Congress Tells NASA to Build Space Habitat on Mars for Astronauts by 2018

Congress gives NASA 2018 deadline to build space habitat on Mars.

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NASA's ambitious goal to have people reach Mars by 2030—as stated a couple of months ago by NASA administrator Charles Bolden who said: "We are farther down the path to sending humans to Mars than at any point in NASA's history"—seemed less far-fetched when one week after that water was discovered on the Red Planet making the possibility of living there real. Plans to make that goal happen are moving as NASA is set to build a habitat on Mars for astronauts to live in during missions. 

The Huffington Postreports NASA's budget will increase $1.3 billion because of congress in 2016 for a total of $19.3 billion. According to Popular Science of that budget $55 million has been designated to go to building the space habitat under orders from congress. NASA faces a rapidly approaching 2018 deadline, given by congress, to create a model of the habitat. Additionally congress asked NASA to give a status report on plans for the habitat in 180 days. 

Information about the planned habitat is scarce with International Space Station director at NASA Headquarters Sam Scimemi, telling SpaceNews "It's much too early for that. As soon as I put a picture up there, somebody is going to assume what the configuration is." 

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