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Subscribe to RSSAnimations from the Inspiration Mars Foundation trace the trajectory for a 501-day round trip to Mars.
Millionaire space tourist Dennis Tito's plan to send two astronauts on a 501-day flight that zooms past Mars and swings back to Earth would set plenty of precedents on the final frontier — but the most intriguing precedent might have to do with the astronauts that are to be sent: one man and one woman, preferably a married couple beyond childbearing years. We're talking about sex in space, folks.
And if that's not intriguing enough, consider this: There are already a couple of candidates for the job.
"We'll certainly throw our hat in the ring," said Taber MacCallum, who's a member of the development team for the 2018 mission that Tito has in mind.
MacCallum and his wife, Jane Poynter, were crew members together in Biosphere 2, the controversial two-year-long experiment in long-term environmental containment. They went on to become co-founders of Paragon Space Development Corp., a company specializing in life-support systems for spacecraft. Their expertise in life support is why they're involved in Tito's "Mission for America," which was officially unveiled on Wednesday at the National Press Club in Washington. But it just so happens that they also fit the profile for the trip: Poynter is about 50, and MacCallum will turn 49 on July 20, the anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
The couple won't be the only candidates in the running. "When we tell people we're proposing to send a man and a woman on a mission to Mars, as a married couple, people line up. ... That chord gets struck over and over again," MacCallum said.
Paragon
Taber MacCallum and his wife, Jane Poynter, are part of the planning team for a mission to Mars in 2018. They're also potential candidates to take the trip.
MacCallum explained that Tito wants the crew on humanity's first trip to Mars to be representative of humanity, and because the current concept for the trip calls for two spacefliers, that means a man and a woman. A married couple would be ideal, MacCallum said, because of the "whole issue of companionship." MacCallum didn't refer specifically to sex, but that would presumably be part of the companionship package.
"When you're out that far, and the Earth is a tiny, blue pinpoint, you're going to need someone you can hug," Tito told Space.com. During Wednesday's briefing, Tito told reporters that he envisioned Dr. Phil giving the couple "marital advice" during the trip.
In addition to their experience with life-support systems (and with each other), MacCallum and Poynter can draw upon their experience with life in isolation during the Biosphere 2 experiment in Arizona, which lasted from 1991 to 1993. The isolation inside a two-room spacecraft for 501 days will be even deeper. Even though the Biosphere 2 crew was separated from the outside world, "we could walk out at any time," MacCallum pointed out.
That's not the only challenge: Even with radiation shielding in place, the round trip to Mars is likely to involve exposure levels higher than NASA's limits, MacCallum said. (That's why the astronauts should be beyond their childbearing years and willing to accept an increased risk of cancer.)
Then there's the exposure to the health effects of long-term weightlessness, including bone loss and muscle loss. The astronauts who fly past Mars will surpass Soviet cosmonaut Valery Polyakov's 437-day record for continuous time in microgravity, set in 1994-1995 aboard the much roomier Mir space station.
"We're definitely pushing boundaries," MacCallum said. "It's definitely going to be hard and challenging. But we can rely on elegance and simplicity."
When, where and how?
The details of the mission plan have come to light just in the past few days, but MacCallum said that Tito has been mulling over the idea for years. Tito started out as an engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, helping to design trajectories for the Mariner missions to Mars in the 1970s. Then he put his math genius to work in the investment world, building California-based Wilshire Associates into a multibillion-dollar powerhouse. In 2001, he spent around $20 million of his fortune for a seat on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft traveling to and from to the International Space Station.
After his eight-day space tour, Tito got back to business. But he also started working out a trajectory that could send a spaceship directly from Earth to Mars for a fly-by within 100 miles (160 kilometers) of the Red Planet's surface, and then back to the home planet 501 days after launch. Once the spaceship was on its way, only minor course corrections would be needed. There'd be no need for undocking or redocking ... no landing ... no do-or-die engine burn for the return from Mars.
