NASA has been vocal regarding its plans to be able to send people to Mars by 2035, and that goal remains one of NASA's top priorities.

"In the near term, Mars remains our primary focus," Chron.com of Ellen Stofan, NASA's chief scientist ,said at the Royal Institution in London in early May.

Although this remains a goal and prime objective, NASA cannot do it alone.

"This is not something any one nation can do on their own," Stofan continued. "It's something that humanity is going to do together."

Stofan estimates that a trip to Mars, including the exploration and return journey, would take about 3 years. Chron.com wrote that "after making that huge initial effort, humans are likely to stay on the red planet."

Practicing on the Moon
While putting people on Mars remains a primary target, the moon is a critical part of the challenge. In order to establish the question as to whether there was once life on the red planet, it is essential that scientists are able to go to Mars and explore themselves.

'To unambiguously settle the questions of whether there was life on Mars it will take scientists down on the surface,' Dr Stofan said, reports The Natural History Museum.

There is still a lot be be done before we are at the stage where we can send human scientists to explore. Deep space presents a significant amount of dangers, thus the plans of NASA to use the moon as a testing ground and area of further studies given its closer proximity to Earth.

A mission is being prepared that would entail redirecting an asteroid to allow scientists to take samples and study it. The mission would enable scientists to test ion propulsion systems, test the capacities of new suits as well as train astronauts on the operations and protocols of work in deep space.

The mission that hopes to be accomplished by 2020 will develop our abilities in teamwork and technology that will get humans closer to being able to be multi-planet species.