Cost Assessment: Analyzing a Manned Mission to Mars Feasibility

This report assesses the financial aspects of a manned mission to Mars, addressing the estimated total cost, current expenses for manned space launches via Russian spacecraft, and the United States' annual spending on manned space exploration and NASA overall. It calculates the percentage of the U.S. annual budget allocated to NASA and lists various international space agencies involved in human spaceflight, highlighting their respective budgets. The report concludes that a manned mission to Mars requires international collaboration due to technological and financial constraints, suggesting that the U.S. government should partner with other space agencies to achieve this goal. The benefits of such a mission include fulfilling scientific curiosity, advancing technology, and realizing the dream of interplanetary living.

Running head: Astronomy
Astronomy
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Astronomy
1. As indicated by a harsh gauge set forward by a panel of NASA industry and scholastic
specialists, the expense of manned trip to mars go from $80 to $100 billion. NASA as of now
spends around $4 billion per year on investigation programs whereby the greater part of the cash
is diverted to the improvement of the Orion shuttle and another rocket that would convey space
explorers to mars.
2. At present there is just a single spaceship that launch people in excess of 200 miles above
earth, drop them off at the Global Space Station and fly them back, that is, a Russian spaceship
called the Soyuz. In 2018 a man needs to pay generally $81 million to ride a Soyuz to the ISS
and back (Kirkpatrick, 2009). This is one of the most secure trips to space yet confined among
flying and bags of cargo for somewhere in the range of 6hours to 2 days for each leg of the
journey.
3. The US devotes about 0.5% of its budget to all things that are space related.
4. For the financial year 2019, NASA spending plan is US$ 19.5 billion which is marginally
higher than earlier years' financial plans. It will likewise get $400 billion from supplemental
assets.
5. The United State budget for FY 2019 is $4.407 trillion, $ 19.4 billion being budgeted for
NASA. This expressed in a percentage fraction becomes; 19.4
4407 ×100 %=0.4402 % of the total
U.S annual budget.
6. Space organizations engaged with human space flight are located in the US (NASA), Russia,
The European Union (ESA), China, Canada, Japan, India and many other countries around the
globe as listed in the tables below;
Budget of different space agencies
Country/Region Agency Budget (in millions of US
$)
United States National Aeronautics and
Space Administration
19,500
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(NASA)
Austria, Belgium, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Finland,
France, Germany, Greece,
Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,
Netherlands, Norway, Poland,
Portugal, Romania, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, United
Kingdom
European Space Agency
(ESA)
6,271
Russia Russia Federal Space Agency 3,272
France French Space Agency 2,600
Germany German Aerospace Center 2,500
Japan Japan Aerospace Exploration
Agency
2,030
Italy Italian Space Agency 1,800
China China National Space
Administration
1,300
India India Space Research
Organization
1,700
United Kingdom UK Space Agency 529
Canada Canadian Space Agency 488.7
South Korea Korea Aerospace Research
Institute
366
Algeria Algeria Space Agency 360
Brazil Brazilian Space Agency 299
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Ukraine State Space Agency of
Ukraine
250
Argentina Commission Nacional de
Actividades Espaciales
180
Iran Iranian Space Agency and
Iranian Space Research
Center
139
Spain Istituto Nacional de Tecnica
Aeroespacial
135
Netherlands Netherlands Space Office 110
Sweden Swedish National Space
Agency
100
Pakistan Space and upper Atmosphere
Research Commission
75.1
South Africa South African National Space
Agency
11.8
Switzerland Swiss Space Office 10
Mexico Mexican Space Agency 8.34
World All Space Agencies (Total of
listed budgets)
44,034.94
Currently it is not possible for a single nation to perform a manned mission to mars due to
the challenges that they may be undergone before accomplishing the mission. It requires
combination of effort either in terms of technology or funding. Up to date there is no sufficiently
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amazing rockets to send a specialty sufficiently substantial to convey every one of the provisions
space explorers would require, additionally, there is no innovation to securely land a heavy craft
on mars once it arrives (Judkins, 2012). Even though such a rocket can be engineered, there is no
enough money to afford the actual mission using it.
The governments of US for the past years have spent billions on space exploration through
their space agency NASA. Currently NASA is focusing on a manned journey to mars which has
been unsuccessful due to the deficient technology to perform the mission and the financial
constraints. Government of US through NASA should consider partnering with other space
agencies across the world so as to accomplish the mission of visiting Mars. Travelling to Mars is
beneficial in that it is a realization of an amazing dream of living on another planet, satisfaction
of the curious scientists, and show of progression of mankind in terms of development and
technology (Freakonomics, 2014).
References
Freakonomics. (2014, May 27). Freakonomics Quorum. Retrieved from Is Space Exploration
Worth the Cost?: freakonomics.com
Judkins, P. (2012). Making Vision into Power. International Journal of Engineering and
Technology, 103–104.
Kirkpatrick, G. M. (2009). Development of A Monopulse Radar System. Aerospace and
Electronic Systems.
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