There's one big catch, though: The trip will have to be started when the planets were aligned just right. One opportunity will come in 2016. Then there's another one in 2018. After that, the next chance won't come around until 2031.
Planning for a launch in January 2018 looked particularly attractive, and not just because that could plausibly provide enough time to put the mission together. That's also a time frame when solar activity is expected to be at a minimum, reducing the level of radiation exposure. So Tito assembled a team from Paragon as well as NASA's Ames Research Center and other space ventures to flesh out the mission plan.
The plan calls for launching the two astronauts in a crew capsule with a transfer rocket stage. If the launch vehicle is powerful enough — say, the size of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy — the upper stage and the crew capsule could be launched in one go. If the rocket doesn't have that much oomph, the capsule and the upper stage could be launched separately and then linked up in Earth orbit for the push onward to Mars.
Inspiration Mars
An artist's conception shows how the spacecraft for the Inspiration Mars Foundation's "Mission for America" might be configured — with a crew capsule, an inflatable module similar to the ones built by Bigelow Aerospace, and an attached upper stage that could provide radiation shielding. The actual design has not yet been set.
"We only need to attach the upper stage. There's no need to get rid of it," MacCallum said. In the right configuration, that upper stage could even provide some of the required shielding from solar radiation and heating, he said.
The crew's 600 cubic feet of living space would include a capsule for launch and re-entry, with a well-shielded sleeping quarters that could provide a safe haven if solar storms erupted. There would be a habitat module — perhaps an inflatable module like the one that Bigelow Aerospace has been working on for NASA's use. The main idea is to keep the crew compartment as simple as possible while providing all the necessary amenities for a 501-day trip. "It's a '55 Chevy," MacCallum said.
To test the feasibility of the plan, Tito and his colleagues looked at the specifications for the Falcon Heavy as well as a modified version of SpaceX's Dragon capsule. But MacCallum emphasized that the team was not committed to using SpaceX hardware. He said the idea was getting a "great response" from a variety of aerospace companies. "If this mission is going to happen, they want 'their vehicle' to do it," McCallum said.
How much? And why?
MacCallum characterized the mission as "purely philanthropic," with the aim of inspiring future scientists and engineers as well as bridging the gap in NASA's plans for exploration beyond Earth orbit. NASA's current timetable calls for astronauts to go no farther than the International Space Station until 2021 at the earliest. Even though the Mars-and-back mission wouldn't make any stops, the trip could produce useful scientific data — and an adventure as grand as the Apollo moonshots of the '60s and '70s.
"I think we really need what Apollo did for America, but we didn't realize it while we were doing Apollo," MacCallum said.
Toward that end, Tito set up the Inspiration Mars Foundation. "He has committed to funding the first two years of this development, and he is committed to finding the rest of the money," MacCallum said. "Dennis is already getting tremendous interest in this mission from people of means."
The foundation is also looking into media deals and sponsorships. "Farmers Insurance cut a $700 million deal for the naming rights for a stadium," MacCallum noted. "Wow ... that's a not-insubstantial part of the money that we're talking about."
How much money are we talking about? MacCallum quoted Tito as saying "it's a fraction of what Curiosity cost," with reference to NASA's $2.5 billion robotic mission to Mars. Other reports have put the cost in the range of $1 billion or so — which is far less than the projected price tag for the crewed missions NASA plans to send to Mars in the 2030s.
MacCallum emphasized that Tito's "Mission for America" was meant to support America's space agency, not compete with it. "This mission is only even remotely contemplatable because of all the work that NASA has done on the International Space Station," he said. And NASA is getting something in return: MacCallum said Inspiration Mars is paying NASA for access to thermal protection technologies developed by the space agency.
Even if MacCallum and Poynter aren't picked to go on the flight, it sounds as if they'll be having the adventure of their lives over the next five years. "I feel so thrilled every day to be working with these people," MacCallum said. "It's just fabulous."
