Sending humans to Mars and returning them safely to Earth would be one of the most complex endeavors that humans have ever carried out. The number of issues that must be dealt with simultaneously is inordinately large, and all must be resolved in order to have a successful mission. NASA has a lot of experience with human missions in low Earth orbit and some to the moon. The Artemis missions will give us more (and current) experience at the moon. And we’ve sent spacecraft to all the planets in our solar system. But we’re not yet ready to send people to Mars.

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Bruce Jakosky is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder and University of Washington, has almost 50 years’ experience as a Mars researcher, and was the Principal Investigator of the MAVEN spacecraft mission that has been orbiting...

G. Scott Hubbard has held key roles at NASA, including director of Ames Research Center, first Mars Program director, founder of NASA's Astrobiology Institute, and the agency’s sole member of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. Hubbard, now retired,...

Jennifer Rochlis was the Division Chief for Human Systems Engineering and Integration at NASA Johnson Space Center and has worked extensively in both the private and government sector, focusing on human integration with complex systems.

Timothy Kokan is a scientist at L3Harris’ Space Propulsion and Power Systems Segment with over 20 years of experience in mission analysis and conceptual design of a wide array of spacecraft, planetary landers, and launch vehicles for various applications....