicating $150 million for its researchers and businesses to support the Artemis program.

The scope and nature of the Artemis program will build on our partnerships in low-Earth orbit and result in NASA leading the largest and most diverse international space effort in history to the Moon. I’m incredibly proud to work with innovative partners from the private sector and around the world to transform the dream of sustainable lunar exploration into reality.

Gateway concept
NASA’s concept image of the Gateway in orbit around the Moon with international contributions.