Orange tank SLS launch through clouds - Post CDR

This list of crewed Mars mission plans is a listing of concept studies for a crewed mission to

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

during the 20th and 21st centuries. It is limited to studies done with engineering and scientific knowledge about the capabilities of then current technology, typically for high-budget space agencies like

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

. Mission profiles include crewed flybys, crewed landers, or other types of Mars system encounter strategies.

Concepts

Many mission concepts for expeditions to Mars were proposed in the late 20th century. David Portree's history volume ''Humans to Mars: Fifty Years of Mission Planning, 1950–2000'' discusses many of these.David S. F. Portree, ''Humans to Mars: Fifty Years of Mission Planning, 1950 – 2000,'' NASA Monographs in Aerospace History Series, Number 21, February 2001. Available a
NASA SP-2001-4521
Portree notes that every 26 Earth months a lower energy Earth to Mars transfer opportunity opens, so missions typically coincide with one of these windows. In addition, the lowest available transfer energy varies on a roughly 16-year cycle, with a minimum in the 1969 and 1971 launch windows, rising to a peak in the late 70s, and hitting another low in 1986 and 1988. Also of note, the

Mariner 4 Mariner 4 (together with Mariner 3 known as Mariner-Mars 1964) was the fourth in a series of spacecraft intended for planetary exploration in a flyby mode. It was designed to conduct closeup scientific observations of Mars and to transmit the ...

Mars flyby in 1965 provided radically more accurate data about the planet; a surface

atmospheric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibars, ...

of about 1% of Earth's and daytime temperatures of −100 degrees Celsius (−148 degrees Fahrenheit) were estimated. No magnetic field or Martian radiation belts were detected. The new data meant redesigns for planned Martian landers, and showed life would have a more difficult time surviving there than previously anticipated. Later NASA probes in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s confirmed the findings about Mars environmental conditions. The first engineering analysis of a crewed mission to Mars was made by

Wernher von Braun Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun ( , ; 23 March 191216 June 1977) was a German and American aerospace engineer and space architect. He was a member of the Nazi Party and Allgemeine SS, as well as the leading figure in the develop ...

in 1948. It was originally published as ''Das Marsprojekt'' in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

in 1952, and as '' The Mars Project'' in English in the United States in 1953. Von Braun's Mars "flotilla" included ten 4,000-ton ships with 70 crew members. The expected launch year was 1965.

List

The list is in semi-chronological order, with some groupings, as variation can exist in the dating of a given plan. Various references were consulted.astronautix manned mars missions
Annie Platoff, ''Eyes on the Red Planet: Human Mars Mission Planning, 1952–1970,'' (1999); available a
NASA/CR-2001-2089280
(July 2001) LEO mass refers to how much hardware must be put in

low Earth orbit A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never mor ...

for the mission. For comparison, the

payload capacity per launch of the U.S.

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program ...

is about 25 metric tons, and that of the

Saturn V Saturn V is a retired American super heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by NASA under the Apollo program for human exploration of the Moon. The rocket was human-rated, with three stages, and powered with liquid fuel. It was flown from 196 ...

, 120 metric tons.

Mission proposals

20th century

Over the last century, a number of mission concepts for such an expedition have been proposed. David Portree's history volume ''Humans to Mars: Fifty Years of Mission Planning, 1950–2000'' discusses many of these.

Wernher von Braun proposal (1947 through 1950s)

was the first person to make a detailed technical study of a Mars mission.Annie Platoff, ''Eyes on the Red Planet: Human Mars Mission Planning, 1952–1970,'' (1999); available a
NASA/CR-2001-2089280
(July 2001) Details were published in his book ''Das Marsprojekt'' (1952, published in English as '' The Mars Project'' in 1962) and several subsequent works.

Willy Ley Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scr ...

popularized a similar mission in English in the book '' The Conquest of Space'' (1949), featuring illustrations by

Chesley Bonestell Chesley Knight Bonestell Jr. (January 1, 1888 – June 11, 1986) was an American painter, designer and illustrator. His paintings inspired the American space program, and they have been (and remain) influential in science fiction art and illustr ...

