NASA Unveils Rocket to Take Man to Mars

September 15, 2011 — “To infinity and beyond!” Buzz Lightyear made those words famous in Pixar’s Toy Story. But NASA plans to make them come true. On Wednesday, the space agency unveiled its next generation rocket that would be the most powerful one since the Saturn V that propelled the Apollo program. The Space Launch System will be designed to carry the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, as well as important cargo, equipment and science experiments to Earth's orbit and destinations beyond. Additionally, the launch system will serve as a back up for travel to the International Space Station. "This launch system will create good-paying American jobs, ensure continued U.S. leadership in space, and inspire millions around the world," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. "President Obama challenged us to be bold and dream big, and that's exactly what we are doing at NASA. While I was proud to fly on the space shuttle, tomorrow's explorers will now dream of one day walking on Mars." While the megarocket embodies the space agency’s enduring desire to aim far and dream big, it also reflects a shrinking of near-term ambitions as budget cutters seek to rein in federal spending, the New York Times reported. Just two years ago, NASA had hoped to build an even larger rocket that would take astronauts back to the moon and set up an outpost there. William H. Gerstenmaier, the agency’s associate administrator for human exploration, said NASA expected to devote $3 billion a year to the effort, or a total of about $18 billion over the next six years. That would be enough to finish a rocket capable of lifting 70 metric tons into orbit; the largest unmanned rockets currently available can lift about one-third that much, the New York Times reported. The rocket will use a liquid-hydrogen and liquid-oxygen fuel system adapted from the space shuttle program, which sent up its last mission in July. The first unmanned test flight is scheduled for 2017. "The 2017 launch date is a hard deadline," Gerstenmaier told USA Today. However, design work for the first manned launch, now targeted for 2021, could be pushed back if there are shortfalls in the rocket's funding. The first of a series of yearly launches aimed at an asteroid could happen around 2025.

An illustration of the new Space Launch System design. Illustration by NASA An illustration of NASA's planned Orion Multipurpose Crew Vehicle, showing possible destinations for future astronauts beyond Earth's orbit, including the moon, an asteroid and Mars. Illustration by NASA

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