Mars 1 Way, Closer to Reality - Starting To Sound Like It

Yep, I have visited this subject a few times before, but it is beginning to like more than a complete pipe dream.    Earlier this week Netherlands-based private spaceflight project Mars One announced that Lockheed Martin and Surrey Satellite Technology have been contracted to quote :

• "study and develop concepts for a Mars lander and a data link satellite, respectively, for a 2018 exploratory mission."

If both systems are in place and operating successfully by 2018, then Mars One feels it can start and hopefully have a human settlement on Mars by 2025.   As you can see by these dates, both missions have been pushed back a couple of years due to delays.

There are some interesting factoids on the Popular Science page, which you can  find  HERE