First ‘space tourist’ wants to send couple to Mars

The world’s first space tourist is hoping to make history again, this time with a mission to Mars.

American multimillionaire Dennis Tito, who in 2001 paid a reported $20 million to ride aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS), unveiled plans Wednesday for the first manned mission to Mars and back with a January 2018 launch date, an “extremely ambitious goal,” experts told RIA Novosti.

“The goal is to send two people, but to allow everyone else along for the ride,” said Tito at a news conference Wednesday at the National Press Club in Washington. “It is a challenging, yet attainable goal,” he said.

The mission dubbed “Inspiration Mars” has been described as “bold” and “risky” by both supporters and critics alike.

The so-called “fast, free-return” mission would begin on Jan. 5, 2018 when two crew members – a husband and wife astronaut duo – board a shuttle, approximately the size of a Winnebago, as private citizens to embark on a 501-day roundtrip flyby, passing within 100 miles (160 kilometers) of the Martian surface.

No attempted landing or orbit is scheduled, just a barebones, “Lewis and Clark" expedition style trip Tito said, comparing the minimalistic approach to the engine of a classic car. The crew will use the gravitational influence of Mars to “slingshot” the space vehicle onto a return course back to Earth.

Astronaut candidates will face a rigorous screening process that will take place within the next six to twelve months.
Tito, who spent eight days in space in 2001, said he personally committed two years of his own money to keep the Mars project alive. He would not comment on the overall cost, but said he expects the project to be funded primarily through private, charitable donations.