Project Blue Book desk file, Socorro (217 pages)

~.S. Space Team Could Blast Off
for Mars in 19751 Scientist Says
!.
- BY l\IIL'I BROuHARD haxen·t ·the fmanc1al capa-·for the 300-·HO days i1: Is ·
Times staff Writer billty to attempt a slmilar .expected to make the round
• AXAHEDI-.\. thre~-man proJect unless they com- ' trip. .
t:.S. space team could be pletely trample the 111·ateri3 l Th~>. mother -.ship 'vould
s~cces sfully landed on }[ar5 need" of their exp ioding ~stabllsh a }[ar:Ian or~m an~ .
t d t ·f . 1 popnlatwn ·• he ,;;a>d · -,enrl out the actual landm 0 ·
o con uc s~n ace exp ora- · . ~ · · craft to"·ards a pre-de~i"'-
tfons in 1983 accordiwr to The landmg team would t d 1 d. . Tl "-
, ' . o . be composed of the pilot. an •na e an mg at ea. 11" .
~e man ~onnected w1th the astronaut, "·ho would be fllght "·ould last about one
pJ:ograrn. trained to act as a scientific :hour. . ·
: The target date could be assistant once the -!0-day ' Craft De~wbed . 1
advanced several years . - .exploration on }fars actualh- 1 The explorers small draft ·
perhaps as early as 1975-if aot unden,·a,·; a scientific 'would be able to change ·
federal go\·ernment officiaL; person tramed in ~eo logy, :direction once inside ~far,;·
would gi\·e the program the.physiology and meteorology.!a.tmosphere to m~ke correc- 1
gcrahead at this time, he and a third member who ' tlons from the pnme launch
contends. ,would be mi.ented to bioloo\· ·pattern. It "·ould be a tail-
"It would take about nine and bio-physic,;. -o. : ~irst l~nding with th~ craft
,-ears to test and a"~emble , m pos1ttoa for blast-off \\·he,, .
" )lodified Boosters · h h I · · 'the hard"~are and about six t e retum to t e ont tmg
years to train the c;;;;tronauts Beween fiYe .and -~en cur- mother-;;h tp is to ~e made.. ,
who would make the land- rent Ol' modtfted ~aturn-C :\lo:-t of the equipment m
ing," says Dr. Franklin P. biJosters would l~tt!lch the the landing naft w?uld be
Dixon ~I a r s Excursion at temPt b~- llftmg al l expendable one e It has
:Module 'program director at · ~u~pment neede~ . for an 'served its scientific purpo- '
1'\e\vport's Aeronutronic mltlal earth- orbltmg way ses. Dr. Dixon satd.
Division of the Philco Corp. !station. Ideally. the men would be
lU p b F. t · Once the way station was .landed in the springtime
o~n ro e ns ·in operation, a nuclear- ~ near }fars' north poliir ice :
_He satd. that. c u ,r r .en t pm\·ered spacecraft \\ ould 'cap so the~- could in.-estigate
r-IASA proJects lmkeet w!lh a be launched from it toward;; '' dark areas" which he ,.aid
-hopefully- succ~ssful as-)I a r s. This mothership mav be some form of life ·
tron~ut moon. landmg '.nll ,would have a fom to six- •lap.ping up the "·ater created !
provt~e most of t.he nece~- man rt·pu- ::mrl hP nrPn:nPn l hv thP. melting thin ire cap. '
sarv. 1 n f o r m a t 1 o n and
equipment needed to land ·
men on ~[ars and return .
them saf~l y.
Dr. Dixon re\·ealed thi;;
irifo):mation and designs for
the space vehicle to be used
at Tuesday evening's meet-
. ing of the Orange County
Chapter of the American ·
Institute of Aeronautics and ,
Astronautics at DisneYland
Hotel here. ·
His d1scliosure was based :
o'n the final work .\eronu- '
~onic submitted to :\AS A's 1
Manned Spacecraft Center 1
in ._Houston. The report re-:,
q u es t e d by X ASA was .
conducted to . check t h e i
practicality of such a space c
attempt. If
He - sa1d the onlv addi- 1,
tionaI work needed· beyond ·]
current space studies would !
be the final development of a •1
current nuclear engine to ,,
propel the landing whicle's ,
mother ship from an earth
orbiting space station and 1
,
better knowledge of t.Iars'.
atmospheric conditions.
Need Government Backing .
. "The major hurdle is ar-·:
tually to ha,·e the govern-:
rnent want to make th f•
venture," Dr. Dixon said. -Hr
hopes that the possibilities of
greater scientifir knowlP.dge
and the political acl\·antage '
of ~·.!stripping R us:: 1 an ·
space efforts " ·ill prodde the ·
leverage to get appro' a! for
the program .
"The Russians at tht:; timeRob Mercer