Mission to Mars: SpaceX to send Dragon spacecraft to the Red Planet by 2018 - TomoNews

HAWTHORNE, CALIFORNIA — SpaceX finally announced a launch date for its mission to Mars, and it’s in the very near future. The Wall Street Journal reports that SpaceX is partnering with NASA to send a Red Dragon — a modified Dragon 2 capsule — on a mission to Mars by 2018. NASA will be providing technical support, including deep space communications. The company has been delivering cargo to the International Space Station since 2012 using an unmanned Dragon spacecraft and the Falcon 9. But with Mars much