Mars Curiosity rover (Photo : Reuters)
NASA has boldly claimed that a manned mission to Mars is possible only with their help.
"No commercial company without the support of NASA and government is going to get to Mars," said NASA administrator Charles Bolden during a United States House Committee meeting on April 16, Forbes reported.
In the meeting, which focused on space, science and technology, Bolden was invited to discuss how he envisions the future of the space agency.
According to Bolden, a manned mission to Mars could be launched by 2030. He also said that reaching and colonizing the planet is not impossible because "Mars is the planet that is most like Earth."
NASA should lead the space exploration and it is important to have a test facility available to the private sector for doing this, Bolden explained adding that this is why Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) is scheduled to be launched in 2020.
To explore critical technology, including autonomous robotic technology and Solar Electric Propulsion, NASA will use ARM with an aim to put chunk of asteroid into orbit around the moon.
Among those who believe that studying Mars is not a waste of time is planetary scientist Nathalie Cabrol, who is also a member of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover team.
For Cabrol, Claiming that studying Mars is a useless is tantamount to saying that Christopher Columbus should not to sail to America, the Wall Street Journal has learned.
Cabrol believes that billions of years ago, Mars had the right conditions to support life for humans and someday, it could be habitable again.
