STENNIS, MISS– An engine that will launch the first manned mission to Mars was successfully tested at Stennis Space Center in Hancock county Thursday.
3…2…1… This engine will take mankind to the red planet. #NASAMarsDay @NASA @NASAStennis pic.twitter.com/cfTzC69rd1
— Captain Bounds (@captainbounds) August 18, 2016
“This test is the first step in sending us to Mars,” said a NASA official. “This will make humans an interplanetary species.”
NASA scientists tested the rocket engine built to carry mankind to
Mars,, a trip is scheduled for the summer of 2030.
The engine, which produced almost half a million pounds of force, is one of four boosters that will be strapped together to catapult the passengers onto a 34 million mile-long journey– and that’s just one-way.
“We won’t replace this hardware,” said John Sector, of Stennis. “This engine is going to Mars.”
The engine will be one part of the SLS rocket will be powered at launch by the four RS-25 engines like the one tested, firing in conjunction with a pair of solid rocket boosters. NASA has conducted tests of the new booster at Orbital ATK’s test facilities in Promontory, Utah, while all RS-25 developmental and flight engine tests will be conducted on the A-1 Test Stand at Stennis. The tests are critical to ensure the RS-25 engines will perform as needed. RS-25 engines previously were used as space shuttle main engines, powering 135 missions to low-Earth orbit from 1981 to 2011, according to NASA.
The test was conducted by a team of NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne and Syncom Space Services personnel. Aerojet Rocketdyne is NASA’s prime contractor for developing and building RS-25 engines. Syncom Space Services is the agency’s prime contractor for maintenance of Stennis facilities and operations.
The test did not only catch the attention of the public, but of lawmakers.
