A US millionaire who was the first private space tourist has announced plans to send a man and a woman－probably a married couple－on a round trip to Mars in 2018.
Dennis Tito，a former rocket scientist who made his fortune through investments，said his Mission for America aims to bring a new era of space exploration.Tito，who paid the Russians $20 million for a ticket to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2001，outlined his plans in Washington DC.
Tito said he would fund the mission until the end of next year and hoped to raise the rest of the money through donations，media rights sales and potentially through selling scientific data to NASA.“There is no time to lose，”he said.“Now is the time.”
The mission，a “return flyby”，in which the spacecraft would fly around Mars rather than land，would last for 500 days.The planned orbit is known as a “free return”： once fired into space，the capsule will swing around Mars and come back to Earth regardless of what happens to its occupants.
Many experts say the mission will stand or fall on Tito's abilities to raise funds.Tito said，“I will come out a lot poorer as a result of this mission but my grandchildren will come out a lot richer for the inspiration it will give them.”
[阅读障碍词]
1．investment n． 投资
2．outline v. 概述
3．capsule n. 太空舱
4．swing v. 摆动；转动
5．occupant n. 乘坐者
