LONDON: Scientists from NASA say they can’t not rely on another “John F. Kennedy moment,” which was the 1961 call by the president to land people on the moon. This moment led to an increase in its budget, boosting it to 4.5 percent share of the budget. Today, NASA’s budget is less than 0.5 percent of the budget and NASA wants to take things slow by creating multiple missions to ensure a safe landing first on Phobos, and then the Red Planet itself.
“Landing on Mars isn’t just a pipe dream. It’s achievable. Mars matters to humanity and the pursuit of human progress. (…) NASA will launch ExoMars orbiter designed to circle the Red Planet next year, and there are plans to launch another Mars rover in 2018. Robots are great for preliminary data and preparation, but we need humans on the Martian surface,” said Charles Bolden, NASA Administrator.
The march to Mars has already begun, with the rovers Curiosity and Opportunity continuing to roam the surface sending back valuable data, photos and other information about the Red Planet. Recent data acquired by the rovers even indicates that Mars could have once supported microbial life.
Tesla driverless system to use updated radar technology
WASHINGTON: Electric carmaker Tesla announced Sunday it was upgrading its Autopilot software to use more advanced radar technology. In a...
