Goal of putting people on Mars increasingly within reach
鈥淚 believe I will see people on the surface of Mars before I die鈥 - Smead Aerospace Asst. Professor Allie Anderson
From CGTN (China Global Television Network):
China鈥檚 moon landing 鈥 along with past Soviet and American ones 鈥 are warm-ups of sorts for the next frontier: Mars. Putting people on the Red Planet鈥檚 surface has been a goal for decades. While challenges remain, scientists believe it鈥檚 only a matter of time. CGTN鈥檚 Hendrik Sybrandy reports.
It鈥檚 the year 2042. Nine years after the first human mission to Mars, the transformation of the planet to support human life has begun. The U.S. T.V. docudrama series 鈥淢ars鈥 is National Geographic鈥檚 vision of what could be our future.
鈥淭his is the planet that everybody鈥檚 dreamed about visiting ever since there鈥檚 been science fiction,鈥 said author Stephen Petranek, who wrote the book 鈥淗ow We鈥檒l Live on Mars鈥 upon which the series is based.
He argues potential calamities like asteroid collisions or massive viruses make it imperative that Earthlings include other planets in their survival plan.
鈥淚 think you need a backup for the human race,鈥 Petranek said.
At a special 鈥淢ars鈥 screening recently, a panel of space experts gamed out the path to landing on the Red Planet...