ISS And Mars

In a recent speech, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden argued his agency is on its way to a manned mission to Mars, and that ISS is a crucial tool to help us get there. He said ISS will be the test bed for technologies and techniques necessary for a Mars flight. Space advocates have argued for years the primary role of ISS should be precisely that. Given the budget problems of the U. S. Government far into the future, however, saying NASA is headed to Mars is a tough sell. True, President Obama has said he expects to see humans going to Mars in the 2030s, but presidential expectations do not constitute policy. The Obama policy that, the President maintains, will lead to Mars is being debated in Congress, and the outcome of that debate is still unclear.