So much for being space cowboys. Dennis Tito, the multi-millionaire behind what was to be the first privately funded mission to Mars, has just knocked on NASA鈥檚 door asking for help. The development is a wake-up call to the most idealistic dreamers of the private spaceflight industry.
鈥淭hey can鈥檛 do it all by themselves, particularly this kind of ambitious mission,鈥� says John Logsdon, formerly of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University in Washington DC. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a recognition of reality.鈥�
Tito鈥檚 not-for-profit mission, called Inspiration Mars, was initially supposed to use entirely private or commercial vehicles to launch a pair of astronauts into Earth orbit in early 2018. The crew would take advantage of the planets鈥� fortuitously close orbits at that time to take a 501-day journey around Mars and back home, without landing on the Red Planet鈥檚 surface.
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But a new released on 20 November concluded that the plan could not work without NASA鈥檚 (SLS), a heavy lift vehicle that is still in development but should be ready to take humans into space by 2021.
Trying like hell
Tito, a former space tourist who created the Inspiration Mars Foundation in February, testified before the US House Subcommittee on Space to make the case for joining forces. The mission would become a NASA mission, not a private one, and it would cost less than $1 billion 鈥� $700 million of which would be provided by NASA.
Inspiration Mars鈥檚 chief technology officer Taber McCallum says the group made an exhaustive effort not to involve NASA, but ultimately failed. 鈥淥ur bias really was, we鈥檙e going to do this commercially. That鈥檚 what we tried like hell to do.鈥�
The issue is the sheer amount of gear required for a human mission. The crew will need a module that will keep them alive for the duration of the trip, including all their food, radiation shielding, and a separate pod to protect them during the high-speed re-entry into Earth鈥檚 atmosphere. Launching all this along with the crew is impossible with existing spacecraft, the report found.
Even if you break the mission into several separate launches, getting all the gear into space would take at least three launches with planned commercial vehicles, such as the privately built SpaceX , which has yet to fly. Then you would need a final launch to deliver the crew. Once in orbit, the modules would need to carry out sensitive docking operations to link up, plus refuelling, all within the space of about a week.
How do ya like them apples?
The SLS, on the other hand, will have more than twice the lift capacity of the Falcon Heavy, and could take everything but the humans in one go. 鈥淭he physics are the physics,鈥� says McCallum.
The turnaround has taken some getting used to for the members of Inspiration Mars. 鈥淲e thought we could do this philanthropically and be outside of the government,鈥� says McCallum. 鈥淏ut we found ourselves saying yeah, you鈥檝e gotta use the SLS to go to Mars! Wow, NASA was right! How do you like them apples?鈥�
That still puts them on a tight schedule. SLS鈥檚 first test flight isn鈥檛 supposed to be until 2017 鈥� and the module that will ultimately get the crew to orbit has yet to be specified, though Inspiration Mars is counting on one made by a commercial company, such as the Dragon capsule made by SpaceX. Yet in order to sling-shot around Mars according to the trajectory proposed, the astronauts need to leave Earth orbit no later than 5 January, 2018.
So Tito also announced a possible plan B, noting that Mars, Earth and Venus will be aligned in 2021 such that the spacecraft could launch towards Venus and use its gravity to slingshot back out towards Mars. The crew would go within about 800 kilometres of the surface of Venus, and the trip would take only about 80 days more.
National pride
鈥淭hat gives us more time to build the system, and would pass by two planets, Mars and Venus, rather than one,鈥� Tito said in a press conference on 20 November. It would also put the astronauts on a gentler re-entry trajectory, reducing the velocity at which they would come racing back to Earth.
But that鈥檚 not Tito鈥檚 preference because the later launch date gives rival space agencies 鈥� such as Russia or China 鈥� more time too. In his to Congress, he appealed to lawmakers鈥� sense of national pride.
鈥淭he United States will carry out a Mars flyby mission, or we will watch as others do it 鈥� leaving us to applaud their skill and their daring,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f America is ever going to do a flyby of Mars 鈥� a manned mission to another world 鈥� then 2018 is our last chance to be first.鈥�
It鈥檚 unclear whether the US government will bite. In the press conference, Tito said he expects a bill proposing that NASA collaborate with Inspiration Mars within the next two weeks, although he couldn鈥檛 say which Congressional representative would sponsor it.
Awfully risky
Money will be a big issue: the proposed price tag would re-direct about 1 per cent of NASA鈥檚 current annual budget to Inspiration Mars, but funding is already so tight that the Congressional Budget Office has proposed .
鈥淭he agency is willing to share technical and programmatic expertise with Inspiration Mars, but is unable to commit to sharing expenses with them,鈥� says a
Risk is another barrier. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 an awfully high-risk mission for the first SLS mission, compared to doing something out by the moon,鈥� Logsdon says. 鈥淲hether it鈥檚 good public policy to do this on the first mission is something that needs a lot of discussion.鈥�
If Congress votes to take Tito up on his offer, it could help return a sense of purpose to the US human space programme: despite talk of a NASA mission to the vicinity of Mars in the 2030s or sending crew to an asteroid, SLS currently has no firm destination.
