Humans have already conquered the moon and talks are on to capture Mars as well.
More and more companies are aiming to colonize the red planet, the one next to our Earth in the solar system.
While there are many forms of life on Earth, whether any exists on Mars at all remains a question.
Here are some of the companies aiming a shot on Mars:
- SpaceX
SpaceX was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur and businessman Elon Musk. The company is currently in contract with NASA to design, manufacture and launch rockets and space crafts.
In 2016, the company announced it will send an unmanned mission to Mars in 2018. In 2024, they hope to land first human on Mars. NASA, US military and various commercial and business outlets are backing the project.
- Boeing
Boeing has been in the space business for decades, as it has been one of NASA's primary contractors since the space agency's inception.
The company built the first stage of the Saturn V rocket — which took astronauts to the Moon — and it has since contributed to the Space Shuttle program and crafted many elements of the International Space Station. C
urrently, Boeing is designing and developing the Space Launch System, the massive rocket that NASA wants to use to send people to Mars.
- Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin has unveiled their version of a Mars Base Camp, which aims to send humans to Mars in about a decade.
Mars Base Camp is aligned with NASA's recently-announced lunar Deep Space Gateway approach for developing and testing systems, including Orion, in cis-lunar space before using them to go to Mars.
The Gateway allows astronauts to live and work in orbit around the Moon for months at a time while gaining experience with extended operations far from Earth.
- Mars One
Mars One was founded in 2011 by Bas Lansdorp and Arno Wielders. More than 200,000 people from more than 140 countries signed up when the company first called for public astronauts. In 2016, they have short-listed 100 members for extensive testing.
Mars One is planning a one way mission to Mars in 2024. Their website says, "It is Mars One's goal to establish a permanent human settlement on Mars."
- Anheuser-Busch InBev
In a stated effort to become the first beer on Mars, the company that makes Budweiser is shooting barley seeds up to the International Space Station that floats approximately 220 miles above the earth.
Anheuser-Busch InBev will send 20 of its own malting barley seeds up on a SpaceX CRS-13 rocket that launches from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on December 4.
