A Tweet From SpaceX Announced That It Plans To Send A Robotic Dragon Spacecraft To Mars In 2018

SpaceX has tweeted that its Red Dragon spacecraft combined with the Falcon Heavy Rocket can make it to Mars…and beyond. According to nasaspaceflight.com (this is not a NASA website) SpaceX has entered into an agreement with NASA for a Mars mission. The spacecraft, known as the Red Dragon, is a variation of the SpaceX’s Dragon 2 spacecraft.

The report quoted SpaceX’s Elon Musk as saying, “Dragon 2 is capable of transporting scientific payloads to anywhere in the solar system, with a liquid or solid surface, with or without an atmosphere. So Dragon is really a crew transport and science delivery platform.” Musk is also reported as saying, “With Dragon launched on a Falcon Heavy, it can go pretty much anywhere in the solar system, because that’s a heck of a big rocket.”

The report quoted NASA’s Deputy Administrator Dava Newman, as saying, “We’re particularly excited about an upcoming SpaceX project that would build upon a current ‘no-exchange-of-funds’ agreement we have with the company. In exchange for Martian entry, descent, and landing data from SpaceX, NASA will offer technical support for the firm’s plan to attempt to land an uncrewed Dragon 2 spacecraft on Mars.”

Last year, SpaceX performed a pad abort test with this Dragon spacecraft; the results of which were widely broadcast on YouTube. During the pad abort test it was shown that the spacecraft has the capability of hovering and maneuvering. The abort rocket motors on the Dragon spacecraft are built into the airframe itself rather than being jettisoned as commonly seen on previous capsule type spacecraft. This means the system can be used both for an abort at launch, or as a landing system.

The news that a trip to Mars may be in the offing within a couple of years is intriguing.

(Image of Dragon 2 Spacecraft from file)

www.spacex.com/