In accordance to NASA's "Journey to Mars" campaigns, John Elbon, Vice President & General Manager of Boeing Space Exploration, spoke before the United States senate commitee about the US Human Space Exploration Goals and Commercial Space Competitiveness.
From the report released by Space Ref, Elbon elaborated that NASA research has "certainly met the goal of advancing science and technology innovation," and that the successes of US space missions "have made the United States the most attractive global partner for other nations seeking to advance their own space aspirations."
Elbon also highlighted that the international community has chosen Mars as the ultimate destination, and NASA already has the programs in place to lead toward that goal. For one, the International Space Station, which has been orbiting the Earth for 16 years and more, serves as a testbed and national laboratory for the future space exploration.
According to him, NASA already has a contract with commercial partners in terms of cargo supply and affordable crew.
"Boeing is proud once again to partner with NASA to provide crewed services to the ISS," he further stressed.
The senate comittee was previously reported to have been divided in terms of support on which mission to approve: Mars or Moon. President Barack Obama himself opted to go beyond the moon simply because the US has already made a mark on the moon, the Washington Post reported.
However, since his term is about to end, critics say there is not enough political will and funding to make the mission possible.
But Elbon believes that "all the right building blocks are in place, right now, for success." He also strongly added that NASA is placing all the foundation for the next step, which is human exploration that goes beyond the Moon and Mars.
The debate over the space missions is still ongoing.