NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory recently released a report about sending manned missions into Martian orbit and eventually establishing human colonies on Mars.

The details of the report were discussed in a workshop called "Humans Orbiting Mars" hosted by the Planetary Society. The discussion revealed NASA is capable of carrying out missions to Mars by 2033, first in Martian orbit and on the Red Planet's surface by 2039.

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The Planetary Society presented the details of the workshop to prove the feasibility of bringing humans to Mars. The group also included various concerns such as the cost and budget of such a mission planned to begin with orbiting Phobos, one of the Martian moons.

Workshop participants were still a bit skeptical about a manned Mars mission, however. NASA reassured the audience it can still accommodate this sort of mission in their budget.

According to Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye, more popularly known as the "Science Guy" and a science educator as well, says that prospect of transporting humans to Mars is more complex than bringing them to the Moon.

Nye, however, believes space exploration is relevant for human development, saying this brings out the best abilities in people and is pivotal for human growth. This workshop also allowed a consensus on which kinds of space missions are needed to be carried out to stay within budget.

Scientists believe they now have an idea of how to execute a long-term and cost effective, manned Mars program, according to Scott Hubbard from the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University and one of the board directors of the Planetary Society.

He also said this workshop is an important step in establishing communities for groups and individuals interested in exploring Mars. 

The workshop was held in Washington D.C. and was attended by 70 participants who discussed the technical feasibility and budget constraints of the proposed Mars missions.

The workshop determined the Mars program can well fit into the NASA budget even after NASA ends its International Space Station missions. The Mars misson will also hopefully encourage investors from the private sector to financially support these missions.

The first leg of the proposed Mars mission, orbiting Phobos, will take 30 months. This journey will take 18 months back and forth from Earth and 12 months in Martian orbit.

TagsBill Nye: NASA Can Bring Humans to Mars by 2033, NASA, Bill Nye, planetary society, humans to Mars, when can humans travel to Mars, mars exploration, Mars