Buzz Aldrin has been anoutspoken proponentof colonizing Mars for many years , and indeed he has numerous books out about his ideas . But the Apollo 11 astronaut , and second man on the Moon , has now gone on record again to let on he has a new plan to colonise Mars , and desire human to be living there by 2039 – the 70th anniversary of Apollo 11 .
Aldrin is working with the Florida Institute of Technology ( FIT ) to produce what he calls “ a skipper plan ” to colonize Mars in just 25 years . He was speak yesterday at a sign language observance to establish the Buzz Aldrin Space Institute at FIT in Melbourne , Florida , this fall .
Aldrin ’s proposal is calledCycling Pathways to Occupy Mars . It need using the Moon , asteroids and the Martian moon Phobos as stepping stones to getting to the airfoil . He envisages that crews would rotate between Mars and Earth every 10 years . But he stressed that it would n’t be “ one - agency trips ; ” rather , people would be able-bodied to come and go .
“ The Pilgrim Father on the Mayflower occur here [ the U.S. ] to live and remain , ” he said , report theAssociated Press . “ They did n’t waitress around Plymouth Rock for the proceeds trip , and neither will the great unwashed progress up a universe and a settlement " on Mars .
Will this be a reality in 25 years ? NASA .
On hiswebsite , Aldrin explicate some more specifics of his plan . In 2026 , he envisions that a crew on NASA ’s Orion spacecraft could reach an asteroid , using an inflatableBigelow Aerospace BA330 moduleas a habitat . This would be keep up by bases on the near and far side of the moon , before missions to the Martian moon Phobos get down in the 2030s . remote-controlled fomite would then test landing place procedures on Mars , before man themselves touched down .
“ One unique innovation of the mission architecture is to apply ' cycler ' spacecraft that would travel between Earth and Mars perpetually , ” his web site says . “ The outward-bound cycler carries three Lander with six crowd members total . ”
Of naturally , NASA themselves areworking on a planto get to Mars , which is not too dissimilar to Aldrin ’s marriage proposal ; they plan to visit an asteroid next yr , before beginning mission to Mars in the 2030s . However , Aldrin ’s proposal of marriage includes a return to the Moon and missions to Phobos , things that are not on NASA ’s agendum at the moment but are being considered .
Whether NASA would use Aldrin ’s plan , which he is desire for , is disputable . But there ’s little doubt that missions to Mars are garner pace . And , of row , we have Andy Weir ’s movieThe Martianto see forward to in October , which is a pretty precise fictionalization of what futurity Mars missions might look like .
“ Step by footstep – just as Mercury and Gemini made Apollo potential – we move deeper into infinite to country on Phobos , the inside moon of Mars , all in overture to a mission to the Red Planet itself ! ” Aldrin added on his website .
