America is "doing both the moon and Mars in tandem, and the missions are supportive of each other," new NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told a national space conference today.
Bridenstine also voiced support for the big new deep space rocket called the Space Launch System being developed in Alabama. "We need the SLS and we need the Orion crew vehicle," Bridenstine said.
SLS development is being led by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. Parts are being built in Huntsville and at the Michoud Assembly Center outside New Orleans.
Bridenstine, just three weeks into his tenure as NASA administrator, spoke at the Humans to Mars Summit 2018 at George Washington University in Washington. He assured Mars enthusiasts that the Trump administration's emphasis on going back to the Moon first doesn't mean an end to the Mars project.
"The moon will allow us to prove and advance technologies that will feed forward to Mars," Bridenstine said. He then listed the technologies needed: "Precision landing systems, methane engines, orbital habitation, surface habitation, surface mobility, long-duration life support."
Bridenstine said the public-private partnerships needed for deep space are like the effort undertaken by the government to build the transcontinental railroads in the 19th century. Government investment in the railroad combined with private investment made opening the West possible, he said. A similar effort including partner nations "worldwide" will make the Mars exploration possible.
Why go to Mars? Bridenstine cited the Insight Mars probe launched to the red planet Saturday. "Insight will help us understand the history of Mars so that we can better understand our own planet...," he said. "Mars used to have a vast ocean. Over two-thirds of Mars had an ocean. It used to have a magnetosphere that would protect it. And it had a thick atmosphere. At some point in the past, Mars changed. We need to understand what caused that, what is the history, so we can better understand our own planet."