U.S.-Soviet Manned Mission to Mars Backed

The chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee and the top Soviet space scientist agreed Thursday on plans to pursue a joint U.S.-Soviet manned mission to Mars aimed at making the superpowers friends, not foes, in space.

Rep. Robert A. Roe (D-N.J.), who heads the panel, said he believes a common effort to explore Earth’s neighbor could shift the international focus on space from “Star Wars” to a mutual star trek.

After meeting with Raold Sagdeyev, who heads the Soviet Space Research Institute, the New Jersey lawmaker called the goal “definitely possible.”

Neither Roe nor the Soviet scientist predicted a timetable for a Martian mission, said by most experts to be at least decades away.

But neither man flinched at the possibility of putting a man or woman on Mars. “There’s no question about it,” Roe said.

Rewards ‘10,000 Times Better’

“The rewards and benefits to mankind in space are 10,000 times better than the destruction of mankind in space,” Roe said.

Sagdeyev agreed, saying the exploration of Mars, approximately 49 million miles away, is “probably . . . the most challenging project of this century.”

Sagdeyev said a sophisticated, unmanned mission to further explore the Martian terrain is likely before the year 2000. Both nations have already landed probes on Mars.

Robot Mission to Go First

“Almost for sure, we will send a very intelligent robotic mission to Mars,” he predicted.

He said that Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev is keenly interested in exploring Mars.

Roe said he has urged President Reagan to discuss the joint venture with Gorbachev, due here next week for a superpower summit.

Sagdeyev said he and other Soviet scientists want to pursue “how two great space powers could do it together.” He said a joint effort makes sense, given the enormous cost and technical challenges.

Roe and Rep. Manuel Lujan Jr. of New Mexico, ranking Republican on the space subcommittee, last month urged Reagan to discuss the Mars venture with Gorbachev.

“There is no venture that could have more lasting beneficial results in terms of international good will,” they wrote the President.