Scientists are planning to explore the dark side of the Moon using a manned spacecraft for the first since since the Apollo landings of 1968.Engineers with aerospace giant Lockheed Martin want to send up astronauts into stationary orbit above Earth's best-known natural satellite to study it further. The firm hopes to use remote controlled robots dispatched from their spacecraft to collect samples and explore the South Pole-Aitken basin on the Moon, one of the oldest craters in the solar system. Crucially they also hope it will serve as a test for a future possible mission to Mars - the six month trip would see if the equipment and the astronauts - most likely from the US - were capable of enduring long-term space travel. NASA has in the past estimated that it could take around a year to complete a round-trip to the Red Planet and back, allowing a few months to collect samples. Lockheed’s plan involves using the combined gravity of the Earth and the Moon to ensure that its craft hovers on the same spot, within sight of both planets. It has pitched what it is calling the L-2 Farside Mission Orion spacecraft to do the job, which would house both astronauts and probes. So long as NASA approves, it will give both organisations the chance to see how humans respond to lengthy doses of deep space radiation, a key problem on a longer Martian trip. (Daily Mail)
