CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) – University of Virginia’s Larry Sabato discussed the politics of space at a Tuesday afternoon virtual event with NASA Administrator Sen. Bill Nelson.
The event, hosted by the UVA Center for Politics, highlighted space travel as a public-private partnership and the goals of NASA as an organization.
Sabato asked Nelson about when astronauts might finally get to Mars. Nelson said in the late 2030′s, but that it’s a big challenge.
“We’re talking about millions and millions and millions of miles” Nelson said. “We’re talking about if you have an emergency you can’t get back in 3 days.”
In February, NASA’s rover Perseverance landed on Mars, and last month it sent back its first rock sample.
Copyright 2021 WVIR. All rights reserved.
Do you have a story idea? Send us your news tip here.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/5ZAWWP2WMVC2HISFW4F6X4CZDU.jpg&description=NASA%E2%80%99s+Nelson+discusses+Mars+future+at+event+with+UVA+Center+for+Politics){kind=link}