More about sex, Mars and spaceflight:
- Outer-space sex carries complications
- How a TV show could create a Mars colony
- Astronauts could survive Mars radiation
Is Dennis Tito's idea crazy? Check out this follow-up posting for a reality check.
Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
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Either that or we're talking about 'expendables'
Going to space is still in the test pilot stage no matter how short the trip. I'm not sure I can go with expendable but the risks should not be ignored.
Literally, this is rocket science folks.
Sending a man to space with his wife? What is this? A suicide mission?
I heard you cant get a stiffy up there, not even Viagra works...
Why not send Carmen Electra with the guy, at least then you will be guaranteed the experiment will go off without "issues"...
I'll go, but your going to need a bigger rocket. How can I fit all my weed in there for a year and a half trip? Much less my wife's luggage...
Goodbye Mile High Club. Hello Million Mile High Club!
Be sure to send up a divorce lawyer as well.
Totally explains the piece (pun intended) on, "Is sex in space safe?" a few days ago!
They got balls...well, at least one of them does.
Naw... both got a pretty big pair!
"the astronauts that are to be sent: one man and one woman, preferably a married couple beyond childbearing years."
Afraid they'll come back with a Martian?
Yep, 501 days in a tiny capsule with the one you love!! Yea, I love you tooo dear. It will start as a love fest but the ending will be bad. Two enter capsule and one leave..........
Dennis Tito, couldn't you instead send Boehner, Cantor, Pelosi, Reid and McConnell? ( and it needn't necessarily be to Mars ... and back)?
Based on polling data that's a project 90% of Americans could get behind with enthusiasm; especially a one-way mission.
;-)
@trust
Talk about 'hotboxing it'
"When you're out that far, and the Earth is a tiny, blue pinpoint, you're going to need someone you can hug," entrepreneur Dennis Tito so truly said and one who reminds me of his counterpart from the movie "Contact" the billionaire S.R. Hadden.
You must be mistaken, I was referring to using pot for the oxygen content, so you wouldn't need to rely on liquid oxygen. Make my own air that won't go BOOM, if I accidentally inhaled. And pre-launch concert will be ALL members of Black Sabbath playing, Into the Void and Rush cranking out 2112!
Interesting....IMO this is almost surely a death sentence.
The couple would likely not have any children and would need to complete a battery of psychological tests. Even then, there's so many variables....
I know there have been studies completed on group dynamics in long term space travel...was 2 the optimum scenario?
And a fly-by? What useful data could be collected that isn't already by the rovers and orbiting sats? Unless, by "useful data" you are talking about the effects on humans on long term space travel. The shrinks will have a field day studying that one.
One negative effect I certainly see with a married couple. When (if) they actually get back, instead of being able to go "Oh, THANK GOD I CAN GET AWAY FROM THIS PERSON", you can't! They'll be eating chicken soup,staring at each other across the table s soon as they're discharged, lol
her boobs might perk up a bit with no gravity
Not every married couple hates each other. And if you ask me, it'll be better to send a couple that has been married for many years.
The fact of the matter is that this mission is all about one thing, sending human beings out into space. That's it. All other motives are secondary. If science were the main goal, there would be no human beings. This mission is all about the science of astronautics as it relates to the humans involved.
@JK.... I know it's a joke, but I imagine the reason they want someone over that age so there isn't a risk of pregnancy during the trip, which would last longer than the pregnancy so a baby isn't born miles from Earth with no way to take care of it.
If the couple were to have sex in space, I'm sure the NASA channel will get like a billion hits.
While an intriguing idea, it is a potentially deadly one. If they make it all the way through, it will answer many questions on many levels regarding space travel and open up doors we've been awaiting for decades to see. Eventually, someone needs to be a pioneer- might as well be them. Better than sending monkeys!
I would go with my girlfriend, but she would needs people too much (but, she is post menopausal!)
