Everyone seems to be going to the moon in 2018!
Between national space programmes and private initiatives, 2018 is the goal launch year for at least eight different missions to the moon, making it the most popular destination outside low Earth orbit.
Elon Musk said last year that SpaceX plans to send two tourists on a jaunt around the moon in 2018 using his Falcon Heavy rocket and Crew Dragon capsule. Neither of these have flown yet, so they face significant testing before their intended launch date at the end of the year, and even a minor issue with one of them could delay the journey. Musk has not revealed the identities of the astro-tourists, who will pay an undisclosed – but surely astronomical – amount of money for the ride.
Also in 2018 NASA will be sending two astronauts back to the Moon. NASA has also revealed a new ship and one of the primary reasons NASA is returning to the Moon is for Preparation for Human Mars Mission.
Our realized timeframe for an actual Mars mission is roughly 2030.
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