NASA chief Charlie Bolden, on a visit to Israel, said that international cooperation would be needed for manned missions to Mars to succeed, and that he is interested in exploring how Israel could help the effort, while expressing appreciation for Israel’s technological abilities.
America’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) plans to send a manned mission to Mars in the 2030s, NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden said Monday during a visit to Israel.
Accompanied by Israeli Science, Technology and Space Minister Ofir Akunis and Givatayim Mayor Ran Konik, Bolden toured the Givatayim Observatory.
While robotic explorers have studied Mars for more than 40 years, NASA is developing the capabilities needed to send humans to an asteroid by 2025 and Mars in the 2030s.
Akunis, who expressed hope that NASA would include an Israeli astronaut on an upcoming mission to the International Space Station, told Israel Hayom that Bolden’s visit “is important and will increase the cooperation between Israel and the United States.”
In October 2015, NASA and the Israel Space Agency (ISA) signed a significant civil space agreement, establishing a strengthened relationship between the two bodies.
By: JNS.org and United with Israel Staff