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Nasa's ultimate goal at the moment is to land humans on Mars by the 2030s.

Exactly how to get there is up for debate, with the agency favouring a mission to an asteroid in the next decade, followed by a giant leap to the red planet the decade after.

But one expert has claimed that Nasa is actually planning to go back to the moon first, as a waypoint to reaching its final goal.

Wish you were here? Nasa has made no secret of its desire to get to Mars, but the steps it will take to get there are not yet known. Several experts have said that the agency should consider returning to the moon (illustration shown) before making the 'giant leap' to the red planet

Writing for My San Antonio, science reporter Eric Berger explained how President Obama had, in 2010, outlined Nasa's goals for the forthcoming decades.

'I just have to say pretty bluntly here, we've been there before,' the President said in a speech at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at the time.

The goal instead was to visit an asteroid in the 2020s, and then send a crew to Mars in the 2030s - with no mission to another destination in between.

Recently, Nasa revealed how they plan to do the asteroid mission - by picking up a boulder from a larger asteroid, placing it in lunar orbit, and having astronauts go and visit.

But Mr Berger says that Nasa has been 'quietly' considering going back to the moon before going to Mars.

He said that Nasa is, 'in internal studies, reconsidering the moon, including the lunar surface, for human activities as a significant stepping stone to Mars.'

He continued: 'William Gerstenmaier, the chief of human exploration for Nasa, does not see the existing plan of a direct, 900-day mission to the red planet as achievable.'

In a tweet Nasa's Head of Communications, David Weaver, seemingly quashed the significance of the news, saying: 'Nothing new about #NASA plan to use Moon on #JourneyToMars.'

However, Mr Berger says it is significant, as the agency had previously shied away from saying it was returning to the moon.

Nasa's end game is to get to Mars by the 2030s (illustration of humans on the surface shown here), which they say is possible. The goal at the moment is to visit an asteroid in the 2020s, and then send a crew to Mars in the 2030s - with no mission to another destination in between

Recently, Nasa revealed how they plan to do the asteroid mission - by picking up a boulder from a larger asteroid, placing it in lunar orbit, and having astronauts go and visit using the Orion spacecraft. Shown is an artist's illustration of the asteroid mission taking place

If the agency does change its mind, it would perhaps be heeding the advice of a report by the National Research Council (NRC) in June 2014.

The extensive 286-page report said Nasa would be 'doomed to fail' if it didn't alter its proposed method to get to Mars.

The scathing assessment claimed that without sufficient funding, a clear goal, or help from nations such as China, Nasa will not be capable of making the next giant leap for mankind.

In its report the NRC examined three options for getting to Mars, and said two that included a return to the moon first to test key technologies were favourable.

One idea on the table is that, after the ISS has been decommissioned, Nasa would create a 'gateway spacecraft' in lunar orbit.

Astronauts would be able to visit this station, and carry out sorties to the moon. It could potentially also be used as a stopping off point, for fuel and resources, on the way to Mars. 

Buzz Aldrin (pictured), the second man on the moon, wants to see Nasa return straight to Mars - albeit without the planned mission to go to an asteroid. 'I rather strongly object to the asteroid retrieval mission,' he told MailOnline exclusively in October 2014

Time to go back? The last humans to go to the moon were Gene Cernan (pictured) and Jack Schmitt on the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972. Since then, in more than 40 years, no astronauts have even left Earth orbit - leading some to suggest that a mission straight for Mars is too big a leap, even for Nasa

Several well-known names in space have also recently offered their verdict on what Nasa should be doing.

In October 2014, former astronaut Chris Hadfield exclusively told MailOnline that Nasa should consider heading back to the moon before going to Mars.

'The next logical destination? It's obviously the moon as its just three days away,' he said. 'If there's a mistake we can turn around and come back.

'There's sort of a public appetite for going to Mars right now in a big hurry, but there's no tech to make it safe enough and affordable.'

Buzz Aldrin, meanwhile, the second man on the moon, said he did not agree with Nasa's current plan to get to Mars via an asteroid mission in the 2020s.

'I rather strongly object to the asteroid retrieval mission,' he said.

And in March this year Theoretical physicist Dr Orfeu Bertolami from the University of Porto completed a study that found there was no feasible way of getting to Mars any time soon.

'Despite what people say, we are a long way from reaching Mars,' he told MailOnline.

'I see no way of reaching Mars in five decades.'

Previously, Boeing outlined the six steps needed to land and return on Mars (illustrated). Two are already in production - the Orion spacecraft and SLS rocket. The other four things needed are a large 'tug' spacecraft, a habitat, lander and an ascent vehicle - all of which Nasa is hoping to develop in the next decade or so

It's not all doom and gloom, though; recently Nasa awarded £6.8 million ($10 million) in funding to a Texas-based company called Ad Astra to develop an engine that can get to Mars in just 39 days.

Called Vasimr, it uses plasma as a propellant - and requires a nuclear reactor - to bring down the journey time from months to weeks.

A mission to Mars would still take more than two years, as any mission would only be able to launch and return when the planets are aligned – which happens every two years.

But, nonetheless, if this engine can be proved, perhaps Nasa's goal of making a giant leap to Mars after visiting an asteroid will be achievable. 

If not, a return to the moon first might be the preferred option. 

Could this be the key for missions to Mars? Last week, Nasa selected a variety of companies to work on projects to create advanced space technologies, including a faster method of propulsion known as Vasimr (illustrated), which could apparently get to Mars in a matter of weeks, not months