When will humans go to Mars?

A 7-month journey and the challenges along the way

Mars is the most 'liveable' planet after Earth: a day lasts 24.6 hours, there are seasons, and there is ice at the poles. But the air is 100 times thinner and almost entirely carbon dioxide, the average temperature is −60 °C, and there is no magnetic field — cosmic radiation reaches the surface freely.

The trip takes 6–9 months, and the launch window opens only every 26 months when Earth and Mars draw close. On the way astronauts lose bone and muscle in weightlessness (2 hours of exercise a day), absorb radiation and live together for years in a cramped ship. To come home you must carry return fuel or make it on Mars (methane from CO₂).

So far only robots are on Mars: 6 rovers since 1997 (Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, Perseverance, China's Zhurong). Since 2021 Perseverance has tested making oxygen from Martian air with the MOXIE instrument — successfully! The Ingenuity helicopter made the first flights on another planet (72 flights).

The plan: NASA first returns to the Moon with the Artemis programme (late 2020s) — the Moon becomes the 'training ground'. Humans on Mars are expected in the 2030s; SpaceX's Starship is being built for it. The first Martians will be doctors, engineers and geologists — perhaps they are in school right now. Maybe it's you?