Who will be the first person on Mars?

Daniel Goldin (an administrator at NASA) has stated that before we can
send a manned mission to Mars, there are at least four things that need
to be done: 1)build and operate the planned International Space Station,
2)learn to work and interact with other nations in space, 3)develop an
affordable plan for a mission to Mars that can be carried out in 10 years
or less, and 4)allow time for the world's economy to improve.
NASA plans to operate the Space Station for the first ten years of the
next century and then send astronauts back to the Moon or to Mars in the
second ten years. Of course, changes in technology and/or the amount of
money available to fund the mission could cause changes in NASA's
planned schedule.
Who knows, Peter and Nathan . . . if you start planning now, maybe the
two of YOU could be the first to copilot a mission to Mars!
Submitted by Peter (Canada)
and by Nathan (Walnut Grove, MN, USA)
(September 8, 1997)