SpaceX Is Delaying Its Mars Mission Until 2020

[Buster's Uncle]

SpaceX Is Delaying Its Mars Mission Until 2020
Popular Mechanics
Avery Thompson  February 24, 2017



Photo credit: SpaceX



About a year ago, SpaceX announced a 2018 mission to Mars. The plan was to send a probe to land on the surface with a possible sample return mission to follow at a later date. With less than two years to go, the private spaceflight company has decided that it can't meet that deadline after all. SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell recently announced that the company is pushing their Mars mission back to 2020.

SpaceX has a lot on its plate. The Hawthorne-based company is currently making regular cargo deliveries to the ISS, struggling to develop a commercial crew program, working on a heavy version of its Falcon 9 rocket, and trying to build a brand new spaceport in Texas. With that much going on, SpaceX decided it didn't make sense to also rush a Mars mission, which has its own set of technical challenges.

Postponing their Mars mission means having to wait another two years, as the best window for a launch to the red planet only happens once every 26 months. Hopefully this extra time gives SpaceX the chance to tackle their other problems first and then focus on Mars.

SpaceX's mission to Mars, when it finally happens, will involve placing a modified Dragon capsule on the surface of the planet. That capsule will be the heaviest object to ever land on Mars, so getting it to the surface in one piece presents virtually endless challenges. Mars's atmosphere is too thin to slow down something of that size with a parachute, so SpaceX is planning to use booster rockets.

SpaceX has previously floated a sample return mission to Mars as well, with a landing module to collect surface samples from NASA's Mars 2020 rover and launch them back to Earth. While SpaceX's original plans did not include sample return for the company's first Mars mission, it's possible the updated timetable will give them the chance to do so.


http://www.popularmechanics.com/space/moon-mars/a25374/spacex-delaying-mars-mission-until-2020/