For the past few hundreds of years, mankind has directed a longing gaze towards the Red Planet. The siren call to visit a world beyond our own, but so similar in so many ways. Much study has been done on Mars, especially in recent years with several missions to the planet being completed by robotic rovers. Though Mars has been out of reach for such a long time, it may well be the case that the next several decades will see humans walk across those red sands for the first time.
As it currently stands, NASA is under presidential orders to land humans on Mars by 2033. In pursuit of this, technology development to complete this mission is underway in the United States. Unfortunately, as of yet there is no structured, well-funded approach towards moving this plan from a conceptual one to a reality wherein a safe-landing can be expected by the deadline. Time will tell how this situation continues to develop, but we can have some hope. While NASA-funded engineers continue studying and inventing ways to land humans successfully on Mars, NASA itself is keeping its attention on the robotic missions currently underway. With any luck, the things they continue to learn will help inform the conduct of a successful manned mission in the near future.
