NASA Reveals Plans to Team Up With Other Nations for Future Mars Mission
NASA plans on sending men to Mars in the 2030s, and the space agency recently confirmed that the mission will include astronauts from other nations besides the U.S.
"I have no desire to do a Mars landing on our own," said NASA chief Charles Bolden in a meeting with the USA Today Editorial Board. "The U.S. cannot always be the leader, but we can be the inspiration leader through international cooperation in space exploration."
This news comes shortly after the space agency announced that its Curiosity rover spacecraft will land on Mars early next week.
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Bolden also declared that the Red Planet is the "ultimate destination for now" in human space exploration during the meeting.
The Obama administration supports the agency and plans to have NASA land on an asteroid in 2025, followed by the first fully manned mission to Mars sometime in the 2030s.
Curiosity will land on the planet on Aug. 6 and NASA will broadcast the event live from Times Square in New York City on the Toshiba Vision screen starting at 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 5 and ending at 4:00 a.m. the next morning. In order to receive the audio from the landing, listeners must tune in to the online radio station Third Rock Radio.
"In the city that never sleeps, the historic Times Square will be the place for New Yorkers to participate in this historic landing," said NASA Science Mission Directorate's John Grunsfeld. "When you think of all the big news events in history, you think Times Square, and I can think of no better venue to celebrate this news-making event on Mars."
The landing will also be live streamed on the NASA homepage on the Tuneln application for those who do not live in New York City.