. Von Braun's Mars project envisioned nearly a thousand three-stage vehicles launching from Earth to ferry parts for the Mars mission to be constructed at a space station in Earth orbit. The mission itself featured a fleet of ten spacecraft with a combined crew of 70 heading to Mars, bringing three winged surface excursion ships that would land horizontally on the surface of Mars. (Winged landing was considered possible because at the time of his proposal, the Martian atmosphere was believed to be much denser than was later found to be the case.) In the 1956 revised vision of the Mars Project plan, published in the book ''The Exploration of Mars'' by Wernher Von Braun and Willy Ley, the size of the mission was trimmed, requiring only 400 launches to put together two ships, still carrying a winged landing vehicle. Later versions of the mission proposal, featured in the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

"Man In Space" film series, showed

nuclear-powered Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...

ion-propulsion vehicles for the interplanetary cruise.

U.S. proposals (1950s to 1970s)

From 1957 to 1965, work was done by

General Atomics General Atomics is an American energy and defense corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, specializing in research and technology development. This includes physics research in support of nuclear fission and nuclear fusion energy. Th ...

on Project Orion, a proposal for a

nuclear pulse propulsion Nuclear pulse propulsion or external pulsed plasma propulsion is a hypothetical method of spacecraft propulsion that uses nuclear explosions for thrust. It originated as Project ''Orion'' with support from DARPA, after a suggestion by Stanislaw ...

spacecraft. Orion was intended to have the ability to transport extremely large payloads compared to chemical rocketry, making crewed missions to Mars and the outer planets feasible. One of the early vehicle designs was intended to send an 800-ton payload to Mars orbit. The

Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty The Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT) is the abbreviated name of the 1963 Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and Under Water, which prohibited all test detonations of nuclear weapons except for those conducted ...

of 1963 made further development unviable, and work ended in 1965. In 1962, Aeronutronic Ford,Franklin Dixon, "Summary Presentation: Study of a Manned Mars Excursion Module," in ''Proceedings of the Symposium on Manned Planetary Missions: 1963/1964 Status'', NASA TM X-53049 (1964). General Dynamics and the Lockheed Missiles and Space Company made studies of Mars mission designs as part of NASA Marshall Spaceflight Center's "Project EMPIRE". These studies indicated that a Mars mission (possibly including a Mercury and Venus fly-by) could be done with a launch of eight

boosters and assembly in low Earth orbit, or possibly with a single launch of a hypothetical "post Saturn" heavy-lift vehicle. Although the EMPIRE missions were never proposed for funding, they were the first detailed analyses of what it would take to accomplish a human voyage to Mars using data from actual NASA spaceflight, laying the basis for future studies, including significant mission studies by TRW, North American, Philco, Lockheed, Douglas, and General Dynamics, along with several in-house NASA studies. Following the success of the Apollo Program, von Braun advocated a crewed mission to Mars as a focus for NASA's crewed space program. Von Braun's proposal used

boosters to launch NERVA-powered upper stages that would propel two six-crew spacecraft on a dual mission in the early 1980s. The proposal was considered by President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

, but passed over in favor of the

. In 1975, von Braun discussed the mission architecture that emerged from these Apollo-era studies in a recorded lecture, and while doing so suggested that multiple shuttle launches could instead be configured to lift the two nuclear thermal rocket engine-equipped spacecraft in smaller parts, for assembly in orbit.

Soviet mission proposals (1956 through 1969)

The Martian Piloted Complex (MPK) was a proposal by

Mikhail Tikhonravov Mikhail Klavdievich Tikhonravov (July 29, 1900 – March 3, 1974) was a Soviet engineer who was a pioneer of spacecraft design and rocketry. Mikhail Tikhonravov was born in Vladimir, Russia. He attended the Zhukovsky Air Force Academy from 1922 ...

of the Soviet Union for a crewed Mars expedition, using the (then-proposed) N1 rocket, in studies from 1956 to 1962. The Soviets sent many probes to Mars with some noted success stories, including Mars atmospheric entry, but the overall rate of success was low. (see

Mars 3 Mars 3 was a robotic space probe of the Soviet Mars program, launched May 28, 1971, nine days after its twin spacecraft Mars 2. The probes were identical robotic spacecraft launched by Proton-K rockets with a Blok D upper stage, each consist ...

