A little more on the Ruskie manned mars mission
Russia planning piloted Mars mission
MOSCOW. March 19 (Interfax) - Russia's Energia spacecraft building corporation is working on a project aimed at launching a piloted mission to Mars, the company's First Deputy General Director Nikoai Zelenshchikov said.
"We are currently developing a powerful spaceship for a Mars mission. Its weight is estimated at 600 tonnes," Zelenshchikov told a news conference in Moscow on Friday.
He said that Energia began working on its manned Mars mission project in the 1960s.
"The first spacecraft was developed in 1960 and the second one in 1969. The 1988 project envisioned using a powerful Energia rocket," Zelenshchikov said, adding that none of these projects were put into practice.
"Of course, a piloted Mars mission could be difficult from a technical standpoint, but we are going to face more problems with financing," he said. [RU EUROPE EEU EMRG AER] tm tj