Space Policy Edition: Destination…Mars? Contradictions and Principles

The Senate just held a hearing on NASA's efforts to send humans to...Mars? A week later, the same committee advanced legislation to extend the life of the International Space Station to 2030, six years beyond the current end-date and two years beyond the current hardware safety ratings. Does that extension undermine efforts to get to Mars? What about the Moon? Casey and Jason also introduce The Planetary Society's new principles for human spaceflight, which provide a framework by which the organization will evaluate plans for human exploration.

A new episode of Space Policy Edition is posted on the first Friday of each month. Let us know what you think! Comment on this page or write to [email protected].

Related Reading and References:

• The Planetary Society's principles for human spaceflight
• The Senate's "Space Frontier Act" (ISS language is at the very end)
• Senate hearing on Humans to Mars w/ witness statements
• ISS Transition Report, Section 4.6, Evaluation of extending the ISS through 2028
• NASA Inspector General Report: Management and Utilization of the International Space Station (July 2018)