) Heavy Interplanetary Spacecraft (known by the Russian acronym TMK) was the designation of a Soviet space exploration proposal in the 1960s to send a crewed flight to Mars and Venus (TMK-MAVR design) without landing. The TMK spacecraft was due to launch in 1971 and make a 3-year-long flight including a Mars fly-by, at which time probes would have been dropped. The project was never completed because the required

N1 rocket The N1/L3 (from , "Carrier Rocket"; Cyrillic: Н1) was a super heavy-lift launch vehicle intended to deliver payloads beyond low Earth orbit. The N1 was the Soviet counterpart to the US Saturn V and was intended to enable crewed travel to the ...

never flew successfully. The ''Mars Expeditionary Complex'', or "'MEK"' (1969) was another Soviet proposal for a Mars expedition that would take a crew from three to six to Mars and back with a total mission duration of 630 days.

Case for Mars (1981–1996)

Following the

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

missions to Mars, between 1981 and 1996, several conferences named the Case for Mars were held at the

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sy ...

. These conferences advocated human exploration of Mars, presented concepts and technologies, and held a series of workshops to develop a baseline concept for the mission. It proposed use of

in-situ resource utilization In space exploration, in situ resource utilization (ISRU) is the practice of collection, processing, storing and use of materials found or manufactured on other astronomical objects (the Moon, Mars, asteroids, etc.) that replace materials th ...

to manufacture rocket propellant for the return trip. The mission study was published in a series of proceedings volumes. Later conferences presented alternative concepts, including the "Mars Direct" concept of

Robert Zubrin Robert Zubrin (; born April 9, 1952) is an American aerospace engineer, author, and advocate for human exploration of Mars. He and his colleague at Martin Marietta, David Baker, were the driving force behind Mars Direct, a proposal in a 1990 res ...

and David Baker; the "Footsteps to Mars" proposal of Geoffrey A. Landis,Geoffrey A. Landis, "Footsteps to Mars: an Incremental Approach to Mars Exploration," ''Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, Vol. 48,'' pp. 367-342 (1995); presented at Case for Mars V, Boulder CO, 26–29 May 1993; appears in ''From Imagination to Reality: Mars Exploration Studies'', R. Zubrin, ed., ''AAS Science and Technology Series Volume 91'' pp. 339-350 (1997). (text available a
Footsteps to Mars pdf file
/ref> which proposed intermediate steps before the landing on Mars, including human missions to Phobos; and the "Great Exploration" proposal from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, among others.

NASA Space Exploration Initiative (1989)

In response to a presidential initiative, NASA made a study of a project for human lunar- and Mars exploration as a proposed follow-on to the International Space Station. This resulted in a report, called the ''90-day study'', in which the agency proposed a long-term plan consisting of completing the Space Station as "a critical next step in all our space endeavors," returning to the Moon and establishing a permanent base, and then sending astronauts to Mars. This report was widely criticized as too elaborate and expensive, and all funding for human exploration beyond Earth orbit was canceled by Congress.

Mars Direct (early 1990s)

Because of the greater distance, the Mars mission would be much more risky and expensive than past Moon flights. Supplies and fuel would have to be prepared for a 2- to 3-year round trip and the spacecraft would need at least partial shielding from ionizing radiation. A 1990 paper by

and David A. Baker, then of Martin Marietta, proposed reducing the mission mass (and hence the cost) by using ''in situ'' resource utilization to manufacture propellant from the Martian atmosphere. This proposal drew on concepts developed by the former
Case for Mars
conference series. Over the next decade, Zubrin developed it into a mission concept, Mars Direct, which he presented in a book, ''

The Case for Mars ''The Case for Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must'' is a nonfiction science book by Robert Zubrin, first published in 1996, and revised and updated in 2011. The book details Zubrin's Mars Direct plan to make the first human ...

'' (1996). The mission is advocated by the

Mars Society The Mars Society is a nonprofit organization that advocates for human Mars exploration and colonization, founded by Robert Zubrin in 1998. It is based on Zubrin's Mars Direct plan, which aims to make human mission to Mars as lightweight and ...

, which Zubrin founded in 1998, as practical and affordable.

International Space University (1991)

In 1991 in Toulouse, France, the International Space University studied an international human Mars mission. They proposed a crew of 8 traveling to Mars in a nuclear-powered vessel with artificial gravity provided by rotation. On the surface, 40-tonne habitats pressurized to were powered by a 40 kW photovoltaic array.

