National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has planned several unmanned and a manned odyssey to the moon to prepare the astronauts before they take on the "big journey" to Mars in 2030.
In the "net practice" before the "final match", NASA will send rovers in 2005, 2009 and 2011 to Mars and a manned mission to the moon in 2015, Dr Amitabha Ghosh, part of NASA team involved in Mars exploration, told reporters here today.
"These missions to the moon and unmanned tour to Mars would help researchers here to understand the possible challenges that could be faced by astronauts during Mars mission," he said.
"We plan to send human mission to Mars in 2030," he said.
These missions to the moon and Mars would help us develop space crafts, better space suits and upgrade the life support system that is required for the survival of astronauts in space conditions, Dr Michael B Wyatt said.
"The conditions on moon and Mars are not quite comparable... Nevertheless, the odysseys would help the astronauts have a basic idea about landing and how to brave difficult conditions in space," he said.
{{/usCountry}}"The conditions on moon and Mars are not quite comparable... Nevertheless, the odysseys would help the astronauts have a basic idea about landing and how to brave difficult conditions in space," he said.
{{/usCountry}}The rovers sent to Mars are sending information about the planet which help us understand the environmental conditions there on the planet, he said.