Astronaut shares space travel plans

Eric Boe at Waikato Diocesan School. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Hamilton schoolchildren were given a glimpse into the future of America's space programme by a serving Nasa astronaut yesterday.

Not only are missions to the moon back on the agenda, but Lieutenant Colonel Eric Boe is confident humans could be on Mars within 20 years.

The former fighter pilot, who piloted the Nasa space shuttle Endeavour's STS-126 mission in November, is speaking at schools in Hamilton this week.

He said although Nasa's space shuttle programme was likely to be phased out next year after more than 120 missions since 1981, he looked forward to launching its follow up - the Orion prototype - this year.

The new space capsule and Ares rocket - due for lift off in 2015 - harks back to the days of the Apollo missions which ended in December 1972 - the last time the United States put a man on the moon.

"The Orion will look a lot like Apollo but it's a bigger capsule," said Colonel Boe. "The intent is to put four on to the moon and have an unmanned vehicle orbit it."

And while Nasa has admitted China could have astronauts on the moon in 2017 or 2018 - two to three years ahead of the Americans - Colonel Boe said a US "long-term vision" could put humans on Mars by 2030.

"It's not a matter of if but when and all these efforts in space are going to be international in flavour ... there will be a global effort for us to go back to these areas."

Asked why Nasa was eyeing the moon and Mars during a recession, Colonel Boe said: "We're kind of at that point where countries want to go beyond our world".

"Columbus told the King of Spain, 'Hey, I will find a quick route over to India for spices,' and he totally failed in his mission and instead discovered America.

"In space [there'll be] things ... we will have no idea or any understanding of and we will learn things we haven't learned before ... it's going to happen."