NASA is partnering up with SpaceX to send an unmanned spaceship to Mars. It's a deal that should pay off well for the federal space agency.
NASA and SpaceX are going to be working together to send SpaceX's unmanned spacecraft, the Red Dragon, to Mars in 2018. The Red Dragon will be a souped up version of SpaceX's Dragon capsule designed to enter the Martian atmosphere and then use its on-board engines to land softly on the planet's surface.
The original deal, announced in April by NASA and SpaceX, was cobbled together out of a revised existing unfunded Space Act Agreement to focus on a planned mission to send an unmanned craft to Mars in 2018. Working from this agreement, NASA will provide technical support for the Red Dragon's launch, travels and landing. In exchange SpaceX will give NASA data from the Red Dragon's entry, descent and landing to help NASA plan its own Mars mission slated for the 2030s, according to Space News.
For NASA, this is another step toward the private industry partnerships they've been pushing to replace space exploration efforts that were funded by the federal government until recently. This is SpaceX's first unmanned mission, but it won't be the last, according to SpaceX founder Elon Musk.
NASA officials are hoping to have a few payloads attached to SpaceX's Red Dragon when the spacecraft lands on Mars. Steve Jurczyk, NASA associate administrator for space technology, recently stated his office has a "wish list" of things they'd like to send along to be tested, including an experiment to create methane which could then be made into rocket fuel. NASA scientists also want to test out a method of pulling water out of the Martian soil to create drinking water, hydrogen and oxygen.
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http://www.interstellar-news.net/2016/06/nasa-and-spacex-are-partnering-to-send.html
