[ti:NASA Working Toward Mission to Mars] [ar:Anne Ball] [al:Technology Report] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]The head of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, [00:05.53]said that the space agency is on track to land people on Mars in the 2030s. [00:12.72]Charles Bolden is the administrator for NASA. [00:17.19]He said that five years ago, [00:20.01]President Obama set that goal for the space agency. [00:24.04]Speaking at the Humans to Mars Summit 2015, [00:30.24]Bolden said "This plan is clear, [00:33.63]this plan is affordable and this plan is sustainable." [00:38.74]Buzz Aldrin was the second man to step on the moon. [00:43.73]He is retired from NASA but is working to get humans to Mars. [00:49.83]He told the summit that [00:52.15]"we need to stimulate the public to be supportive" [00:56.09]of a U.S. mission to Mars. [00:59.20]The program, Mr. Aldrin said, [01:01.62]needs to develop in a series of stages, or steps, over several years. [01:08.32]NASA engineer Bret Drake said that is the idea [01:13.58]that several private companies have offered. [01:16.46]Explore Mars, Inc., is the group [01:19.74]that organized the Humans to Mars summit last week. [01:23.81]The group released a study on the steps required to send people to Mars. [01:29.80]They are a new Space Launch System, Orion spacecraft, [01:35.32]a deep space environment for astronauts to live in, [01:40.14]and new methods for entry, descent and landing. [01:45.15]Other new technologies needed are solar electric propulsion for power [01:51.59]and a vehicle that could land people on Mars. [01:56.43]NASA is already working with private partners [02:00.62]to develop the technology needed to get humans to Mars. [02:05.84]They are working to develop advanced propulsion and habitation¡ª [02:10.48]where and how people will live on Mars once they get there. [02:14.78]One example is Lockheed Martin's Stepping Stones plan. [02:19.71]It calls for beginning flights to the International Space Station [02:24.82]using today's vehicles and Orion spacecraft. [02:29.61]Later flights will land on Deimos, one of Mars' two moons. [02:35.43]Last week NASA also announced a "Journey to Mars Challenge." [02:42.46]The agency is asking for ideas from the public [02:46.57]on how to get people to Mars and how they can stay. [02:51.54]The ideas could be about shelter, food, water, [02:57.11]breathable air, communication, exercise, social relations and medicine. [03:05.11]NASA said people are "encouraged to consider innovative [03:10.81]and creative elements beyond these examples." [03:15.01]The Mars rovers Curiosity and Opportunity are already providing much information [03:23.08]as they move across the Martian surface. [03:26.82]It is already known that at one point in time [03:31.27]Mars had conditions that could have supported life. [03:36.43]NASA's Charles Bolden said [03:39.32]that Mars "just might help us to unravel the age old mystery [03:45.88]about whether life exists beyond Earth." [03:49.98]I'm Anne Ball. [03:52.46]¸ü¶àÌýÁ¦Çë·ÃÎÊ51voa.com