NASA Design reference missions (1990s)

In the 1990s, NASA developed several conceptual-level human Mars exploration architectures. One of these was NASA Design reference mission 3.0 (DRM 3.0) to stimulate further thought and concept development. Selected other US/NASA studies (1988–2009):NASA Austere Human Missions to Mars
(2009) # 1988 "Mars Expedition" # 1989 "Mars Evolution" # 1990 "90-Day Study" # 1991 "Synthesis Group" # 1995 "DRM 1" # 1997 "DRM 3" # 1998 "DRM 4" # 1999 "Dual Landers"

21st century

Manned mission to Mars (artist's concept)

NASA Design reference missions (2000+)

The NASA Mars Design Reference Missions consisted of a series of conceptual design studies for human Mars missions, continued in the 21st century. Selected other US/NASA plans (1988–2009):

MARPOST (2000–2005)

The Mars Piloted Orbital Station (MARPOST) is a Russian-proposed crewed orbital mission to Mars, using a

nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat fr ...

to run an electric rocket engine. Proposed in October 2000 as the next step for Russia in space along with participation in the International Space Station, a 30-volume draft project for MARPOST was confirmed as of 2005. Design for the ship was proposed to be ready in 2012, and the ship itself in 2021.

ESA Aurora programme (2001+)

Mars-human-exploration-art-astronauts-vehicle-dust-full

In 2001, the European Space Agency (ESA) laid out a long-term vision of sending a human mission to Mars in 2033. The project's proposed timeline would begin with robotic exploration, a

proof of concept Proof of concept (POC or PoC), also known as proof of principle, is a realization of a certain method or idea in order to demonstrate its feasibility, or a demonstration in principle with the aim of verifying that some concept or theory has prac ...

simulation of sustaining humans on Mars, and eventually a crewed mission. Objections from the participating nations of ESA and other delays have put the timeline into question, and currently

ExoMars ExoMars (Exobiology on Mars) is an astrobiology programme of the European Space Agency (ESA). The goals of ExoMars are to search for signs of past life on Mars, investigate how the Martian water and geochemical environment varies, investigate ...

, delivered an orbiter to Mars in 2016, have come to fruition.

ESA/Russia plan (2002)

Another proposal for a joint ESA mission with Russia is based on two spacecraft being sent to Mars, one carrying a six-person crew and the other the expedition's supplies. The mission would take about 440 days to complete, with three astronauts visiting the surface of the planet for a period of two months. The entire project would cost $20 billion and Russia would contribute 30% of these funds.

USA Vision for Space Exploration (2004)

On 14 January 2004,

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

announced the

Vision for Space Exploration Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...

, an initiative of crewed space exploration. It included developing preliminary plans for a return to the Moon by 2012 and establishing an outpost by 2020. By 2005, precursor missions that would help develop the needed technology during the 2010s were tentatively outlined. On 24 September 2007, Michael Griffin, then NASA Administrator, hinted that NASA would be able to launch a human mission to Mars by 2037. The needed funds were to be generated by diverting $11 billion from space science missions to the vision for human exploration. NASA has also discussed plans to launch Mars missions from the Moon to reduce traveling costs.

Mars Society Germany – European Mars Mission (EMM) (2005)

The Mars Society Germany proposed a crewed Mars mission using several launches of a heavy-lift rocket derived from the Ariane 5. Roughly five launches would be required to send a crew of five on a 1200-day mission, with a payload of 120,000 kg (260,000 lb). Total project cost was estimated to be 10 to 15 billion

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

s.European Mars Mission
Encyclopedia Astronautica

China National Space Administration (CNSA) (2006)

Sun Laiyan Sun Laiyan (; born October 1957) is a Chinese scientist who served as the Administrator of the China National Space Administration (CNSA) from 2004 to 2010, when he was succeeded by Chen Qiufa. Early life Sun was born in Beijing in October 19 ...

, administrator of the China National Space Administration, said on July 20, 2006, that China would start deep-space exploration focusing on Mars over the next five years, during the Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2006–2010) program period. The first uncrewed Mars exploration program could take place between 2014 and 2033, followed by a crewed phase in 2040–2060 in which crew members would land on Mars and return home. The Mars 500 study of 2011 prepared for this crewed mission.

