Thursday, 2 October 2008

IAC#5 - Moon first then Mars, says NASA head

As well as the attending the many technical sessions (105 of them!) at the IAC, there are highlight lectures and plenary session where the movers and shakers in space can address all the delegates.

Yesterday, Administrator Mike Griffin emphasised NASA's decision to return to the Moon before sending people to Mars saying that those people who were pushing for the red planet first did not fully understand the challenges associated with a six-to-nine month mission without resupply. He added that without being able to carry out missions of this length on the Moon, sending astronauts to Mars posed a real hazard and would result in them "not coming back."

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