Nasa unveils new launcher design for Mars missions - Telegraph.co.uk

For instance, the first stage of the new launcher will use the shuttle's cryogenic engine fuelled with a mix of hydrogen and oxygen kept at very low temperatures, he told AFP.

The system will be topped with a capsule initially capable of carrying into space payloads of 70 to 100 metric tonnes, and expanded over time to carry up to 130 metric tonnes.

"The booster will be America's most powerful since the Saturn V rocket that carried Apollo astronauts to the moon and will launch humans to places no one has gone before," Nasa said in a statement.

"The SLS will carry human crews beyond low-Earth orbit in a capsule named the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle," Nasa said.

The first test launch is scheduled for 2017 followed by manned flights in 2021.

Nasa could use it for a mission to an asteroid in 2025. Nasa has indicated that it expects to send astronauts around Mars before eventually landing on the red plan, but not before 2030.