NASA prepares plans for human missions to Mars in 2026 and 2028

In a significant shift, NASA has set its sights on Mars exploration, with evaluations of launch opportunities in both 2026 and 2028 to facilitate human landings. This push forward aligns with the growing interest from scientists and aerospace companies, particularly SpaceX, which aims to launch its robotic exploration team to Mars by 2026, followed by a crewed mission in 2028. The research underscores the urgency and importance of Mars exploration as scientists like Robin Wordsworth at Harvard propose innovative strategies to terraform the planet by transforming its frozen regions into habitable biospheres. In this context, Wordsworth discusses the potential of next-generation rocket technology and geo-engineering breakthroughs that may enable the creation of human-friendly environments on Mars. His work builds on Robert Zubrin's foundational proposals from