To Mars in 1981?

Paine led off the NASA presentation on August 4; he suggested that “Apollo 11 started a movement that will never end, a new outward movement in which man will go to the planets, first to explore, and then to occupy and utilize them.” He then turned the meeting over to von Braun, who described a “typical manned Mars mission,” which he claimed represented “no greater challenge than the commitment made in 1961 to land a man on the moon.” This was a remarkable (and unrealistic) claim, given the myriad technologi­cal challenges associated with a two-year flight into deep space. Because the opportunities for Mars missions could be identified with high accuracy, von Braun was able to use precise dates in presenting his mission profile. The round trip to Mars would take 640 days, departing Earth orbit on November 12, 1981, and returning on August 14, 1983. The mission would be carried out by two spacecraft, each carrying six astronauts (all male). After arriving at Mars, the spacecraft would remain in Martian orbit for 80 days. First making sure the Martian surface was safe for human presence, three crew members from each spacecraft would land for 30- to 60-day explor­atory sorties. The trip back to Earth would take 290 days and would include a swing by of Venus. After arrival back in Earth orbit, the crew and Martian samples would transfer to the space station, then be returned to Earth using space shuttles. Von Braun told the STG members that the plan he had out­lined could be carried out with a NASA budget peaking at $7 billion in 1975 and then leveling at $5 billion/year in the 1980s.31

Paine closed the presentation by saying “with the successful Apollo land­ing on the Moon, we know that man can lay claim to the planets for his use. We know further that man will do this; the question is, which nations and when?” He was less optimistic than von Braun about the costs of the program, suggesting that it would require “a budget rising to $9 to $10 bil­lion” in the second half of the 1970s. He suggested that “a commitment in principle to these achievements must be made now.”32