However, given the construction of an artificial environment, life on Mars could be possible. Mars is hopefully just our first step into the universe. Mars is farther from the Sun than Earth is (1.5 times as far), so it takes longer for the red planet to orbit around our shared star. Humans cannot live on Mars because neither the temperature nor the atmosphere is compatible with human survival.

So if you’re 30 years old on Earth, you’d only be 16 on Mars (that's the good news). The biggest incentive for putting humans on Mars is to have "an insurance mechanism for our species," says Stephen Petranek, author of How We'll Live on Mar … The Martian atmosphere is 95-percent carbon dioxide.

There is also no edible food and very little available water. In fact, a year on Mars is 687 Earth days . Once we’ve dipped our toes out into the solar system, it will be easier to expand out into the asteroid belt and beyond.