US aims to send astronauts to Mars in 2030s

The United States hopes to send astronauts to Mars in the early 2030s, Acting NASA Administrator and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in an interview with Fox News.

“We want to begin by sending cargo to the Moon and starting construction of a base there, then head to Mars in the early 2030s. It will be an eight-month mission,” he said.

Duffy added that in April next year, a spacecraft carrying four astronauts is expected to orbit the Moon. A subsequent lunar landing mission will see astronauts stay for 8–12 days, compared with the previous record of just three days.