NASA as well as some private organizations such as the Mars One and SpaceX are in the race to send humans to the Red Planet. However, NASA officials recently revealed that Mars trip for humans will not be possible without the space agency's help.
On Thursday, April 16, during a session with the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, Charles Bolden, the administrator of NASA, revealed that the agency is expected to send the first humans on Mars in 2030. Any other private agency will not be the first to send humans to the Martian Surface.
"No commercial company without the support of NASA and government is going to get to Mars," says Bolden.
NASA already has a number of unmanned rovers exploring the Martian surface and spacecrafts hovering the planet's orbit, which will help its future missions and finally manned mission. Current exploration of the planet suggests that Mars may have been home to some form of life in the past.
Bolden answered many questions related to NASA's plans about manned missions to Mars. Bolden explained that it is very important to understand various aspects of the Red Planet to understand suitability of sending humans. Bolden also suggests that NASA scientists have to understand that what happened to Mars may also happen to the Earth.
Mars is believed to have large water bodies similar to that found on our planet. However, it lost water after the planet stopped generating its own magnetic field.
Mars One, a private non-profit organization, started by Bas Lansdorp in 2012. Mars One is also hoping to send humans and moreover start the first permanent human colony on the Red Planet. The Mars One Mission has been criticized over the feasibility of the project but Lansdorp claims that the organization will send humans to the Red Planet in early 2020s and then set up a human colony in 2027.
A return space trip from Earth to Mars is estimated to be completed within 500 days. NASA has recently sent its astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS) for a period of 12 months, which will help the agency understand the suitability of sending humans to deep space missions such as Mars.
A government space agency like NASA has relevant know-how, technology, financial as well as government backing, which will enable sending humans to the space. Although Mars One and SpaceX have dreams of sending humans to the Red Planet, the organizations may still need help from a recognized space agency before successfully sending humans to Mars.