Mars to Stay (2006)

The idea of a one-way trip to Mars has been proposed several times. In 1988, space activist Bruce Mackenzie proposed a one-way trip to Mars in a presentation at the

International Space Development Conference The International Space Development Conference (ISDC) is the annual conference of the National Space Society (NSS). Now in its 37th year, these conferences connect the general public and the NSS membership with leaders of contemporary space ef ...

, arguing that the mission could be done with less difficulty and expense without a return to Earth. In 2006, former NASA engineer James C. McLane III proposed a scheme to initially colonize Mars via a one-way trip by only one human. Papers discussing this concept appeared in ''

The Space Review ''The Space Review'' is a free online publication, published weekly with in-depth articles, essays, commentary and reviews on space exploration and development. It was founded in February 2003 by Jeff Foust, the current editor, publisher and regu ...

'', '' Harper's Magazine'', ''SEARCH Magazine'' and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''.

NASA Design Reference Mission 5.0 (2007)

NASA released initial details of the latest version conceptual level human Mars exploration architecture i
this
presentation. The study further developed concepts developed in previous NASA DRM and updated it to more current launchers and technology.

Martian Frontier (2007–2011)

Mars 500, the longest high-fidelity spaceflight simulation, ran from 2007 to 2011 in Russia, and was an experiment to assess the feasibility of crewed missions to Mars.

NASA Design Reference Mission Architecture 5.0 (2009)

NASA released an updated version of NASA DRM 5.0 in early 2009, featuring use of the Ares V launcher, Orion CEV, and updated mission planning. I
this
document.

NASA Austere Human Missions to Mars (2009)

Extrapolated from the DRMA 5.0, plans for a crewed Mars expedition with chemical propulsion
Austere Human Missions to Mars

Mars orbit by the mid-2030s (2010)

In a major space policy speech at Kennedy Space Center on 15 April 2010,

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

predicted a crewed Mars mission to orbit the planet by the mid-2030s, followed by a landing. This proposal was mostly supported by Congress, which approved cancelling

Project Constellation The Constellation program (abbreviated CxP) was a crewed spaceflight program developed by NASA, the space agency of the United States, from 2005 to 2009. The major goals of the program were "completion of the International Space Station" and a ...

in favor of a 2025

Asteroid Redirect Mission The Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM), also known as the Asteroid Retrieval and Utilization (ARU) mission and the Asteroid Initiative, was a space mission proposed by NASA in 2013; the mission was later cancelled. The Asteroid Retrieval Robotic ...

and orbiting Mars in the 2030s. The Asteroid Redirect Mission was cancelled in June 2017 and "closed out" in September of the same year.

Russian mission proposals (2011)

Several Mars mission concepts and proposals have been put forth by Russian scientists. Stated dates were for a launch sometime between 2016 and 2020. The Mars probe would carry a crew of four or five cosmonauts, who would spend close to two years in space. In late 2011, Russian and European space agencies successfully completed the ground-based

MARS-500 The MARS-500 mission was a psychosocial isolation experiment conducted between 2007 and 2011 by Russia, the European Space Agency, and China, in preparation for an unspecified future crewed spaceflight to the planet Mars. The experiment's f ...

. The biomedical experiment simulating crewed flight to Mars was completed in Russia in July 2000.

2-4-2 concept (2011–2012)

In 2012, Jean-Marc Salotti published a new proposal for a crewed Mars mission. The '2-4-2' concept is based on a reduction of the crew size to two astronauts and the duplication of the entire mission. Two astronauts are in each space vehicle, four are on the surface of Mars, and two are once again in each return vehicle. If one set of hardware runs into trouble, the other astronauts are ready to help (two for two). This architecture simplifies the entry, descent, and landing procedures by reducing the size of the landing vehicles. It also avoids the assembly of huge vehicles in LEO. The author claims that his proposal is much cheaper than the NASA reference mission without compromising the risks and can be undertaken before 2030.

Boeing Conceptual Space Vehicle Architecture (2012)

In 2012, a conceptual architecture was published by

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...

United Launch Alliance United Launch Alliance (ULA), legally United Launch Alliance, LLC, is an American spacecraft launch service provider that manufactures and operates a number of rocket vehicles that are capable of launching spacecraft into orbits around Earth, ...

