Fox News
Expand
Browse All Video
Watch Live

You're watching...

Orion spacecraft arrives at Kennedy Space Center

Details

  • Description

    NASA has big plans to send humans further into space than ever before

  • Duration 2:52
  • Date

Clips

Also in this playlist...

Editor's Picks

Auto-advance: ON

Auto-advance
View All

Transcript

This transcript is automatically generated

For the next generation of Nassau on display right now moments ago I would use spacecraft is called the orient arriving at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Making its public debut.

And NASA has big plans and this animation right here by the space agency says the proposed unmanned test flight for -- and the goal to send humans further into space than ever before.

There was this really pots and joining us -- -- -- he's the chief astronomer at the Franklin institute science museum thanks for joining us.

Sure thank you -- they tell me about this program coming about the orient.

Well the this is meant to replace space shuttle if you will the next capsule -- be used for further exploration.

And for the first test for this will come up in not 2014.

And the idea is to provide a -- capsule that can carry us back to the moon and -- going to Mars so this is the next step for manned exploration from NASA.

Obviously -- -- -- and I apologize for that.

-- exactly how far are we talking about going in -- Well when you think about it the possibilities.

Could be that we could go out beyond Mars but right now the practical applications would be to try to return to the moon and to go on to Mars.

I think the thing up to hear spoken of more than anything else Heather is the idea of sending astronauts to Mars somewhere in there we'll have to do -- return to the moon.

Plans for that are to come around and around 22 quade.

So when we talk about further exploration of that there's also some speculation about possibly visiting an asteroid.

And that could be pretty exciting -- going on beyond that it's questionable because we have to figure out what -- locations where we can get to relatively easily safely ahead.

We'll be scientifically beneficial to send humans out to be on the -- that would be involved going that far.

Now that the final flight of the space shuttle that you know marking the end of an -- -- was also is bad for a lot of folks to see that happen.

But -- while BS shuttle is retiring NASA is not right.

Well the thing is that the space shuttle program and marked.

A dramatic change in what NASA's plan is and the reason why it's because.

Nelson was essentially putting aside the space and the way of getting off the planet of old from the 1960s and seventies that sort of thing.

Into a new era it's almost like an evolution of the space program so what -- working on is outsourcing all the easy stuff.

Launching astronauts and launching -- to International Space Station while looking toward the future of sending people on the more dangerous or more -- -- missions out to the outer reaches of solar system.

I think that people should be excited about thank you so much for joining us we appreciate it Derek Pitt thank you thank.

Load More