The human race taking a successful trip to Mars could be a closer reality than we thought.
Over "60 leaders from more than 30 government, industry and academic organizations" issued a statement that said sending people to Mars is not only "feasible," but affordable as well, a Business Wire news release reported.
The group is worked to create a stakeholder consensus on what is required in order to make a "feasible, sustainable, and affordable" Mars mission happen within 20 years.
"This is no small achievement," American Astronautical Society (AAS) Executive Director Jim Kirkpatrick, said in the news release. "This is the first time such a diverse group has come together to agree that sending humans to Mars is both a priority and possible."
The AAS hosted an "Affording Mars Workshop" to see how a Mars mission could be possible in the future.
"Participants assessed scenarios for compelling human and robotic exploration of Mars, the role of the International Space Station (ISS) over the coming decade, possible cost-effective "bridge" missions in the 2020s to follow ISS, key capabilities required for initial missions, international partnerships, and an actionable definition of affordability and sustainability," the news release reported.
The leaders agreed on a number of "core principles. They agreed that a Mars trip would be affordable within the next two decades as long as the right "partnerships, commitment to efficiency, constancy of purpose, and policy/budget consistency" are utilized.
They agreed that Mars should be a priority in planning future space flights and missions. "Between now and 2030, investments and activities in the human exploration of space must be prioritized in a manner that advances the objective of initial human missions to Mars beginning in the 2030s," the news release reported.
The team believes the ISS will be essential in the future of human outer-space missions; robotic missions to Mars could help pave the way for humans as well.
