A Joint Mars Venture

The Soviet program to land robots on Mars and return samples to Earth is an ambitious plan that should point the way for the American civilian space program, which remains shipwrecked on the Challenger. The Russians know well that Mars is the next frontier in space, and they will concentrate their efforts on getting there.

Should the Soviet Union achieve its goal in the next decade, it would demonstrate how much a coordinated national space program can do once the priorities are set. Part of the problem of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is that it is buffeted in many directions and cannot decide what its priorities are.

The space station project moves ahead--toward a smaller space station than originally conceived--but it is more an engineering than a scientific goal. And NASA still isn’t sure what the space station will be used for.

It could be part of a Mars program, which could still be done as an international venture with the Russians. Mars is the only other planet in the solar system remotely like the Earth, and it happens to be close enough to visit. Getting astronauts there and back would stretch the limits of technology, but it could be done. A round trip would take two years and cost--it is estimated--$50 billion.

While we are deciding what to do, the Russians will put their plan into motion aimed at landing smart rovers on Mars, together with equipment for drilling and collecting, and gather up pieces of Mars for study on Earth. Sending people to Mars would surely be the next step, and this country should not cede it to anyone else.

NASA’s planners have come up with ideas for a joint Mars program with the Russians that would keep the transfer of technology between the countries to a minimum. That should allay the fears of those who would rather not share U.S. technology with the Soviet Union.

The space program remains the most ambitious, daring and far-reaching effort of our age, and it should not be allowed to drift into mediocrity and complacency. The space program needs to recapture the excitement and imagination of the 1960s, when a lunar landing was its goal. A Mars landing is the way to do it. It is an important and worthwhile endeavor in its own right. The exploration is worth the expense.

The Russians are going to Mars. So should we.