Scientists have created a three-person concept mission to land astronauts on Mars.
The team from Imperial College London envisions a three-person crew being capable of reaching Mars aboard a small-two part craft according to BBC.com.
The spaceship would "rotate to generate artificial gravity and use a heat shield to protect itself against solar flares" according to the report.
The three-man team would return to Martian orbit in a pre-sent craft fuelled using ice from beneath Mars' surface.
"Every part of this mission scenario has been demonstrated one way or the other, including the in situ propellant production on the surface of Mars," said Professor Tom Pike, who led the Imperial design team according to BBC.com.
Click here to read more about the mission.
"There are big, big jumps between a demonstration at one level and putting together the engineering systems for a mission, but they are engineering challenges. They are not fundamentally about making new discoveries," Pike added.
The concept plan comes just a few months after two other mission ideas were discussed as there is now a sudden interest in trying to get humans on Mars sometime in the near future.
Beneath the craft on the launch pad would be "a cruise habitat vehicle, a cylindrical craft split into three floors" which the team estimates would be 10m in height and 4m in diameter.
As the team reenters Earth's orbit, the astronauts would then move from the craft into a larger vehicle before a "rocket burst would propel the conjoined craft on a trajectory to Mars."
The crew's health would be monitored through wireless sensors, though if anything were to happen they would have to rely on medication aboard the ship and the "skills" of their fellow crew members.
The long journey in the confined craft could also take a toll on the crew's mental health, leading to conflicts among the travelers.
"Bones loss (in a weightless environment) is about 1-2% a month and if they're landing they'll be susceptible to fractures if they've got to be exerting themselves," said Ryan Robinson, the imperial team's physiologist to BBC News.
The journey would take approximately nine months when Mars and Earth are in optimum alignment according to BBC.com.
The time spent on Mars would depend on the next time Earth and Mars align. It could be a two month visit or a two year visit according to the Imperial team.
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