NASA: We're Sending People to Freakin' Mars!

Credit: NASA/JSC

The first manned mission to Mars is finally going to happen!

The chief of NASA, Charles Bolden, announced yesterday that the space agency is planning to send people to Mars sometime in the 2030s.

Robert Jacobs, deputy associate administrator of NASA's office of communications spoke with The Daily Dot, and told the site the reason why they're planning to send people to Mars. Jacob said that "technological advances in space exploration have had tangible benefits to life on earth. But more importantly, NASA's mission is and always has been for the exploration of space."

The space agency is also asking help through crowdfunding. NASA is asking for people's creative ideas for this mission.

NASA went into more detail in a press release:

NASA is embarking on an ambitious journey to Mars and Tuesday announced a challenge inviting the public to write down their ideas, in detail, for developing the elements of space pioneering necessary to establish a continuous human presence on the Red Planet. This could include shelter, food, water, breathable air, communication, exercise, social interactions and medicine, but participants are encouraged to consider innovative and creative elements beyond these examples.