mars Fancy a trip to Mars? Just wait until 2018

[Crisp]

Fancy a trip to Mars? Just wait until 2018

For Dennis Tito, being the first private citizen in space isn?t enough ? Mars is next on his calendar.

On a round trip which will last 501 days, Tito ? who became the first private space traveler eleven years ago ? plans to set off on the journey while in his late seventies. As reported by sister site CNET, a release from the entrepreneur?s newly formed Inspiration Mars Foundation says that the mission will hopefully go ahead in January 2018.

Touted as the ?Mission for America,? the ambitious space jaunt is intended ?to encourage all Americans to believe again, in doing the hard things that make our nation great, while inspiring youth through Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and motivation.?

Tito spent $20 million in his earlier mission to space back in 2001, where he became the first private citizen to leave Earth. There?s no word on how much a trip to Mars would cost, but we may be able to find out later this month.

The Inspiration Mars Foundation plans to hold a press conference on Feb 27 to discuss the mission in-depth. In particular, how the foundation intends to keep its astronauts safe and healthy ? especially considering radiation level ? during the trip will be one of the main concerns.

Image credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

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Being in your late seventies could make sense for a one way trip I guess... Although I can't see how he'll cope on lift off.

[ShareShiz]

http://mars-one.com/ :)

[JustGeorge]

Well, he made i through lift off once before, so I think he'll be ok this time.

[thechronic]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teacher_in_Space_Project

Reading the full article, if this the challenger hadn't blown up would the teacher have been the first private citizen to fly in space or not?? :/

[DocM]

Since she was officially a NASA astronaut, probably not.

[Hum]

Already people on Mars --- nothing new.

[thechronic]

Since she was officially a NASA astronaut, probably not.

i'm terrible at reading things lol

[Growled Member]

Already people on Mars --- nothing new.

How come we haven't been invited yet?

[Hum]

Mars isn't the most hospitable place -- poor atmosphere, high radiation.

Living underground isn't much fun.

[neoadorable]

i wish Tito all the best and am waiting for updates on this. it's no secret that we will likely have people on Mars by this time next decade, all this talk of the mid 2030's is nonsense, it's like Sony and Microsoft talking about a ten year life cycle for their consoles..but if Tito can pull off some sort of mission a few years early, that will be great. Isn't 2018 when Red Dragon is supposed to get to Mars, anyway? Maybe he's thinking of simply volunteering to be the crew for that mission.

[DocM]

Budget problems (sequester etc.) will probably push missions like Red of Ice Dragon into the early 2020's. As for Tito, he basically has the same idea as Mars One. He'd best wait for SpaceX's MCT announcements later this year.

[The Evil Overlord]

Mars isn't the most hospitable place -- poor atmosphere, high radiation.

Living underground isn't much fun.

Not to mention Cohaegen wants the Rebels killed for wanting to turn the oxygen machine on, I just hope Quaid does the right thing......... :p

[Hum]

Humans don't realize that Mars has already come to US.

[Detection]

Humans don't realize that Mars has already come to US.

Is that where you get your name from? You're only half human ? :p