NASA’s Artemis program plans to return humans to the Moon this decade to practice and prepare for a Mars mission as early as the 2030s. While NASA has several reasons for pursuing such an ambitious mission,

NASA Mars mission objectives include searching for life on Mars and understanding Mars' loss of liquid water and its atmosphere. These changes will provide information into planetary evolution and the factors behind the Mars’s current state.

The Artemis program is paving the way, with significant milestones already achieved. NASA’s Artemis I mission, launched in November 2022, marked a key step in preparing for future human exploration of Mars.