The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has been tirelessly gathering as much detail as possible from the Mars to study its topography, presence of water and several other elements to find any possibility of human habitation on the red planet. The Curiosity and Opportunity rovers are currently sending new finds on the planet but NASA is planning to take up a new mission in 2022 called Next Mars Orbiter or NeMO.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena has initiated NeMO mission by awarding funds to five companies for concept studies. However, the ambitious project is yet to get final approval.
[READ: NASA's Mars mission: Presence of organics throws up evidence of life on the red planet]
Mars Curiosity rover's latest discovery on the red planet is organic materials. Organics found in samples drilled out from rocks will boost the search for any existence of life in the past and future endeavours. It has thrown more light on "habitability potential" in the planet.
However, the need for a new Mars mission is a necessity because of several issues faced by the current spacecrafts like communication, ageing machines and source of energy. NASA is planning Mars rover in 2020 and Next Mars Orbiter 2022 could become a reality.
There are plans to send humans to Mars in 2030s, but comprehensive study, including the amount of water present in the planet, is needed to be known about the possibility of human habitation. Communication between Mars rovers and the earth is currently done via orbiting Mars spacecraft, but information should be sent to the earth directly for quicker action. There is also need to replace rocket fuel with solar-electric propulsion (SEP).
Owing to these reasons, NASA's proposed mission – the Next Mars Orbiter 2022 – will be crucial in accomplishing various pending tasks that will help humans finally step on the surface of the red planet.
