Humans ever going to mars???

[Zylark]

Ofcourse we will go to Mars. Why? Because it is there, and we can. All that is lacking is the will to commit the resources needed to make it happen.

So the question is not so much if we are going to visit Mars one day, it is more a question of when and not least, by who?

NASA is one contender naturally, but seeing the dwindling US economy, it won't get the resources needed. ESA and JAXA together with the Russians and Chinese is more likely. Not to mention all the private Space-flight corporations that is popping up like shrooms in the autumn.

Personally I'd guess we're on Mars by 2040. Most probably earlier. And I'd also guess that either a private consortium or a Europe + Russia + Chinese + Japan joint venture will get us there.

The US will be bancrupt quite soon (*cough*), so I don't see them doing much in manned space missions for the next 10-15 years. They'll be more than busy repaying foreign debt, now measured in the trillions of USD.