After travelling to the moon, mankind has long set its sights on setting foot on the planet Mars. While Venus may be technically nearer to the Earth than Mars, the extreme temperature on the planet's surface make a manned mission both dangerous and impractical. Mars, on the other hand, is the more practical choice. However, limitations in terms of technology and finances make planning and launching a manned mission to Mars impossible. A group of experts, however, think this will soon change and man may set foot on the Red Planet as soon as the year 2030.
In a recent workshop hosted by Explore Mars Inc. and the American Astronautical Society, and attended by 60 experts and professionals from various countries, industries, universities and organizations; it was determined that a mission to Mars may soon be possible by the year 2030. However, there are a number of requirements that need to be fulfilled if a mission of this scale is to succeed. First of all, a mission to Mars will require the cooperation of the international community for it to have any chance at success. Moreover, the mission will also need to be backed by private enterprises. Given that NASA is the largest space agency in the world right now, it would also make sense for the effort to be spearheaded by the American space agency. However, the American government will need to restore the agency's budget to what it once was before the agency was sequestered. Working with its current budget, NASA would be hard pressed to pull off a mission to Mars in less than 30 years.
While the U.S. government has lowered NASA's operation budget for the time being, there is growing support for exploring the possibility of a mission to Mars. In fact, many professionals working in the space industry are pushing to make a Mars mission one of the top priorities of the space agency.
Aside from NASA, there are also a number of private enterprises that have plans on sending missions to the Red Planet. Billionaire Elon Musk, who founded the private space company SpaceX, has long term plans for a Mars mission. He has repeatedly stated that SpaceX was founded with the goal of taking humanity to other planets. Musk is also planning on starting a colony on the planet using reusable rockets. Once the technology becomes available, Musk plans on offering trips to Mars for around $500,000 per person.
