SpaceX is seem at possible landing internet site on Mars for an approaching remote-controlled mission and , later man foreign mission to the control surface .
In a presentation at theLunar and Planetary Science Conference(LPSC ) in The Woodlands , Texas , SpaceX Spacecraft Manager Paul Wooster said there were four locations currently in the running , reportedSpaceNews .
SpaceX is hop to launch an unmanned delegacy to Marsas soon as 2018called Red Dragon , although this may bedelayed until 2020 , land in 2021 . This stationary lander will expect up to 1 ton of scientific equipment to analyse the surface , with subsequent missions every two eld .
InSeptember 2016 , SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said he require to then take up sending humans to Mars as early as 2024 . His ultimate goal , using a futurist rocket and spacecraft called the Interplanetary Transport System ( ITS ) , is to have a million people living on Mars in 100 years .
These initial Red Dragon missions will not only be important scientifically , but will also lie the foundation for these future manned delegation . To achieve its goal of colonizing Mars , SpaceX want to detect regions that are fertile in subsurface sparkler in add-on to being near the equator , where sunlight is more abundant for solar king .
" It ’s credibly hard to determine that along with ice , " note Wooster in the intro .
SpaceX want to embark on ship hoi polloi to Mars in a decade . SpaceX
The most promising location for the inaugural Red Dragon at the moment see to be Arcadia Planitia , which has been studied using high - resolution images from NASA ’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter ( MRO ) . The area is quite near the equator , but also relatively legato and devoid of big rocks , making a landing place easier .
Three other locations were also being think – Deuteronilus Mensae , Phlegra Montes , and Utopia Planitia – base on medium - resolution mental image , but higher lineament images unveil that they were quite rough . SpaceX was exposed to other suggestions for future charge .
It ’s going to be quite a in use year for Mars geographic expedition in 2021 , when Red Dragon will be joined by NASA ’s 2020 Mars scouter and ESA ’s ExoMars scouter . NASA is currently make up one’s mind on the landing site for its bird of passage too , withthree locationsbeing considered . ESA is favoring a neighborhood calledOxia Planumfor its landing place .
( H / T : SpaceNews )
