"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth."
President John F. Kennedy spoke these words on May 25, 1961 in a special message to Congress that asked for greater funding for America's space program. More than 50 years later, NASA has proposed another daring timeline to achieve man's first flight to Mars.
"After rigorous review, we're committing today to a funding level and readiness date that will keep us on track to sending humans to Mars in the 2030s - and we're going to stand behind that commitment," said Associate Administrator Robert Lightfoot, who oversaw the review process, in a statement by NASA.
NASA officials completed a "rigorous review" of the Space Launch System (SLS) that will take humans from Earth to the Red Planet. The program has moved from formulation to development, the first such progression of an exploration class vehicle since the agency built the space shuttle.
"We are on a journey of scientific and human exploration that leads to Mars," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "And we're firmly committed to building the launch vehicle and other supporting systems that will take us on that journey."
The SLS is a heavy-lift, exploration class rocket. It will have a 77-ton lift capacity and carry an unmanned Orion spacecraft past Earth's lower orbit during its first test flight, set for November 2018. The SLS will provide a 143-ton lift capacity at its most powerful configuration that will eventually carry it to an asteroid and Mars.
The review known as Key Decision Point C provides a budget of $7.021 billion from February 2014 through the first launch in four years. The cost and flight schedule accounts for "potential technical risks and budgetary uncertainty beyond the program's control," according to NASA.
"Our nation is embarked on an ambitious space exploration program, and we owe it to the American taxpayers to get it right," Lightfoot said.
SLS will be the world's most capable rocket, according to NASA. The next phase of development will be the Critical Design Review that makes sure the agency has the program running on schedule and is still confident in the mission.
