Mars is at the centre of a global conversation about space exploration. Enthusiasm and excitement generated by ideas for advancing human space exploration are key to igniting our youth’s passion for space. I can see this passion is alive and well through programmes like Genes in Space. The competition challenges students to create DNA experiments to solve issues we might encounter as we explore deeper into space. The winner’s experiment will launch to the International Space Station from a site in the United States and that experiment will be conducted by astronauts on board.
Recently, five teams and eight young scientists were chosen as finalists in the inaugural Genes in Space competition here in the UAE. Alia Al Mansoori won the competition, which took place at the Global Space Congress. These students from Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Dubai were working to solve real issues we encounter in space. Alia’s winning experiment aims to study how exposure to space affects the health of live organisms at the cellular level. Students like her will one day be making groundbreaking discoveries that will enable humans to explore farther than ever before.
It’s an exciting time in the space industry as we build the world’s largest most powerful rocket to take us to deep space (called the Space Launch System), test new spaceships (such as the Orion multi-purpose crew vehicle) and develop technologies for keeping humans healthy in deep space.
The Space Launch System features a unique combination of mature systems and advanced technologies and is capable of carrying more than twice the payload of any other launch vehicle into deep space.
Getting humans to Mars and back safely will be a marathon, not a sprint, which is why we advocate for a measurable, phased approach to going to Mars. Boeing, the company I work for, calls this "a path to Mars".
"A path to Mars" is a scenario that reflects a four-step evolution of critical capabilities from the International Space Station to missions in the lunar vicinity in preparation for the journey of humans to Mars.
Phase zero is already underway. The International Space Station has sustained humans in low Earth orbit for 16 years, producing critical science and technology that will enable humans to live in deep space as well as providing benefits to humanity on Earth.
The space station lays the groundwork for global partnerships that will help us transition to working together on future platforms.
Phase one includes extending our reach beyond low-Earth orbit to cislunar space, the area around the Moon, as we begin cislunar operations and what we call proving ground missions.
In cislunar space we’ll prove the technologies we’ve been using and developing in low-Earth orbit. The journey to Mars will be a three-year round trip, so it’s critical that we prove our systems in deep space before taking the ultimate leap.
Boeing is already working on a full-scale prototype cislunar habitat demonstrator as part of Nasa’s Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships 2 programme. The crew would spend this time in cislunar space evaluating habitability, logistics, operational procedures and vehicle systems in an environment similar to what will be experienced on the journey to Mars.
Building a habitat in cislunar space will offer opportunities for international partnerships and for lunar exploration and collaborative research. The habitat could also serve as a staging ground for governments and private companies that are interested in activities around or on the Moon that range from science to exploration to business and other exploration objectives.

Source: The National