Quote from: Blackstar on 12/23/2014 10:27 pmRather than have everything described above play out, I think what the US is doing right now is to 'make it look' like nothing is going on and just get the US heavy lift systems online (SLS, Orion, or some SpaceX thing). Once these units have been rated/certified for astronauts, then they will go announce a Mars mission if it is feasible. Otherwise, the US is going nowhere / because they are not able to send XXX billions of US taxpayer dollars to another country to go to Mars.Makes you wonder why anybody would even want to present a vision right now.
Rather than have everything described above play out, I think what the US is doing right now is to 'make it look' like nothing is going on and just get the US heavy lift systems online (SLS, Orion, or some SpaceX thing). Once these units have been rated/certified for astronauts, then they will go announce a Mars mission if it is feasible. Otherwise, the US is going nowhere / because they are not able to send XXX billions of US taxpayer dollars to another country to go to Mars.Makes you wonder why anybody would even want to present a vision right now.