At a press conference today the Inspiration Mars Foundation described the planned visit to Mars, a flyby mission that would take advantage of the favorable alignment between Earth and Mars. The journey to Mars and back would take about 500 days. The spacecraft would include a 2-person crew.

The mission would use technology already in existence including the assistance of the International Space Station. The space capsule would include an attached inflatable space habitat. It would be launched from Earth orbit to achieve a direct Mars trajectory. The life support closed-loop system would be designed for simple hands-on maintenance and repair.

At the press conference Dennis Tito described the mission as “simplicity.” With no planned descent to the Martian surface, no rendezvous and docking, and a straightforward trajectory the mission would represent the shortest duration trip to the Red Planet and back. The 2018 launch would also coincide with a solar minimum to lessen the risk of cosmic ray exposure for the crew.

Read more details at: http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=40191.