NASA's SLS Rocket Key To Mars And Deep Space Missions

Getting human beings to Mars is currently one of NASA's top priorities, however, it is also one of the most demanding missions that NASA has ever undertaken. The challenges of visiting the Red Planet are endless, and the dangers immense. 

NASA's Space Launch System, or SLS, which is designated for deep space missions, is currently in the works, and when finished, will be the world's most powerful rocket, according to NASA. The rocket will be able to carry more than triple the payload of space shuttles, provide more thrust than the Saturn V rocket, and be able to send the Orion spacecraft further into space than ever before.

However, even the SLS rocket will not be enough to get to human beings to Mars.

Engineers at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, are currently setting out to make upgrades on the rocket's upper stage and addition of advanced boosters, which will allow for additional payloads to be carried, and thus allow astronauts to make longer stays in space. 

"Mars is sometimes discussed as a 'horizon goal' in human space exploration. While Mars is a focus of our efforts, it is neither the first step of the journey nor the last," wrote David Hitt, a senior writer and editor on NASA's communications team, in a NASA blog post. "Just as we will develop our capabilities in the Proving Ground near the moon before heading toward Mars, once we have reached the Red Planet, our voyage into deep space will continue."

The attempt to visit Mars is not the end game for NASA, however. A trip to Mars would merely signify the foundations being laid for ambitious deep space missions. SLS offers NASA a way to speed up these early probing missions, which in turn allows for things "such as potentially a sample return, that would demonstrate systems needed for human landings."

This speed increase could also allow for a revolution in the expeditions to far away planets and objects, which in turn would allow for more in-depth studies of worlds and moons capable of potentially supporting life.

"In addition to the Orion crew vehicle and other large payloads, SLS will be able to carry small, low-cost secondary payload experiments, some not much larger than a lunchbox, providing new opportunities to for research beyond the moon and through the solar system," wrote Hitt. "This will make it possible for groups that otherwise might not be able to afford a dedicated rocket launch to fly innovative ideas that can help pave the way for exploration."

SLS is set to launch in Nov. 2018, out of Kennedy Space Center, in Florida.

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