Sec. 203. Human mission to Mars
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Congress finds the following: In section 204 of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 ( 42 U.S.C. 18301 et seq. ), Congress required NASA to contract with the National Academies to perform a study of human spaceflight. The National Research Council of the National Academies released a report entitled Pathways to Exploration: Rationales and Approaches for a U.S. Program of Human Space Exploration in June of 2014. The report called for Mars to be the horizon goal for human space exploration.
NASA continues to request funding levels, follow strategies, and pursue missions that the National Research Council report identified as problematic. NASA has yet to provide adequate details or funding requests for a plan to successfully send American astronauts to Mars. Billions of dollars have been invested in the Space Launch System and Orion capsule, which represent core elements of deep space exploration systems farthest along in development. The following is the sense of Congress:
NASA should request budget levels, and Congress should continue to appropriate funds and carry out stringent oversight necessary to keep the Space Launch System and Orion capsule on track and on budget. Congress should prioritize funding within NASA to meet the budget requirements of sending American astronauts to Mars. NASA should utilize the Moon and cislunar space in order to accomplish the goal of sending American astronauts to Mars. NASA should utilize commercial assets, when practicable and available, to support exploration beyond Earth orbit, including to Mars.
Until Americans land on Mars, NASA’s main human spaceflight priority shall be to land Americans on Mars. Whenever possible, NASA aeronautics and exploration directorates shall seek to avoid developing technologies and capabilities that do not have applicability across multiple directorates, programs, or activities, including missions to Mars. NASA shall, whenever practicable and not restricted by law— seek to secure specific investments in capabilities and technologies needed for deep space exploration; and clearly communicate what capabilities and technologies are being pursued through international partnerships.
The first 20-year plan required under section 202(e)(1) shall designate a 5-year range by which NASA intends for American astronauts to land on the surface of Mars. NASA shall include an update of this range in any subsequent 20-year plan developed before such landing occurs. The first 10-year plan required under section 202(e)(1) shall address the concerns raised by the National Research Council report described in subsection (a)(3), including concerns regarding budget projections, the launch frequency of the Space Launch System, and the efficacy of the Asteroid Redirect Mission.
Specifically, the plan shall— provide for the cancellation of the Asteroid Redirect Mission, unless NASA can compellingly demonstrate the mission’s utility; explain how NASA intends to avoid missions that lead to dead end technologies; and explain how NASA will look at all options to maximize the utility of early launches of the Space Launch System, including payloads (such as pressurized habitable modules) and experiments. Each 10-year plan and 20-year plan required under section 202(e)(1) shall specify how NASA intends to maintain a permanent human presence beyond low-Earth orbit.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede NASA’s long-term goal of human space flight and exploration, as provided in section 202(a) of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 ( 42 U.S.C. 18312(a) ), to expand permanent human presence beyond low-Earth orbit and to do so, where practical, in a manner involving international partners.
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