This document communicates NASA’s strategy and progress to learn about the Red Planet, to inform us more about our Earth’s past and future, and may help answer whether life exists beyond our home planet. Together with NASA’s partners in academia and commercial enterprises, NASA’s vision is to pioneer Mars and answer some of humanity’s fundamental questions: • Was Mars home to microbial life? Is it today? • Could it be a safe home for humans one day? • What can it teach us about life elsewhere in the cosmos or how life began on Earth? • What can it teach us about Earth’s past, present, and future?

In the compelling anthology 'Mars: Our New Home? - National Plan to Conquer the Red Planet', a fascinating collection coalesces around the pioneering ambition of human Mars colonization, bridging the gap between astrophysical research and legislative support. This volume provides a robust exploration of the multifaceted strategies devised by an unusual partnership between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the U.S. Congress. Highlighting a range of approaches from technological innovation to policy formulation, the collection stands out for its holistic view on the challenges and solutions in humankind's pursuit of making Mars our next habitat, embodying a significant convergence of science and governance. The backgrounds of the contributorscomprising esteemed scientists, engineers, policy makers, and legislatorsbring a rich tapestry of perspectives to the discourse on space exploration and colonization. This unique confluence of expertise underlines the anthologys alignment with both historical aspirations towards space exploration and the contemporary push for interplanetary habitation. The cooperative endeavor mirrors the broader societal, technological, and political movements advocating for sustainable and ambitious spacefaring objectives. This insightful compilation is recommended for those eager to delve into the complexities of planning interplanetary colonization. It offers a unique educational journey through the lenses of both the creators of space technology and the architects of its supporting policies. Readers will find in this anthology a rare opportunity to engage with the dialogue unfolding at the nexus of science and policy, enriching their understanding of humanity's next giant leap.

Buzz Aldrin speaks out as a vital advocate for the continuing quest to push the boundaries of the universe as we know it. As a pioneering astronaut who first set foot on the moon during mankind's first landing of Apollo 11-- and as an aerospace engineer who designed an orbital rendezvous technique critical to future planetary landings -- Aldrin has a vision, and in this book he plots out the path he proposes, taking humans to Mars by 2035. --

A space enthusiast goes inside mission control with a motley crew of rocket scientists in this “fascinating journey of discovery peppered with humor” (Publishers Weekly). The Phoenix Mars mission was the first man-made probe ever sent to the Martian arctic. Its purpose was to find out how climate change could turn a warm, wet planet (read: Earth) into a cold, barren desert (read: Mars). Along the way, Phoenix discovered a giant frozen ocean trapped beneath the north pole of Mars, exotic food for aliens, and liquid water, and laid the foundation for NASA’s current exploration of Mars using the Curiosity rover. This is not science fiction. It’s fact. And for the luckiest fanboy in fandom, it was the best vacation ever. Andrew Kessler spent the summer of 2008 in NASA’s mission control with one hundred thirty of the world’s best planetary scientists and engineers as they carried out this ambitious operation. He came back with a story of human drama about modern-day pioneers battling NASA politics, temperamental robots, and the bizarre world of daily life in mission control.

On the 20th anniversary of the first human landing on the Moon, President George H.W. Bush stood atop the steps of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. and proposed a long-range human exploration plan that included the successful construction of an orbital space station, a permanent return to the Moon, and a mission to Mars. This enterprise became known as the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI). The president charged the newly reestablished National Space Council with providing concrete alternatives for meeting these objectives. To provide overall focus for the new initiative, Bush later set a thirty-year goal for a crewed landing on Mars. Within a few short years after this Kennedyesque announcement, however, the initiative had faded into history the victim of a flawed policy process and a political war fought on several different fronts. The story of this failed initiative was a tale of organizational, cultural, and personal confrontation by key protagonists and critical battles. Some commentators have argued that SEI was doomed to fail, due primarily to the immense budgetary pressures facing the nation during the early 1990s. The central thesis of Mars Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Space Exploration Initiative suggests, however, that failure was not predetermined. Instead, it was the result of a deeply flawed decision-making process that failed to develop (or even consider) policy options that may have been politically acceptable given the existing political environment.