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Article: NASA Considers Sending Astronauts To Mars Moon as a `Quicker First'; Mission to Phobos Could Get Under Way in 5 Years
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- April 7, 1988
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is studying an
astronaut mission to Phobos, a moon of Mars, as a way to achieve a
"quicker first" in space, possibly in as little as five to seven
years, according to agency officials.
The mission might require only about half as much fuel and
equipment as a landing on Mars because it would avoid passing in and
out of the planet's gravitational pull.
The Phobos mission would involve six astronauts and could include
a manned lunar base or lunar astronomical observatory, a manned
"sprint" mission to Mars' surface, studies of the solar system by
robot, or some combination, according to Mark Craig, manager of the
Johnson Space Center's lunar ...