Inspiration Mars, a new nonprofit foundation that was established by private space traveler Dennis Tito, has announced plans for a mission that will send two people into space to circle the "Red Planet" before returning back to Earth. The proposed trip will rely on a number of factors, including the support of private, charitable donations, technology that has been developed by NASA and a rare planetary alignment that occurs in 2018 and will not take place again until 2031. 

The "fast, free-return" mission is actually expected to take 501 days to complete, and will put two people within 100 miles of Mars. The journey will be made by one man and one woman, who will have the rare opportunity to cover scientific ground that stands to put the United States in a position to advance and lead.

"Human exploration of space is a critical catalyst for our future growth and prosperity," said Tito. "This is 'A Mission for America' that will generate knowledge, experience and momentum for the next great era of space exploration."

This mission is also expected to renew interest in space exploration and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) studies, which has suffered in recent years and is a focus of many organizations in the U.S. 

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