President Donald Trump request NASA for a Mars mission in 2024. However, it seems that NASA is not yet ready, besides, Donald Trump won't be president when NASA launches the first mission.
Last month, President Trump had a video teleconference with two NASA astronauts who are on the International Space Station, Space News reported. With Peggy Whitson and Jack Fischer, Trump requested that he would like to see America for a Mars mission in 2024, while he's still the US President.
"During my first term, or at worst, in my second term," US President Trump's message to the two astronauts obviously means he would like NASA to do the fastest way to make the "Journey to Mars" a realization. However, according to Space, NASA's initiative is currently working on a target of sending astronauts to the Red Planet in 2030.
NASA's target date is contradicting President Trump's request, besides it's not possible to accelerate the journey. According to Robert Lightfoot, NASA Acting Administrator, the White House is asking the agency a favor to "look at the plan they have today and see if what they can do to keep going on that plan."
Consequently, Whitson herself directly told President Trump that it would take until year 2030sto possibly send astronauts on a Mars mission. And as of now, NASA is on its way to developing the Space Launch System or SLS and the Orion capsule to attain sending astronauts for a deep-space exploration.
NASA explained that the agency's plan is to send the Exploration Mission 1 or EM-1 to take first the Orion for a three-week trip to the moon in 2018. But, this will be delayed until sometime in 2019 for several reasons including difficulties in the procurement of large and numerous amounts of wirings, valves, avionics and other parts of the giant rocket.
But despite NASA's explanation, the Trump's administration is extremely persistent to push sending astronauts for a Mars mission in 2024 while Trump is still the US President. However, the agency holds back to stick with its original plan.
