In a Nov. 8, 2021 op-ed, “When will we finally set foot on Mars?” we argued that NASA should provide greater clarity and definition concerning how humanity will return to the Moon by the mid-2020s and then go to Mars by the mid-2030s. Since then, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has articulated NASA’s revised timeline for returning to the Moon, now no sooner than 2025. We now call on NASA and its partners to also clarify the timeline for initial human missions to Mars as well.
Two options under consideration are a long-stay (or conjunction class) mission, with approximately one and a half years on the Martian surface, during which considerable science and preparation for future missions can be performed by the astronauts; and a short-stay (or opposition class) mission, which enables significantly less overall time that the astronauts will be away from Earth but which allows for only approximately 30 days on the surface. Short-stay missions will last nearly two years in total, whereas long-stay missions will last about two and a half to three years. One of the justifications for the short-stay (opposition class) mission trajectory option is crew safety.
Regardless of which mission profile is used, crews on missions to Mars will face significant challenges and potential dangers. Crews will be traveling in an isolated vehicle in the vacuum of space, and they will also face extended time during transit to and from Mars in a microgravity environment (and with one-third Earth’s gravity on the surface of Mars).
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