G
gunsandrockets
Guest
Excerpt...<br /><br />------------------------------------------------------------------<br />Meanwhile, a new study sponsored by the respected International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) is proposing a new emphasis on the exploration of such small bodies and asteroids as even a potential alternative to a return to expensive manned lunar operations. The IAA sees this as a way to develop technologies for future manned Mars exploration without development of a lunar base, while also doing something exciting and truly new. The report has only just been released publicly. Two of the major goals of this IAA assessment are a human mission to a near-Earth asteroid and a human mission to one of the Martian moons, either Phobos or Deimos.<br />--------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><br /><br />link