More and more Mars related news seems to come out every day: Liquid water exists on the surface, and now we have confirmation that lakes and streams once crisscrossed over the planet. The next big step for Mars (outside of extraterrestrial life) is actually getting there, and luckily for us NASA just released a 36-page plan detailing just how they plan to do that.

“NASA is closer to sending American astronauts to Mars than at any point in our history,” said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden in a press release . “Today, we are publishing additional details about our journey to Mars plan and how we are aligning all of our work in support of this goal. In the coming weeks, I look forward to continuing to discuss the details of our plan with members of Congress, as well as our commercial and our international and partners, many of whom will be attending the International Astronautical Congress next week.”

What’s the game plan?

According to this plan, NASA has broken the lead-up to leaving for Mars into three steps. First, the current Earth Reliant step, in which NASA uses the International Space Station’s microgravity lab to test new technology and to test how space affects human health and performance.

The next step, the Proving Ground, is set to begin in 2018. NASA plans to launch a new deep space capsule named Orion using the Space Launch System, the most powerful rocket ever built. Orion will orbit around the moon in cislunar space to help NASA test what is necessary for humans to live and work at further and further distances from Earth.

The Proving Ground step will be especially key to ensuring the transportation and habitation capacities created will be suitable for the journey to Mars. Further, this step will help NASA better understand the health risks associated with deep space travel—astronauts who make the journey to Mars will spend 1,100 days exposed to dangerously high levels of radiation.

Finally, Earth Independent activities will combine what was learned in the previous two steps in order to enable human missions to areas near Mars, or maybe even into orbit around Mars or one of its moons, with the eventual goal of landing on the surface of the red planet.

Missing from this report are a lot of important pieces of information. For example, no detailed timeline or budget has been given for this plan. (However, one graphic estimates the date of Mars launch to be around 2030 or later, and NASA merely mentions its plans “are affordable within NASA’s current budget”.) It is important to remember, however, that most of the missing items—like how astronauts will grow food in space—are still being researched.

NASA seems confident those fine details will be worked out in the end.

“NASA’s strategy connects near-term activities and capability development to the journey to Mars and a future with a sustainable human presence in deep space,” explained William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Human Exploration and Operations at NASA Headquarters. “This strategy charts a course toward horizon goals, while delivering near-term benefits, and defining a resilient architecture that can accommodate budgetary changes, political priorities, new scientific discoveries, technological breakthroughs, and evolving partnerships.”

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Pictured is an artist’s concept of the SLS launchpad. Image credit: NASA

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