Mars One may be grabbing headlines for pushing one-way manned missions to Mars, but buried deep in NASA's photo archives lies proof that the agency has been thinking about the journey for decades.

Commissioned by NASA, these artists' concepts show how the agency (unofficially and very loosely) once envisioned putting humans on the Red Planet. While some technology in the imagery evolved as NASA scientists learned more about Mars, many of the concepts still hold true in the agency's modern-day mocks for a 2030 manned mission.

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Perhaps even more interesting is that Mars One's architectural plans — which call for greenhouses and inflatable habitats — are concepts these NASA artists illustrated more than 25 years ago.

1985

Image by Pat Rawlings, courtesy of NASA

While NASA had no concrete plans for a Mars mission in 1985, scientists did imagine what kind of hardware it would take to make such a trip. This image includes a traverse vehicle, a habitation module, power module, greenhouses, central base, lightweight crane and trailer, launch and landing facility, water well pumping station, maintenance garage, tunneling device, water well drilling rig, large dish antennae, mast antenna and a Mars airplane. The base is located in an eroded canyon below Pavonis Mons, a large shield volcano on Mars' equator.

Image by Pat Rawlings, courtesy of NASA

This is a close-up view of the same artist's concept of that hardware for a manned Mars mission and construction of a permanent base.

1986

Image by Pat Rawlings, courtesy of NASA

Mars wasn't the only exploration target depicted in the 1980s. NASA also envisioned missions to Phobos, Mars' innermost moon and, according to the agency's caption, the "likely location for extraterrestrial resources." In this drawing, there is a mobile propellant-production plant. Using a nuclear reactor, the large tower melts into the surface, generating steam that is converted into liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.

1988

Image by Pat Rawlings, courtesy of NASA

This drawing depicts a Mars landing vehicle outfitted with a "molly bolt" design. It allows the aerobrake, a structure that can reduce the amount of mass that must be lifted from Earth for human missions, to be deployed in a flat shape for atmospheric entry and landing, and then retracted to form a smooth conical shape for ascent.

1989

Image by Pat Rawlings, courtesy of NASA

Humans explore an area called Noctis Labyrinthus, located in the Valles Marineris system of enormous canyons. According to NASA's caption: "The astronaut depicted on the left might be a planetary geologist seeking to get a closer look at the stratigraphic details of the canyon walls. On the right, the geologist's companion is setting up a weather station to monitor Martian climatology." The rover pictured serves as transportation from the landing site.

1990

Image by Ren Wicks, courtesy of NASA

In 1990, this artist predicted that the first human would land on Mars in 2019. Astronauts conduct scientific observations, and the Mars excursion vehicle in the background serves as crew quarters for the mission. But this isn't a permanent stay on the planet. The excursion vehicle will eventually return the crew to the transfer vehicle, parked in Mars orbit, for the return trip to Earth.

1993

Images by Mark Dowman of John Frassanito & Associates for NASA, JSC's of Office of Exploration

Based on the Office of Exploration's Annual Report, an artist mocked up a series of drawings depicting a Mars outpost. A 16-meter inflatable habitat is visible in the first image of the "consolidation phase." The report noted it would take four years to complete this phase before full utilization of the outpost, which is made for seven astronauts. Private company Mars One, which proposes a one-way mission to Mars in 2020, uses the same type of environment in its plans.

1996

Image by Pat Rawlings, courtesy of NASA

In a concept called "20/20 Vision," artist Pat Rawlings illustrates the concept of life on Mars. In 1996, scientists believed the Red Planet's rocks held the first chapter in the story of Martian life. As NASA confirmed 17 years later, they were right on the money.

1997

Image by John Frassanito and Associates for NASA

In this exploration concept, a completed Mars outpost includes a two-story lander habitat, inflatable laboratory and unpressurized rover.

Image by John Frassanito and Associates for NASA

Part of that same series, the crew attaches an inflatable laboratory to their lander to increase the internal pressurized volume of their Martian home.

Image by John Frassanito and Associates for NASA

The crew's ascent vehicle and propellant production facility stands 1 kilometer away from the completed outpost.

Images and partial captions courtesy of NASA