I could go alone (yea!) and take care of my romantic needs myself. How many books could I stow, or would i just need a Kindle?
One question I did have, how would they pass the time? Dealing cards or shuffling dominos in zero g might present problems.
Further, couldn't we raise all the money we need by selling this to a network as "Big Brother in Space" or "Survivor: Destination Mars" or some other reality show? Send up 8 people with no way to get away from each other for 501 days. What drama.
I suppose voting someone off would have to go away. Or would it?
Send her to Venus by herself.
Good for them ...
We are NEVER going to get there - us humans that is - in the hands of NASA.
NASA just reflects our overly protective, feminized nanny-state - NO COJONES! It needs a kick in the pants by private ventures to get it off its rocker!
"Unless, by "useful data" you are talking about the effects on humans on long term space travel. The shrinks will have a field day studying that one."
Actually...yes.
I hear a discrimination lawsuit rustling in the back ground. Where is the gay couple going to ?
Uranus.
ROFL!!!!!! Mt. Man! That was brilliant!!!!
Unless the lawyer is clueless, it would be useless to try any discrimination lawsuit. Since this would also be a research type mission to judge the effects on the human body, logically you would want both a male and female to be part of the study.
mtl man hahaha you killed it
Hell.
@ohwow - Sure, along with all the other intelligent people of the world. Based on all the different people Christianist rhetoric condemns to Hell, it's quite clear that Hell will be by far the more cultured and interesting place.
By the way, have you eaten any shellfish recently?
@mt. man - I laughed.
No thanks. I love my wife but being locked in a tube for 500+ days....I know one of us would want to go outside for a walk.
And it is monitored 24/7. It means anywhere in that space hub is monitored 24/7. A live sex movie sends down to earth.
Maybe they'll change their mind on the age thing and come back with the first infant conceived in space.
I wouldn't just assume gestation would go ok in zero gravity; I think lots of mammalian research should be done before even trying it. For now, I don't see any sense in having a baby in space anyway; people could wait until they returned to Earth.
No need for it to be in zero gravity. They can just use the spent upper booster as a counter weight attached to a cable and rotate it and the crew vehicle. Viola: artificial gravity.
I am fascinated by the panorama of space that Hubble has provided as well as with the images of the Martian landscape provided by the "rovers", but this is going to be a one way trip - no return. If asked I will pass on this one.
Ron, I don't understand why you think this is to be a one-way trip. The plan is to go there and back with no stops in between.
bob: It's really quite simple: Here we are in 2013 with private companies having been working for 10 (?) years to build a rocket to send man into space. So far, none have done it. Rather than continue the progress made over the decades, the private sector has had to reinvent the wheel all over again. Before sending people to Mars you have to take the necessary steps to get there. This would involve sending people up to fly around Earth, then flying people around the Moon. And not just once. Right now, there are no real plans for anything like this. Let's just say, I'd be surprised if a 2018 launch actually took place. Admittedly, it's nice to talk about it and to dream again, as we did in the 1960s, but dreaming and reality can be two different things.
The fact is that it is going to take rich people with dreams to get this accomplished. With the halting of America's next rocket system, NASA has pretty much become just another agency to spend money on. And it seems as if it is gearing towards the "global warming" PC BS. Too bad.
witchrunner you had me until the last BS you typed:
You seem to selectively believe what the science community say.
westchesterbob,
We do not possess the technology for a manned round trip to Mars. If we had been flying to the moon on a regular basis for the last 20+ years then maybe we would have a chance from "lessons" learned, but we have not. We do not currently have a "ship" capable of such a task. Its a long way and there is no fall back should something go wrong. Sending probes to Mars is not the same as sending humans. The humans on board would be forced to "take a pill" should something go wrong. I am all for space exploration but I firmly believe in unmanned missions, especially with our recent successes with the various Martian projects and in light of NASA's decline in manned machines.
witchrunner,
No corporation has an interest in developing "anything" unless they can identify an "immediate profit/payout". Even the Virgin effort is looking to sell "E-ticket rides" to recoup some of their costs so this is a limited effort in my opinion . Only our government and competitive governments have the skill set and money required to build spacecraft necessary for a manned Martian mission like this, because the payout for governments is strictly military advantage. Own the skies, run the battle filed. Own space, run the planet.