, and RAL Space in Britain, laying out a possible design for a crewed Mars mission. Components of the architecture include various spacecraft for the Earth-to-Mars journey, landing, and surface stay, as well as return. Some features include several uncrewed cargo landers assembled into a base on the surface of Mars. The crew would land at this base in the "Mars Personnel Lander", which could also take them back into Mars orbit. The design for the crewed interplanetary spacecraft included artificial gravity and an artificial magnetic field for radiation protection. Overall, the architecture was modular to allow for incremental R&D.

Mars One (2012–2019)

In 2012, a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

entrepreneur group began raising funds for a human Mars base to be established in 2023. The mission was intended to be primarily a one-way trip to Mars. Astronaut applications were invited from the public all over the world, for a fee. The initial concept included an orbiter and small robotic lander in 2018, followed by a rover in 2020, and the base components in 2024. The first crew of four astronauts was to land on Mars in 2025. Then, every two years, a new crew of four would arrive. Financing was intended to come from selling the broadcasting rights of the entire training and of the flight as a

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

show, and that money would be used to contract for all hardware and launch services. In April 2015, Mars One's CEO Bas Lansdorp admitted that their 12-year plan for landing humans on Mars by 2027 is "mostly fiction". The company comprising the commercial arm of Mars One went bankrupt in January 2019.

Inspiration Mars Foundation (2013)

In 2013, the Inspiration Mars Foundation founded by

Dennis Tito Dennis Anthony Tito (born August 8, 1940) is an American engineer and entrepreneur. In mid-2001, he became the first space tourist to fund his own trip into space, when he spent nearly eight days in orbit as a crew member of ISS EP-1, a visitin ...

revealed plans of a crewed mission to fly by Mars in 2018 with support from NASA. NASA refused to fund the mission.

Boeing Affordable Mission (2014)

On December 2, 2014, NASA's Advanced Human Exploration Systems and Operations Mission Director Jason Crusan and Deputy Associate Administrator for Programs James Reuthner announced tentative support for the

"Affordable Mars Mission Design" including radiation shielding, centrifugal artificial gravity, in-transit consumable resupply, and a lander which can return. Reuthner suggested that if adequate funding was forthcoming, the proposed mission would be expected in the early 2030s.

Mars Semi-Direct Revisited (2016)

As the Earth Return Vehicle was deemed very heavy, Robert Zubrin proposed in 1993 a "semi-direct" scenario, in which the outbound trip is still direct to the surface but the return is split into two steps, first going back to Mars orbit using a relatively small ascent vehicle in order to join a return vehicle that is sent there a long time in advance. As the return is not direct anymore, the scenario is called "semi-direct". In 2016, Jean-Marc Salotti made new calculations and revisited the architecture of the mission, showing that 4 heavy launches of the heaviest version of the NASA Space Launch System would be sufficient for its implementation

NASA's Journey to Mars and Moon to Mars Programs (2015–present)

On October 8, 2015, NASA published its strategy for human exploration and sustained human presence on Mars. The concept operates through three distinct phases leading up to sustainable human presence. The first stage, already underway, is the "Earth Reliant" phase, which continues using the International Space Station until 2024, validating deep space technologies and studying the effects of long-duration space missions on the human body. The second stage, "Proving Ground", moves away from Earth reliance and ventures into

cislunar space Outer space, commonly shortened to space, is the expanse that exists beyond Earth and its atmosphere and between celestial bodies. Outer space is not completely empty—it is a near-perfect vacuum containing a low density of particles, pred ...

for most of its tasks. The proposed

Lunar Gateway The Lunar Gateway, or simply Gateway, is the first planned extraterrestrial space station in lunar orbit intended to serve as a solar-powered communication hub, science laboratory, and short-term habitation module for government-agency astr ...

would test deep-space habitation facilities, and validate capabilities required for human exploration of Mars. Finally, phase three is the transition to independence from Earth resources. The "Earth Independent" phase includes long-term missions on the Martian surface with habitats that only require routine maintenance, and the harvesting of Martian resources for fuel, water, and building materials. NASA is still aiming for human missions to Mars in the 2030s, though Earth independence could take decades longer. In November 2015, Administrator Bolden of NASA reaffirmed the goal of sending humans to Mars. He laid out 2030 as the date of a crewed surface landing on Mars, and noted that the 2021 Mars rover,

