Dr. Ellen Stofan, Chief Scientist of NASA, announced to the British newspaper Daily Mail, that the first people will land on Mars by 2035.
The first astronauts will be sent to the Red Planet during 2030 and it is expected that they will land on it by 2035.
To do this, NASA has begun collaboration with a number of countries.
For the past few years, NASA has been actively working on new technologies, which are to help the colonization of the Red Planet. The first step in sending people to Mars is creating a rocket that can carry a heavy payload and the Orion capsule.
The rocket needs to be able to allow for an easier landing on the Red Planet. Scientists from the space administration are also developing new technologies to facilitate to some extent the lives of the first people on Mars.
Before sending the first astronauts to the Red Planet however, NASA plans to test their newly developed technologies on an asteroid located between the Earth and the Moon.
The first mission to Mars is planned to last about 3 years, with a piloted aircraft being sent to the Red Planet first, to make a round trip.
"I don't think the first group will stay there long. We must think about this as if creating an outpost. This however, will be the beginning of a permanent human presence on Mars, " commented Dr. Stofan.
The non-profit organization Mars One has decided to compete with the American space agency and announced that they will send the first humans to Mars as early as 2025.
For now, however, they haven't found the right developments with which to get closer to their goal.
NASA announced that their approach to conquering the Red Planet is a much more cautious one in comparison with that of Mars One, since the American space agency places the lives of the astronauts, who are to be sent on the first mission of its kind, first.
Conquering the planets of the Solar System is one of the most highly anticipated events this century, with the US, Russia and China actively participating in the planning.
