NASA is planning to land astronauts on Mars by the mid-2030s. The agency reportedly wants to take astronauts to the red planet for exploration by 2035 under the Artemis Program. The Program builds on the legacy of the Apollo missions which saw 12 men walk on the Moon.

Missions under Artemis will serve as a test bed to prepare NASA for journeys to Mars. The program began with the uncrewed launch of Artemis 1 on November 16, 2021 and lasted 25 days.

NASA also wants to land astronauts on the Moon for the first time since 1972 during Artemis 3 which will launch no earlier than September 2026.

But the agency is already looking to humanity’s next stop – Mars. According to the plan chalked out by the agency, the astronauts flying to the red planet will travel 402 million kilometres over the course of six to seven months one way. Besides, the astronauts might spend up to 500 days on the Martian surface before they return.

Mars is believed to have formed about 4.6 billion years ago, making it as old as the solar system. Scientists say it was very Earth-like, as it had liquid water and a denser atmosphere roughly 3.8 billion years ago. But the modern-day Mars no longer resembles its past self as there are no traces of liquid water (although polar region have ice deposits) and the atmosphere is just 1 percent the volume of Earth. The atmosphere mostly comprises carbon dioxide, about 95 percent.

ALSO SEE: SpaceX’s Starship Will Launch With Astronauts To Mars In Four Years: Elon Musk

NASA has a Human Exploration of Mars Science Analysis Group which has been assigned the job to frame questions that the astronauts will attempt to find answers to. One of the major ones is finding signs of life, past or present on Mars.

Scientists are hopeful that they might just find something as water is considered an essential point of origin for life. They have found evidence that water once flowed on Mars and that there were vast oceans churning on the planet. The Perseverance rover, is exploring the Jezero crater, an ancient river delta.

Joel S. Levine, wrote in a report, that another key question that has been proposed by the analysis group is investigating the environmental changes that led Mars to lose its water and atmosphere.

The nearest crewed mission NASA is working toward is Artemis 2 targeted for launch in September 2025. Four astronauts – Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman and Jeremy Hansen – will make a trip around the Moon and return without landing on the Moon. The mission is intended only to test the SLS rocket and the Orion spacecraft with humans onboard.

ALSO SEE: Liquid Water Discovered On Mars? NASA Lander Unveils Explosive Evidence

(Image: NASA)

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk made a bold announcement last month about sending humans to Mars in four years. While this may seem unrealistic to many experts, settling humanity on Mars is the ultimate goal his aerospace company is pursuing.

Interestingly, a person on X proposed an interesting idea – sending Tesla’s humanoid robots to Mars in order to set things up for humans.

“Elon is really about to send Starships full of Humanoid Robots to Mars in the 2030s to start building the base isn’t he?” asked Aidan Gold, a SpaceX investor.

Hopefully, millions of humans too
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 11, 2024

Without denying, Musk said he hopes to send millions of humans to the red planet too. “Hopefully, millions of humans too,” he replied.

“Good to get the robots setting things up for human arrival,” Gold said in a second post to which Musk responded with a ‘100’ emoji. Tesla’s humanoid robots gained spotlight again after Tesla’s event which took place earlier today.

ALSO SEE: Elon Musk Says He Could Be Dead Before Occupying Mars; ‘If We Don’t Improve…’

Optimus is your personal R2D2 / C3PO, but better

It will also transform physical labor in industrial settings pic.twitter.com/iCET3a9pd8
— Tesla (@Tesla) October 11, 2024

Earlier in September, Musk said that SpaceX will launch the first Starships to Mars with humans in four years. These launches will follow uncrewed missions to the red planet to test the “reliability of landing intact on Mars.”

“Flight rate will grow exponentially from there, with the goal of building a self-sustaining city in about 20 years,” Musk had said about the years beyond 2028.

Starship is SpaceX’s biggest reusable rocket that is getting ready for its fifth test flight on October 13.

ALSO SEE: SpaceX Announces Date For Starship’s Flight 5 As It Awaits Government Permit

Earth has been struck by a severe geomagnetic storm after another round of explosions on the Sun. This comes after an intense episode of solar flares coupled with the expulsion of charged solar particles called the coronal mass ejection.

According to the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center, the CME slammed into Earth at around 8:45 pm IST last night resulting in a G4 (severe) geomagnetic storm.

UPDATE! CME passage intensified; things are favorable for G4 levels to potentially continue into night hours. Keep space weather aware at https://t.co/YLUbTRM02y for the latest. We take actions to notify officials and critical infrastructure operators, so you can enjoy the aurora pic.twitter.com/uvZ7Ju0ps8
— NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (@NWSSWPC) October 10, 2024

“G4 levels reached again! CME progression will continue overnight with periods of weakening and some escalation possible in geomagnetic storm levels. The G4 Watch remains in effect for 11 Oct and all applicable warnings remain in place,” it stated on X.

A geomagnetic storm is a disturbance in Earth’s magnetic field and the solar particles that cause it can impact power grids, GPS and radio communication systems and satellites in orbit. The NOAA has said that the geomagnetic storm can also reach to G5 levels if the solar activity continues.

ALSO SEE: Brilliant Red Auroras Cover US Skies After Geomagnetic Storm; Pictures Surface

SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP

ODENTON, MD 😭💜

Taken between 7:20p to 7:45p ET pic.twitter.com/Qno4yHNOcp
— Carina ☀️ Alden (@SpaceWxRina) October 10, 2024

ITS LITERALLY OVERHEAD IN MARYLAND THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/R9mLOKM9fN
— Space Weather Watch (@spacewxwatch) October 10, 2024

Aurora pictures from the UK! 🩷💜💚 Thanks to my family in Worcestershire/Herefordshire 🌞 pic.twitter.com/jk3x4Iwxhi
— Emma Davies (@SpaceDavies) October 10, 2024

Northern Lights success from Colorado tonight! To me, the view below didn’t quite compare to the May 2024 geomagnetic storm (from similar latitude), but it was amazing to see these deep reds with the naked eye. pic.twitter.com/JzYZVcMh7H
— Dr. Ryan French (@RyanJFrench) October 11, 2024

What is even happening right now? I feel like I am having a religious experience – or an alien abduction. Not sure which. #aurora pic.twitter.com/vgDUP0YUC9
— Dr David Boyce (@DrDavidBoyce) May 10, 2024

Auroras boreales en el cielo de A Costa da Morte en Galicia pic.twitter.com/B0BFIZuyd6
— Fandi🇪🇦 (@adri_tbv) October 11, 2024

Tonight is the second time this year we witnessed the #northernlights in Key Largo, Florida. It’s extremely rare to see the aurora so far south. These photos were taken from Latitude 25°6′24″N pic.twitter.com/7uGx1sEohl
— Mike Theiss (@MikeTheiss) October 11, 2024

On the bright side, residents in Canada, the U.S and the U.K among other European nations are getting mesmerised by auroras that have been triggered in the polar regions. Many posted pictures of the brightly lit skies in pink and green hues on social media.

Interestingly, the auroras that are normally limited to the polar regions were seen as far as Florida. This surprisingly happened before Hurricane Milton took over with devastating winds and rains.

ALSO SEE: NASA Releases Pictures Of Explosions On The Sun As Auroras Amaze Skywatchers

(Image: X)