Voice of America, July 6, 2002

Russian space officials are calling for an international effort to send a manned mission to Mars. The Russian space agency said Friday that a collaboration with Europe and the United States could put humans on Mars by 2014.

Planners envision the trip to Earth's next door neighbor as a two-step process. An unmanned ship would carry supplies to the planet first. Then, a second ship would take the astronauts there. Once there, astronauts would spend a month or two exploring the Red Planet. They would get around using a cross-country vehicle like the one used to explore the Moon three decades ago.

They estimate the cost of the project at around $20 billion.