Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Michael Braukus
Headquarters, Washington, DC
(Phone: 202/358-1979)
RELEASE: 97-51
"For the first time since the 1960s, NASA's space science and
human space flight programs are cooperating directly on the
exploration of another planetary body," said
Dr. Wesley T. Huntress Jr., NASA associate administrator for space
science. "Mars is a challenging destination for any type of
spacecraft to reach, and it makes a great deal of sense for us to
pursue the maximum possible return of knowledge from any chance to
go there."
Under the new internal NASA agreement, the 2001 Lander will
now also be a platform for instruments and technology experiments
designed to provide key insights to decisions regarding successful
and cost-effective human missions to Mars. Hardware on the lander
will be used for an in-situ demonstration test of rocket
propellant production using gases in the Martian atmosphere.
Other equipment will characterize the planet's soil properties and
surface radiation environment.
"Before we can send humans into deep space, we need to
understand the nature of the space environment and its effect on
living systems," said Arnauld Nicogossian, M.D., acting associate
administrator for life and microgravity sciences. "The Mars 2001
mission will give us invaluable information about the radiation
environment of space and the surface on Mars."
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