Perseverance Perseverance may refer to: Behaviour * Psychological resilience * Perseverance of the saints, a Protestant Christian teaching * Assurance (theology) Geography * Perseverance, Queensland, a locality in Australia * Perseverance Island, Seychelles ...

would support the human mission. In March 2019, Vice President Mike Pence declared, "American astronauts will walk on the Moon again before the end of 2024, 'by any means necessary'." This reportedly prompted NASA to accelerate their plans to return to the Moon's surface by 2024. NASA says it will use the Artemis lunar program in combination with the Lunar Gateway as stepping stones to make great scientific strides "to take the next giant leap - sending astronauts to Mars".

SpaceX Mars transportation infrastructure (2016–present)

In 2016, SpaceX announced that it planned to send a Red Dragon capsule for a soft landing on Mars by 2018, but they halted the effort by mid-2017 in order to focus engineering resources to the effort that would later become known as "Starship." SpaceX has publicly proposed a plan to begin the colonization of Mars by developing a high-capacity

transportation infrastructure Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...

. As discussed in 2016, the ITS launch vehicle conceptual design was to be a large reusable booster topped by a spaceship or a tanker for in-orbit refueling. The aspirational objective at that time was to advance the technology and infrastructure so that the first humans to Mars could potentially depart as early as 2024. As the top development priority of SpaceX became developing a larger and more capable launch vehicle after 2018,

Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.; founder of The ...

has continued to articulate aspirational plans for early Mars missions as one objective of that program. In September 2017, Musk announced an updated vehicle design for the Mars mission at the

International Astronautical Congress Every year, the International Astronautical Federation with the support of the International Academy of Astronautics and the International Institute of Space Law (IISL), holds the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) which is hosted by ...

. The vehicle for this mission was called BFR (Big Falcon Rocket) until 2018, when it was renamed " Starship". Starship is planned to provide the capability for on-orbit activity like satellite delivery, servicing the International Space Station, Moon missions, as well as Mars missions. Cargo flights to Mars would precede crewed flights. * As early as 2024, pathfinder Starship cargo vehicles could be sent to Mars. * Crewed Starship vehicles would follow, at the earliest in 2026, two years after the first cargo flights.

Mars Base Camp (2016)

Mars Base Camp is a US spacecraft concept that proposes to send astronauts to Mars orbit as early as 2028. The vehicle concept, developed by Lockheed Martin, would use both future and heritage technology, as well as the Orion spacecraft built by NASA.

Deep Space Transport (2017)

The Deep Space Transport (DST), also called Mars Transit Vehicle, is a crewed interplanetary

spacecraft A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, p ...

concept by NASA to support science exploration missions to Mars of up to 1,000 days.Finally, some details about how NASA actually plans to get to Mars
Eric Berger, ''ARS Technica''. March 28, 2017.NASA Unveils the Keys to Getting Astronauts to Mars and Beyond
Neel V. Patel, ''The Inverse''. April 4, 2017. It would be composed of two elements - an Orion capsule and a propelled habitation module.Deep Space Gateway -Enabling Missions to Mars
— Shakedown Cruise Simulating Key Segments of Mars Orbital Mission. ''Mars Study Capability Team'' (2018). Michelle Rucker, John Connolly. NASA. As of April 2018, the DST is still a concept to be studied, and NASA has not officially proposed the project in an annual U.S. federal government budget cycle.Cislunar station gets thumbs up, new name in President's budget request
Philip Sloss, ''NASA Spaceflight''. March 16, 2018.NASA evaluates EM-2 launch options for Deep Space Gateway PPE
Philip Sloss, ''NASA Spaceflight''. December 4, 2017. The DST vehicle would depart and return from the Lunar Gateway to be serviced and reused for a new Mars mission.

Tianwen series (2020)

On April 24, 2020, the Chinese planetary exploration mission was named "Tianwen series", the first Mars exploration mission was named "

Tianwen-1 -1 (TW-1; zh, t=, s=, l='Heavenly Questions') is an interplanetary mission by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) which sent a robotic spacecraft to Mars, consisting of 6 spacecraft: an orbiter, two deployable cameras, lander, remo ...

", and the subsequent planetary missions were numbered in turn.