They're not planning to land on Mars, just go out, loop around the planet, then head back to Earth. So, it's not intended to be a "one way" mission, barring major disaster the capsule will return. Whether the couple will survive is another matter, there is a lot that could go wrong in 501 days.
greg: Don't know what I said that lost you. I suppose it is the reference to "global warming." Whether you want to believe in the hypothesis that man is destroying the earth or not, it doesn't change the fact that under Obama and under Bush to an extent, the idea of challenging the limits of space has been dropped from the equation when talking about NASA. The fact is that NASA is losing a lot of good engineers. Why? Well, the pay was never great to begin with, but the idea of being connected to the space program was a game winner. That has lost it's appeal. Even the liberal engineers working in the NASA program have a different attitude than we once have. They understand that there is no desire from the politicians to do anything is space. So, they say, heck, we don't need to put people up there, we've been relying on the Russians for years to go to the space station. Implied is the expectation that nothing further will be done. So, yes, they act as scientists. But, you can't tell me that there's no difference between working to expand the final frontier and working to fulfill the political objectives of the politicians, even if you agree with them.
ron46: I understand that and that is why it is frustrating to see our government destroy a program that has produced a lot of good for society, instilled pride in our country and is just plain limping along like other governmental agencies. Don't you find it frustrating that the idea of fulfilling the dreams of exploring space is now being left to a few individuals who still have the dream and the money. Of course, they really don't have the money, but it's certainly more than most have.
witchrunner,
I agree with your comments as they pertain to NASA's space effort. Its frustrating that we designed and build, with foreign help, the space station and then abandoned the effort. Yes abandoned the effort. Without a launch vehicle we are at the mercy of our Russian counterparts. Why the heck did we build it and then decide to abandon the shuttle? Yes the shuttle was out of date but you don't shoot your only plow horse until you get a new one.
What if they catch spaids?
Reaching; but kind of funny.
They might want to send along the nation's first divorce lawyeronaut too.
They should load up the capsule with lawyernauts then eject one every million miles kind of like breadcrumbs... in case they get lost.
If sex in space is really good, expect the orbiting hotel business to get going--soon.
i wouldnt want to be a housekeeper in a zero gravity hotel.nasty!
R Battle
that comment made me literally LOL here at work! Nice! ;)
They should be doing the opposite. Send the breeders out into space, preferrably to become terraformers on Mars. Earth is way too overpopulated. Leave it to us child-free folks who won't further pollute it.
You understand of course that the entire population of the earth could fit in south Florida (practically shoulder to shoulder)--not livable space, but gives you an idea of how much space we really take up on this little blue marble.
Believe me Hon, if only I COULD!
*eyeroll*
Trust me, that would be a dream come true for me to get away from all of the crazy a** Libs and Fem-bots out here! And since you obviously have something personal against those who want and love children and care about carrying on a legacy, then maybe if you've got some spare change laying around, you could help us "breeders" make that dream happen!
It's really not about the amount of space we take up, it's about the amount of resources we use up.
CCM32365: We are overpopulated. However, no one in their right mind thinks that we're overpopulated because of space. It's not about space for the population; it's about feeding the population (and water, hygiene, transportation, and many other things that we already have issues with because of a large population).
@Daniel,
What about space for the OTHER lifeforms on earth? Like Wildlife that we consistently push out of THEIR space? That's what overpopulation does. So I guess I'm not of "right" mind?
@CCM - You understand that a large portion of the Earth's surface is more or less uninhabitable, right? Do you want to go live in the Sahara? It's not about land in general - it's about resources and land that has access to those resources.
