According to an expert in the space industry, Robert Zubrin, the first humans can set foot on Mars by the end of this decade.
Robert Zubrin, founder of the Mars Society, concluded that the passivity of government programs in the space sector could lead to “people on Mars before this decade is over.”
However, not everyone shares this point of view, since NASA plans to land astronauts on the moon only in 2024, and only after that plans for a manned mission to Mars, which was previously announced in 2033, are possible.
According to Zubrin, private companies such as SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, will quickly fill the void caused by delays in government manned space programs:
“Unlike the very successful Mars robotic program, the manned programs of the official space agencies are deadlocked. It is because of the failure of official government programs for human space flight that a new force has been introduced, and it is entrepreneurial space companies such as SpaceX that have now proven that a relatively small team with excellent leadership can do what was previously considered only a prerogative. super powers'.
“As a result, we are not only seeing the impressive capabilities of SpaceX, we are seeing a race of these entrepreneurs. This is the power of free enterprise, and I'm sure we'll see much more. I'm sure we'll see the Chinese equivalent of SpaceX soon, and then in many other countries. '
Mr. Zubrin is the author of a number of books, including The Case of Mars and The Case of Space. When asked who would put the first astronauts on Mars, he replied: “I don’t think it will be NASA – NASA still has no real plan to send people to Mars.”
