does nasa have the technology to go to mars right now if they wanted to?

Answer 1

No, not right now. In principal it is only about twice as hard as going to the Moon, it just takes longer. That means a rocket with twice the power of Apollo could make it. They could build such a rocket in a few years, but it would be expensive. The big problem is how long the trip takes. 9 months to get to Mars, another 9 months to come back, and because Mars and Earth are both orbiting the Sun but at different speeds, you need to wait on Mars for almost a year after you get there before both planets are again in the correct positions to start the return trip. So you need to have air, food and water for over 2 years on the space craft. And you need all the systems to work without breaking down for that long. Such a space craft would be much larger than an Apollo and so need a much bigger rocket to launch. Also, the Apollo astronauts only took a week or two for the entire trip to the Moon and back and so were not exposed to space radiation long enough to get a dangerous dose of radiation, but a 2 year trip to Mars would expose the crew to dangerous amounts of radiation, so new shielding would be needed. It is not something we could do today or even this decade.

Answer 2

Yes, but it's not a practical option yet. The space program could use the current rocket technology to construct a manned spacecraft to travel to Mars and back, but it would require several dozen flights to complete such a task, considering that the fuel, food and water for the trip would have to be sent up as well.

The experience from the ISS and Mir have shown that long duration spaceflight is possible; one cosmonaut stayed in orbit for over a year, and has a cumulative time of almost 1.5 years. Radiation and solar flares during the transits would be a major concern, but with proper shielding - which adds to the number of construction launches - a feasible solution can be found.

Another big problem is that with the current technology, when landing on Mars, one would have to carry the fuel required to return to Martian orbit. Engineers hope to make the trip easier by finding a method to manufacture fuel on Mars on site; Robert Zubrin's "Mars Direct" plan discusses this method in more detail. The in situ fuel production hasn't been fully worked out, however; if engineers can figure it out, however, the practicality of a manned Mars mission increases several times fold.

So, it's possible with today's technology, but it's just not practical.

Answer 3

Yes, they already have the technology for going to mars right now ,but only the spaceship without passenger

First,Nasa have tried it with Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars Polar Lander missions in late 1999, but they've failed.
NASA then made a plan named "Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander" ,but cancelled. The Lander's companion spacecraft Mars Surveyor 2001 Orbiter, renamed 2001 Mars Odyssey, was launched and went into orbit about Mars on October 24, 2001.

after that, NASA's 2003 Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Mission commenced in 2003. they send two rover called Spirit And Opportunity to explore the Martian surface and geology. The mission was led by Project Manager Peter Theisinger of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Principal Investigator Steven Squyres, professor of astronomy at Cornell University.

The total cost of building, launching, landing and operating the rovers on the surface for the initial 90 day primary mission was about US $820 million. With the rovers still functioning over two years after landing, mission funding has been extended to at least September 2006. in recognition of the vast amount of scientific information amassed by both rovers, two asteroids have been named in their honor: 37452 Spirit and 39382 Opportunity.

Answer 4

Not yet. The only thing that we're missing is enough food and water for the space travelers. NASA also needs to get some way to put air pods on the planet so our astronauts can refuel their air tank, since they're so far away from the best oxygen source. As soon as that happens, we'll ge on our way to get to Mars. Plus, we have to wait about 2-3 years so that Mars is closer to us than it is now.

Answer 5

We would have to stock a massive supply ship in orbit
Send a huge rocket to dock with it a send it toward Mars
Could be done but who wants to pay for it

Being able to set up a rig to reach escape velocity and return to Earth is far more daunting You would need:
A landing vehicle to detach and land on the surface of Mars
It must include a rocket powerful enough leave the surface
Escape velocity on Mars is 5 km /s to reach orbit
Dock with the orbiting supply ship that you brought with you
Navigate back to Earth

Answer 6

They are on mars right now

Answer 7

They've already sent some stuff, will probably do more whenever they can scrape together the money for it. Their biggest problem is that they don't have the funding to do everything they want to do.

Answer 8

yes

and they have already sent many rockets to mars and landed vehicles on mars

going to mars would be no problem

coming back would be harder

Answer 9

No,due to the fact that at our current rate of travel,it would take to long...tom science

Answer 10

nasas made in a hollywood basement.