March to Mars

Source: mirianda.com: http://miriadna.com/preview/tops

Hi there.

I am now working on a comic-strip series following a fictional manned Mars mission set in 2016 or 2018 based on the Mars Now plan. The planned book may be replaced by this comic series - or maybe based on the comic series. The pieces are slowly coming together.

As for the planned Mars Now Phase III plan. It is still in the works, and is not cancelled.

There may be a Phase IV plan to include longer-term Mars-related plans that were originally going to be in Phase III. This is because the long-term plans still need to be pieced together - currently these plans are not very complete or coherent.

Phase III will focus more on an immediate plan directed towards simply getting people on Mars.

If Mars Now is to become reality. If the Martian frontier is to be opened Now rather than the far future then supporters are needed, awareness is needed.

Help this happen. Help open the doors to the new frontier.

In the 1960s there were only brief orbits in cramped capsules - there was no International Space Station or robotic probes to Mars.

And yet from 1961 to 1969, 8 years, we went from brief cramped orbits to landing people on the Moon.

Yet humanity seems to be struggling to reach Mars within that same 8 years. Despite our technological level and our advancements in spaceflight.

8 years from now is 2021.

The soonest proposed manned Mars mission is set for 2018 - but that's only to flyby. The next launch window is 2020.

7 years from now (2013).

Why?

Must it take so long?

No. Because in the 1960s - 53 to 44 years ago - humankind took cramped capsules and hour-long flights and leaped to spacious moon landers and week long flights.

Today we have spacious capsules capable of holding crew for years on end and even capable of soft landing on solid ground, so nothing even has to be built. All that must be done is to compile existing machinery, but that requires supporters.

So let's do it.

Let us go to Mars.

Now.