NASA Invited Russia for a Joint Flight to Mars

August 27, 2009 (LPAC) — At an international aviation and space conference in Moscow on Aug. 23, the head of NASA's Moscow office, Marc Bowman, invited Russia to carry out a joint manned flight to Mars. Bowman said the flight should be under the control of NASA and the Russian space agency, but with the participation of international space agencies. However, he said that before a joint flight to Mars could be made, it was necessary to complete the ISS mission and fly to the Moon to collect essential scientific and technical information. Currently, Russia plans to send a manned mission to the Red planet on its own.

Once a competitor in space, Russia became a partner of the United States after the Cold War ended. President Bill Clinton sought ways to cement a "strategic alliance for reform" with Russia and President Boris Yeltsin, and in 1993, he invited Russia to join the space station partnership. Today, the International Space Station (ISS) represents not only a major step forward in space development — it is also the most ambitious experiment in peacetime international scientific and technological cooperation ever attempted.

ISS is soon to be completed. Bowman says that the mission crew should be international, and the flight should be based upon ISS space experience. Bowman is sure that Russia and NASA should control the project, but space agencies of other countries should also participate. Before flying to Mars, the ISS project should be finished, and a flight to the Moon performed in order to collect the needed scientific and technical data on working together, NASA's official says.