Dom Galeon reports that with the U.S. Congress giving NASA the funds it needs to send manned missions to Mars, the space agency is serious about making it to our nearest neighbor. They are taking a multi-step approach, first focusing on improving human spaceflight capabilities through tests of technologies like the Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket out near the Moon.
Before it sends people to Mars, NASA has several more unmanned missions in the works. The first is InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport), which is set for a 2018 launch as part of the agency Discovery Program to put a geophysical lander on Mars to study the planet interior.
Speaking of landers, NASA also plans to send a rover to the Red Planet by 2020. This Mars 2020 Rover will carry seven carefully selected instruments to conduct unprecedented science and exploration technology investigations on the Red Planet, according to NASA. Other plans in the pipeline include a sample return mission by the second decade of the 21st century, though no concrete plans have been revealed for that just yet.
The most recent company to express interest in joining the race to Mars is Boeing. The veteran rocket developer wants to beat newbie SpaceX to Mars, and both are currently working with NASA on program to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station. Though a detailed plan outlining Boeing missions to Mars has not been released yet, according to Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg, I am convinced the first person to step foot on Mars will arrive there riding a Boeing rocket.
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