Apart from the moon, Mars is the only planet where a manned mission can be sent. Mercury and Venus are too hot and the gravity of Jupiter and Saturn too strong for humans. It is quite possible, therefore, that the 22nd century will see human settlements on both the moon and Mars — if not towards the end of the 21st century itself. The reason is not only the steady scientific advancement in the various official and unofficial establishments, but man’s indomitable spirit of adventure. Since explorers have been to every nook and corner of the earth, the eyes of scientists and buccaneers have turned to Mars.
As a preparation for the proposed sojourn on the cold deserts of the red planet, the Mars Society has organised a simulated one-year Mars mission beginning from July at its Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station in the Canadian arctic region 900 miles from the North Pole. How the recruits for the one-way trip will spend their time in the claustrophobic environs is not known, but the experiment will be one step forward to fulfil the dream of Wernher von Braun, the genius who designed the Saturn V moon rockets and who has been planning Mars missions ever since the publication, in 1948, of his book, Das Marsprojekt. He had even broached the idea to President Nixon after Neil Armstrong landed on the moon.
While trips to the Mars have been considered since the 1990s, the rise of the swashbuckling private sector’s New Space industry has breathed new life into the old dream. Recently, privately-run organisations, Inspiration Mars and Mars One, have announced plans to send people to Mars without relying on the resources of the state. It is possible that all these projects will remain daydreams. But such setbacks will not deter the true believers to whom Mars remains the Shangri-La of all space buffs, including votaries of science fiction.