Lockheed Martin: we plan to send people to the orbit of Mars by 2028

Are the dreams of millions of people becoming reality?


Image: Lockheed Martin

A plan to send people into orbit on Mars was announced on May 19 by Lockheed Martin representatives at the Humans to Mars Summit event . At the same time, the same plan was presented by the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics of the US House of Representatives in Washington. According to the plan, by 2028, a space laboratory with six astronauts on board will go into the orbit of the Red Planet.

The concept of “ Mars Base Camp”Has not yet been approved by NASA. The plan itself was developed as part of the NASA program introduced earlier. According to the program, people should go to Mars no later than 2030. If the Lockheed Martin project is accepted, everything will be completed within the previously set time frame. In addition, the project fits into the budget of NASA. Unfortunately, Lockheed Martin did not introduce technical details. Only the space laboratory is announced, which will be sent to the orbit of Mars with 6 astronauts on board.

People will study rock samples delivered by robotic stations from the satellites of the Red Planet and the surface of Mars. This will help to quickly test the samples, as well as draw conclusions "in the field."

The project is based on existing technologies or technologies that are being developed today. The sending of people and cargo to the orbit of Mars will be carried out using the Orion spacecraft, as well as the Space Launch System heavy launch vehicle.


This might look like a prototype of an orbital laboratory (image: Lockheed Martin)

Inhabited modules, the design of which was also proposed by Lockheed Martin and other participants in the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships ( NextSTEP ) program , will allow people to comfortably stay on board the space laboratory. Here people will live and work. It is also intended to use Solar Electric Propulsion ( SEP) technology.), which is already used in small commercial spacecraft in orbit of the Earth, to deliver people and cargo to Mars. Scheme of the inhabited orbital laboratory (image: Lockheed Martin) Some of the goods will be delivered separately, some together with the team. All systems will be duplicated, including Orion, habitable modules, Solar Electric Propulsion systems. The second Orion is planned to be used to visit Phobos and Deimos, two satellites of Mars. Company Implementation Plan (Image: Lockheed Martin)









Initial implementation of the project will be carried out according to the plan submitted by NASA earlier. So, in 2018, an unmanned mission Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) will be carried out. But after this date, the plan will be accelerated. So, the EM-2 mission will not be a manned EM-1. Instead, the construction of modules near the moon will begin to test the technologies that are planned to be used as part of the Mars Base Camp project.

As part of the EM-3 mission, which is planned to be implemented in 2026, part of the cargo, including remotely controlled rovers, will be sent to Mars to wait for people. In 2027, the team will begin pre-flight preparation of all systems.

There may be some changes in the plan. Inhabited modules can begin to test in low Earth orbit, and not in deep space. In this case, it will be possible to save part of the money. Representatives of the US Congress note the importance of comprehensive testing of habitable modules before sending them to Mars.

According to Congressional instructions, NASA will have to allocate at least $ 55 million to develop prototypes of habitable modules by 2018.

To send people into the orbit of Mars will have to make a lot of effort and spend large amounts of money. But, according to representatives of the US Congress (and not only them), these efforts and costs are justified. The goal is the realization of man’s long-held dream - a manned flight to Mars.