FIVE THINGS ABOUT MARS PLAN

1 COLLABORATION

Russia and the United States have agreed to cooperate in building a lunar space station that will act as a stepping stone on the journey to Mars. NASA and the Russian space agency Roscosmos will collaborate on the Deep Space Gateway, a base similar to the International Space Station (ISS), which will be placed in orbit around the moon.

2 NO COLD FRONTS

Despite tensions between the U.S. and Russia in recent years, the two countries’ space agencies enjoy close ties, and NASA still uses the Russian Soyuz rocket to send astronauts to the ISS. At an astronautical congress in Australia on Tuesday, Roscosmos announced that a cooperation deal had been signed with NASA for the project.

3 EASY ACCESS

Work is due to begin on the spaceport in the 2020s, and NASA has said the station will offer a “true deep-space environment” where astronauts can gain experience for human missions deeper into the solar system, while also allowing easier access to the surface of the moon. NASA is developing a Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft to make the trip to the base, which will be permanently crewed. But the space agency is keen that other countries should be able to dock there, too.

4 TESTING FIELD

“NASA is leading the next steps into deep space near the moon, where astronauts will build and begin testing the systems needed for challenging missions to deep-space destinations including Mars,” the agency said in a mission statement for the project.

5 DAYS FROM EARTH

The area of space near the moon offers a true deep-space environment to gain experience for human missions that push farther into the solar system “but with the ability to return to Earth if needed in days rather than weeks or months,” NASA said.