@YesIDid - If you really think that "Libs" and "Fem-bots" are our biggest problem, I too would love to see you sent into space - along with millions of others like you. The average intelligence and critical thinking abilities among those left behind on Earth would increase drastically! The Earth would become downright paradisaical!
@jenny: Oh, the irony. You are aware you're the product of "breeders," right?
Nice attitude.
@ jenny-2549412
Please go watch the movie "Idiocracy" and then explain why you AREN'T having children if you care so much about the Earth.
Well Kindoalkun, the premise of that movie was that only the stupid people were breeding. This helps explain why you have kids and I don't.
First members of the 50-mile-high club.
Assuming of course there's no uh...."bone loss".
"bone loss" - don't they make a pill for that?
I wonder how they plan to get past the radiation? They will need to build a ship in a space dock, in space. Something bulky and shielded enough, for that long in open space. Or send up pieces and assemble up there. It will be very interesting to see how they go about this.
MoreJustice
A Moon base would be ideal as it would provide all of the shielding you'd need. Assuming of course that there is enough water on the moon to provide a shield for the surface structures.
question: where is this money coming from. Its one thing to fly to Mars because its made of Platinum but its not. Where is the payoff for private enterprise?
The Apollo missions gave us bragging rights and a lot of good stuff came out of that effort but we the people paid for it and we did benefit from it indirectly through spin off technology. Corporations need more then bragging rights.
That was stated clearly in the article. They're just going to take a higher dose than NASA allows. That doesn't mean that they're going to die instantly or anything.
Married couple & having sex don't really go together.
You must not be doing something right. My wife of 8 years and I have had sex 4 times this week and it's only Wednesday.
But not with each other.
Tell you the truth folks, do not think even Viagra will work for males in zero gravity. Just ask any guy on ISS mission.
and why would an all male crew on the ISS mission need viagra? hmmm?
Thomkin,
... and you would know this how?
Drezz,
I don't know where you've been but there have been MANY women astronauts on the ISS station.
Hopefully the male in the couple will still be young enough he won't have to rely on gravity for proper angle of reentry.
Perhaps his wife could give him an 'assist'?
Getting humans to Mars and back is going to take far more funding than what a millionaire can provide.
Calling Sir Richard Branson...
If you were talking about landing, yes. This, not so much...
$200 Million is a lot of money especially if you get others to back you.
But like they said....700 million to put your name on a ballpark. think of the publicity for being the "Viagra Rocket." Up for over a year!!
More likely Virgin Rocket...
This Mars mission brought to you by:
Google: when you really want to know about Mars, just Google
and
The Container Store: Organize your space
and
Viagra: launching picket rockets since 1998
At today's level of technology, such a mission would be suicide. I don't think there will be enough improvement in five years to make a difference. Sorry, but I'm not volunteering to become the Martian Eve. Well, wait a second. If Ben Affleck volunteers to become the Martian Adam . . . .
interesting ... same place I'd like to send my ex-wife and crazy ex-girlfriends ...good luck with that :)
Perhaps Rocketrod is the one who's crazy...
I'd go... but I would need about 25 cases of tequila, plenty of food and water, and a few of those girls on Pinterest....
I'm drooling just thinking of the possibilities of sex in a weightless environment.
Oh well -- back to Earth... I'm too old.
Invis -
Right there with ya. Sex swing? No need!
Ah, the amazing positions you could achieve! But the downside is there's no gravity to hold you in place, so you'd have to hold on to each other or you'd just "bounce off" and un-dock. I suspect that it would be more work involved in maneuvering and thrusting, without gravity you'd have to both push and pull!
The potential porn revenue would be out of this world!
Just hold her hips and move her back and forth.
Been there, done that, 1969, Thunderbolt at KennyWood, we rode 6 times before we got off... the ride.
Here, people use various sorts of 'restraints' for...fun.
In free-fall, they'd be somewhat of a necessity.