Help Design Manned Spacecraft to Mars!

By Kelly Dickerson, Space.com

NASA has challenged the public to design part of a spacecraft that could land future spacefliers on the surface of Mars. 

The NASA Mars Balance Mass Challenge runs through Nov. 21. The agency will announce the winning design in January 2015, and the winner will receive a grand prize of $20,000. 

Humanity has had its eyes set on Mars since the 1960s. In the 1970s, NASA began landing spacecraft on Mars, and in the 1990s, wheeled robots started exploring the surface. In 2012, NASA's Curiosity rover touched down on the Red Planet in spectacular fashion. 

But now, the agency is looking ahead to future manned missions crewed by the first "Marsonauts."

More - Link >>> http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/nasa-challenges-public-design-piece-mars-probe-n211111

Sources: Space.com , NBC News.

NASA: NASA’s Balance Mass Challenge: Using “Dead Weight” on Mars Spacecraft to Advance Science and Technology:
Link >>> http://www.nasa.gov/solve/marsbalancechallenge/#.VCSUk6I6e8F

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