Extension To Mars
The use of scalable CEVs and a lander with methane-fueled engines means that meaningful hardware testing for Mars missions could be done on the Moon (though these have since been changed to hydrogen/LOX, losing commonality). The eventual Mars missions would start to be planned in detail around 2020 and would include the use of Lunar ISRU and also be "conjunction-class", meaning that rather than doing a Venus flyby and spending 20–40 days on the Martian surface, the crew would go directly to Mars and back and spend about 500–600 days exploring Mars.
Read more about this topic: Exploration Systems Architecture Study
Famous quotes containing the words extension and/or mars:
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“The sword’s a cross; thereon He died:
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—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)