Boeing video reveals six pieces of the puzzle needed to get to Mars
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Getting humans to Mars will be no easy feat - it will take upwards of nine months to get there, and a complex spacecraft will be needed to land on the red planet and return the astronauts home.
But with a view to one day making the journey a reality, Boeing has released a video that shows the steps that will need to be taken to get there.
They explain how two of the six pieces needed for Mars travel, Nasa's SLS and Orion, are in production now - but we'll need a much bigger spacecraft to make the dream a reality.
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Washington-based Boeing has revealed how to get to Mars. In a video they have outlined the six steps needed to land and return. Two are already in production - the Orion spacecraft and SLS rocket. The other four things needed are a large 'tug' spacecraft (illusrtated), a habitat, an inflatable heat shield and a lander
'Today somewhere out there in the world, in a classroom, somewhere between the age of 10 and 20, the person who's going to be the first person to set foot on Mars is out there,' explained Boeing's director of Space Exploration Systems, Michael Raftery, in a video for Boeing.
'And it's really exciting to think what that person's life will be like, and how they will live after this big mission.'
Boeing is heavily involved in a future Mars mission; as the prime contractor for Nasa's huge Space Launch System (SLS), they are building the rocket which will be a necessity for getting to Mars.
WHEN CAN WE LAUNCH TO MARS?
It's not just technology that will be an issue with getting to Mars ; owing to the orbits of Earth and Mars there are specific windows of opportunity when a mission can take place.
Our planets come as close to each other as 33.9 million miles (54.6 million km), but can be as distant as 250 million miles (400 million km).
For this reason spacecraft to Mars, such as the Curiosity rover, have to launch in certain windows when the planets are aligned.
The next window is open from January 2016 to April 2016, and will see the launch of two more missions to the red planet.
For a future manned mission, they will need to launch out in one of the windows and return in one, which will take two years in total.
Just getting there will take seven or eight months. The astronauts will be there waiting for a year until they can come back.
But SLS is just one piece in a complex six-piece puzzle that includes the recently launched Orion spacecraft.
Nasa is committed to getting astronauts to Mars in the mid 2030s, and Mr Raftery explained that what is needed in the intervening 20 years will be proving ground missions to make it a reality.
'It takes six pieces to get to Mars,' he said.
The current plan begins with SLS and Orion - these are the two pieces needed to escape and return to Earth.
'If you're going to go to the moon or farther you need a really big rocket to do that, and that's what the SLS is all about,' he continued.
Getting to Mars, though, will probably require 'five or six' SLS launches according to Mr Raftery.
The next piece that will be needed is a deep space tug of some kind. This will be a large spacecraft that carries Orion and the other equipment.
This deep space transportation system will be powered by huge solar panels and will probably use solar electric propulsion (SEP), or ion propulsion.
'It uses the power from the sun to drive the propulsion system, so they look like large sailing ships,' explained Mr Raftery.
Attached to the sailing ship will be a 'habitat' where the crew will live.
Although not specifically mentioned by Boeing, it's thought this habitat may rotate in order to provide the crew on board with some form of artificial gravity, to prevent their bones degrading too much on their lengthy mission.
A huge inflatable heat shield (illustrated), different from the one Orion used to return to Earth, will take astronauts safely to the surface of Mars. Nasa has been testing the technology for such a heat shield through their Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) programme
A mission to Mars will take about two and a half years. Astronauts will spend about eight months getting there and eight months back, and probably about a year on the surface (illustrated)
The crew will ride on the habitat on their way to Mars before detaching once they have reached their destination.
Once arrived they will leave the habitat in orbit while the crew goes down to the surface.
The last two pieces that are needed for the mission are a lander, and an inflatable heat shield.
The huge inflatable heat shield, different from the one Orion used to return to Earth, will take them safely to the surface of Mars.
Nasa has been testing the technology for such a heat shield through their Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) programme.
Rockets will enable the lander to touch down on the surface after it drops the heat shield, 'much like the lunar lander did on the moon' said Mr Raftery.
'Today somewhere out there in the world, in a classroom, somewhere between the age of 10 and 20, the person who's going to be the first person to set foot on Mars is out there,' explained Boeing's director of Space Exploration Systems, Michael Raftery (pictured)
The Space Launch System heavy lift rocket (illustration shown) is being built by Boeing. It will be a necessity for a future manned mission to Mars, and will fly for the first time in 2019
Eventually, once their operations on the surface are complete, they will use a 'little rocket' to return to the habitat in orbit and, ultimately, to Earth.
Together, all of this infrastructure will allow a group of humans to take the first footsteps on Mars.
And some, including Mr Raftery, believe this may be the first step to colonising the red planet and having a permanent human settlement there.
'I think we'll be able to colonise Mars some day,' Mr Raftery concluded.
'It may take hundreds of years, but that's not unusual for humans.
'It's really about establishing a human foothold on the planet. It's a natural evolution of humanity to take this challenge on.'
Orion is one of the six pieces of the puzzle to get astronauts to Mars. It will be used to take astronauts out of Earth's gravity well, and return them home after the mission is completed. Last Friday it completed its first test flight, successfully entering into a high orbit before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean (shown)
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