Je n'ai pas vu trace de ce sujet, donc je me propose de vous en faire part (et je m'excuse d'avance dans le cas où celui ci aurait déjà été posté):
Source: Voice Of Russia
NASA Proposes Joint Mars Mission
RIA NovostiNASA’s top official in Russia was quoted as proposing on Tuesday that the US and Russian space agencies join efforts to send a manned mission to Mars.
NASA official Mark Bowman told Tuesday’s aerospace conference in Moscow that the US and Russian space agencies should lead the project and allow other countries to join. Declining to elaborate, Bowman only added that to make the joint manned mission to Mars feasible, NASA, in turn, need to complete its space exploration program in the years ahead. As the space shuttle approaches retirement, NASA is building the next fleet of sophisticated vehicles to bring astronauts back to the Moon, and possibly to Mars and beyond, Bowman said. The Orion spacecraft project is set to be finalized in 2015, the NASA official explained, adding that 2020 may well see a US manned mission to the Moon in what he said should smooth the way for the US and Russia working together on their joint Mars project.
Bowman’s move is yet to be nodded by the two countries’ top officials all the more so that the project is of both political scientific significance, experts say, remaining cautiously optimistic as far as the future of the project goes. Pundits point to Russia’s Federal Agency planning to send a mission to Mars on its own, which echoes NASA’s similar steps. Interestingly, last month saw the Federal Space Agency complete a 105-day test in which a group of 6 volunteers were isolated in a mock Mars trip. Earlier, the Agency’s spokesman said that plans to launch a 520-day mock mission are already in the pipeline.
In any case, Bowman’s proposal may add significantly to cementing the US-Russia space partnership, analysts argue, citing a successful implementation of a landmark Apollo-Soyuz test project in 1975 and the two’s considerable contribution to the construction of the International Space Station.
With Moscow and Washington currently on their way to a fence-mending, the hope is that the two will officially signal their desire to jointly fulfill the costly Mars project at the end of the day.
Source: Voice Of Russia
