[caption id="attachment_80570" align="alignright" width="269"] Mars Flyby Mission Delayed by 3 Years to 2021[/caption]

The privately funded project known as Inspiration Mars plans to send two astronauts on a 582-day voyage to fly by both Venus and Mars. The target date has been pushed back to November 22, 2021. The capsule and crew will pass by Venus during April 2012 and then Mars by October at which point it will return home. The trip would historic. However, it will still require the aid of NASA which Inspiration Mars says will need to build the rocket capable of boosting their capsule into outer space. The heavy-life rocket has yet to be built. The capsule will need to have a sufficient quantity of food, water, and supplies for the nearly 19 month journey plus a little extra for any unforeseen events.

It should be noted that Inspiration Mars will not be orbiting either planet hence the term "flyby". In sworn testimony before the US Congress, Doug Cooke, Inspiration Mars advisor and former advisor to NASA, told the Congressional committee overseeing NASA's budget that the flybys are designed to give the two astronauts the same type of view of Venus and Mars that people in the United States get of the moon. In all, the crew will get 40 hours of moon-like observation of Mars.

The privately funded project will actually not be as privately funded as originally conceived. For starters, the SLS heavy-lift rocket, which they need from NASA, has never built in the size required. That booster alone will require hundreds of millions of dollars of US taxpayer funding. Also, NASA, whose role is pivotal, was not even invited to address the congressional committee. In other words, it's starting to sound like reality is settling in at Inspiration Mars. It is not certain that the government will partner with Inspiration Mars which would render to the entire proposal nothing more than an intellectual exercise.

[caption id="attachment_80569" align="aligncenter" width="575"] Dennis Tito's 2021 Human Mars Flyby Mission Explained (Infographic)[/caption]

Source:
Mars Flyby Schedule Reset for 2021, But Will It Ever Fly?
http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/mars-flyby-schedule-reset-2021-will-it-ever-fly-n41546

Dennis Tito's 2021 Human Mars Flyby Mission Explained (Infographic)
http://www.space.com/19985-private-mars-mission-flyby-dennis-tito-infographic.html