I don't think it would be too long, 20 years maybe (IF there's a solid interest in that). There have been preparations for this trip since long time a go. The main problem is oxygen and food, which they tried to solve with space-gardening experiments, to grow plants on the actual ship. A trip to Mars and back would take a bit more than a year and a half in optimum conditions (launch windows primarily).
I don't think it would be too long, 20 years maybe (IF there's a solid interest in that). There have been preparations for this trip since long time a go. The main problem is oxygen and food, which they tried to solve with space-gardening experiments, to grow plants on the actual ship. A trip to Mars and back would take a bit more than a year and a half in optimum conditions (launch windows primarily).
Going to be interesting tho! Hopefully this will happend in my lifetime 
A lot of the problem is radiation shielding as once you leave earth there's no magnetic field protecting you from the solar wind. Although it would be easy to just wrap the ship in lead plating, the problem is then getting the now very-heavy spaceship into orbit in the first place.
There's also the psychological effects of being in a cramped habitat with 4 or 5 other people for a year or so - it would take 6 months just to get there.
Yeah, but I guess they've already solved that when they sent people on the Moon (don't know how though)
That has been trained a few years a go.
The main problem in my view is finding a real interest in this. Simple "a race to Mars" is not enough this time as it was for the Moon. It would be good to see China, Russia, EU, USA and other relevant nations join forces in this, but I don't see it coming really.
In my personal view (and I may be a dreamer, Utopian or whatever...), these kinds of achievements are actually the only ones that count. These kinds of steps are making us closer to understanding who and where we really are and not those like who was on the red carpet last night and what he/she was wearing (not meaning any disrespect to anybody). The budgets spent on these kinds of achievements make much more sense to me than those spent in military purposes (under any justification).
Trained, yes, but on Earth and on the ISS. No-one can entirely predict whether that'll be enough when you're 400 million miles and 6 months away from not just home, but anything that won't kill you if you step outside.
That's true, but still there will be a very long line of competent people volunteering for the mission, aware of the difficulties of the task. It won't be easy, but it's not impossible.
Oh yes, they probably will be fine. Just saying it's a lengthy process to ensure that as much as possible.
Before sending people all the way to mars, they need to accomplish a sample return operation first. That's being planned, but since NASA's budget is being cut all the time, it's being delayed constantly.
If I'll get to live old enough to see man walk on mars, I'll be happy.
If I'll get to live old enough to see man walk on mars, I'll be happy.
Yeah, it sure is, and the fact Matrixi mentioned:
is making it even longer, sadly
It has to be thoroughly prepared, it's never been done before and they have to think about everything that can go wrong. Comparing to this, a trip to the Moon is like going downtown for groceries
.Difficult, but not impossible
You're assuming we want to bring the astronauts back. The first mission to mars will be one-way. It is the only way to do it with relatively recent technology.
http://mars-one.com/
This is a private, one way mission to mars planned to launch in 2023.
Maybe later they will be able to bring them back as technology advances, but they'd likely be stuck out there for decades.
I'm not really sure their staying on Mars can take long, because of water and food supplies primarily. And then there's oxygen needed too.
To grow plants you need a lot fertile soil, first of all and then you'll need a lot of water too, to grow food enough for 5 people to eat for years. Assuming there is ice on Mars, water would not be the problem, but what about the soil? They can't bring much of it from Earth, because of its weight.
Plants use CO2 and make oxygen during the day and vice versa during night. Is there enough of it there?
To grow plants you need a lot fertile soil, first of all and then you'll need a lot of water too, to grow food enough for 5 people to eat for years. Assuming there is ice on Mars, water would not be the problem, but what about the soil? They can't bring much of it from Earth, because of its weight.
Plants use CO2 and make oxygen during the day and vice versa during night. Is there enough of it there?
There's no way NASA will be sending anyone on a suicide mission, and they are the only people right now who have the technology and the know-how for anything mars landing related.
Third parties can barely get a resupply vessel to the ISS at this point, any talk about them doing anything mars related is completely absurd for the next 20-30 years, minimum. We might see sample return missions by then, but humans.. no.
Mars One is a nice hoax though. Permament settlement, yeah right.
NASA was the one who came up with the idea of a one-way mission in the late 70s. They won't do it for marketing reasons, not because it's a bad idea.
And Mars One is not a hoax.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18506033
The only way a private company will get to mars is with lots of support from a lot of companies. That's what Mars One is going for.
Curiosity Mars rover to land on 6th of August
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