NASA's Next Mission: Deep Space

gManZboy writes "NASA's Mars Science Lab and Curiosity rover are the next steps in a long-term plan to travel farther and faster into space. Check out the future spacecrafts and tools that will get them there — including NASA's big bet, a spacecraft that combines the Orion multipurpose crew vehicle with the Space Launch System, designed to take astronauts beyond low-Earth orbit for the first time since the Apollo 17 Moon mission in 1972. NASA will need 10 years to prepare astronauts to take Orion and SLS for a test flight."

Spacecrafts???

[fnj]

The plural of spacecraft is spacecraft.

Re:Why return mission?

[sentientbeing]

Its a no-brainer to anybody who's thought about it for more than 5 minutes.

http://www.universetoday.com/14544/one-way-mission-to-mars-us-soldiers-will-go/ [universetoday.com]

Re:Budget Cuts will doom it

[camperdave]

Grandiose? The Orion module has a habitable volume of approximately 9 cubic metres, about the size of a full sized van. This is shared among a crew of 4, giving each about as much room as a shower stall. Mission duration is 21 days. The shuttle had a habitable volume of approximately 65 cubic metres, about the size of the trailer on a typical transport truck. It was designed for seven people. So each gets 9 cubic metres, as much as an entire Orion module. Granted, the shuttle had a mission duration of only 16 days, however, it had shower and toilet facilities, an airlock and space-suits. Add to that a civilized landing rather than a terrifying rescue at sea. There's no question which one I'd rather spend a mission in.