Astronauts should complete a punishing lunar endurance mission before NASA will dare attempt a human mission to Mars, says the agency鈥檚 boss, Mike Griffin.
Astronauts would fly to the International Space Station for seven months, then go to the Moon, where they would land and have to survive for nine months to a year using only what they brought with them, says Griffin. Next, they would fly back to the ISS for another six months before coming home.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 all got to be done with no extra assistance,鈥� Griffin told delegates at the International Astronautical Congress in Glasgow, UK, last week. 鈥淯nless we can do that experiment successfully, the first crew to go to Mars will not come back.鈥�
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鈥淚 fully agree,鈥� says Jean-Jacques Dordain, director general of the European Space Agency. 鈥淲e need to know much more about how humans can use the resources in situ.鈥�
