Humans have set foot on the moon and NASA has sent multiple rovers to Mars. So, where should we go next?

Astrophysicist and StarTalk Radio host Neil deGrasse Tyson wants to explore deep space. More specifically, Tyson wants to visit Europa – a moon of Jupiter which is believed to have an ocean of water beneath its surface.

"On Earth, any place we find liquid water, we find life," Tyson tells us. "So, one of NASA's edicts is to follow the water; maybe you'll find life."

Learn more about Europa and the other planets and moons Neil deGrasse Tyson thinks we should explore below:

StarTalk Radio is a podcast and radio program hosted by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, where comic co-hosts, guest celebrities and scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Follow StarTalk Radio on Twitter, and watch StarTalk Radio "Behind the Scenes" on YouTube.

Produced by Will Wei, Robert Libetti, and Kamelia Angelova

SEE ALSO: Neil deGrasse Tyson Doesn't Think Elon Musk's SpaceX Will Put People On Mars

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Mars is a cold world, full of deserts and containing very little oxygen or gravity.

The average annual temperature on Mars is -64°F. At its hottest, Mars could hit 80°F near the equator in the middle of the day. In the Martian winter, however, temperatures could fall to -199°F.

That's why the first requirement for visiting the Red Planet would be a space suit.

But we were curious: How long could someone survive a summer day on Mars without all this fancy equipment, say, wearing only jeans and T-shirt and while holding his or her breath — which the average human can only do for a little more than a minute.

Here's what Chris Webster from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which manages the Curiosity rover currently roaming Mars, had to say over email:

The most serious immediate impact would be from the low atmospheric pressure that is nearly a vacuum compared to Earth, and within minutes the skin and organs would rupture, outgas and produce a quick painful death.

If not killed by the low-pressure atmosphere, there are many other environmental factors that make Mars inhospitable to humans without protection.

Webster explains:

Any humans on Mars would have to contend with the lack of oxygen (only ~0.1% compared to Earth’s 20%), the very cold surface temperatures, the ubiquitous and irritating dust, the intense UV radiation, surface chemicals and oxidants — and all this before they started looking for food and water!

That sounds pretty gruesome. We hope these women and men know what they're signing up for.

SEE ALSO: These are the conditions a human would face on Mars

SEE ALSO: Meet one young woman who has signed up for a one-way trip to Mars

SEE ALSO: What will the food on Mars taste like?

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Over the last decade, there have been many reports of methane in the Martian atmosphere detected by Earth-based telescopes and satellite observations.

The presence of methane, the main component of natural gas on Earth, would be a sign that the planet is still alive — microbes living far below the Martian surface could potentially be releasing the gas.

But new measurements from the Curiosity rover show that the current Martian atmosphere contains very little or no methane, greatly reducing the likelihood that methane is being produced by bacteria under the surface of Mars.

The discovery also limits the probability that a significant amount of methane was brought to Mars from external sources, like meteorites and dust from other planets.

"Because methane production is a possible signature of biological activity, our result is disappointing for many," study author Christopher Webster, director of the microdevices lab at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told Business Insider.

The team used Curiosity's Tunable Laser Spectrometer to measure the amount of methane on Mars. The device shoots laser beams through a chamber as Martian air is pumped into the same part of the instrument. Methane is detected by observing how the light from these lasers is absorbed by the Martian air. Researchers can pick up the distinct absorption lines created by molecules of methane.  

Based on the data, the researchers estimate that the most methane that could currently exist in the Martian atmosphere is 1.3 parts-per-billion, which is much lower than previous estimates ranging from 5 to 10 parts-per-billion.

The finding does not rule out the existence of microbes that emit gases other than methane, says Webster. And there is still a possibility that methane-producing organisms lived on Mars in the past but died out.

"Curiosity is not a life-detection mission, but is there to assess the habitability of the Red Planet, and the excitement from the many important observations from its payload eclipse any disappointment in the methane result," said Webster. "The Curiosity rover will continue to make its measurements of both atmosphere and rock samples to discover if organics other than methane exist on Mars."

The findings were reported in the journal Science Thursday, Sept. 19.

SEE ALSO: The Best 3-D Map Of The Milky Way's Center Ever Created

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If you have the stamina to lie in bed for 70 days straight, NASA will pay you $18,000 — no joke.

It's actually called the "Bed Rest Studies— The Exercise Study (CFT 70)."

They say the study is "designed to minimize loss of muscle, bone and cardiovascular function through high intensity interval-type aerobic exercises on alternating days, with continuous aerobic exercise daily."

Here's the full description. They write:

This study will show how much your body, tilted down slightly with head down and feet up, for 70 days, 24-hours a day, without getting out of bed, except for limited times for specific tests, is like an astronaut’s body during the weightlessness of space flight. Watching you will help scientists learn how an astronaut’s body will change in weightlessness during space flight in the future.

During your off time you get to play on your phone, read books, skype, take online classes, or anything else you want... as long as you don't stand up. I'm pretty sure you would have to have a catheter and a solid waste collection bag, and NASA has created a special shower gurney for washing.

After the testing phase you will have another few weeks of recovery days in which the scientists study how your body adapts to being out of bed. They pay $1,200 a week for the duration of the test — usually 15 weeks. 

Roni Cromwell, senior scientist of the study, explained to Forbes: "We also ask them [test subjects] to do tasks that astronauts would do when they land on a planetary surface. Simulate getting out of a vehicle. Moving heavy objects at a short distance. This gives us an idea as to their functional capabilities."

Previous volunteer, and now NASA contractor, Heather Archuletta, told Forbes: "The day I got up, after being in bed for 54 days [the study was cut short by Hurricane Ike], my feet hurt like crazy walking for the first time! But, I reminded myself, this is what astronauts go through, too."

To apply, fill out this form.

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A tidal wave of data from samples of Martian soil and rock analyzed by the Curiosity rover was released Thursday in a series of five reports.

The findings center on a pyramid-shaped rock named "Jack_M" and scoops of material taken from a sand dune called Rocknest, where Curiosity spent about one month hanging out last September.

The information is exciting because "scientists used all of the instruments on Curiosity in one place," said David Blake, the lead author of one paper published in Science and the principal investigator for Curiosity's ChemMin instrument.

That makes this the most well-studied area on Mars, using the car-size robot. 

"We know the elemental composition of the material from a tool called the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer. We know the minerals in the material from the ChemMin X-ray, and we know the volatiles in the material from an instrument called the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM)," explains Blake. 

In one study, scientists found about 2% water from a scoop of soil collected at Rocknest. The material was fed into SAM and heated to 1,535 degrees Fahrenheit to release gases. These gases tell the scientists how much water was in the sample to begin with.

Mars is unique because the chemical composition of the soil is pretty much the same around the entire planet — so it's a good bet that soil in any given area is similar to soil in other areas. "It's likely that the conclusions that we draw from this material will be similar to soil found on all of Mars," said Blake.

The finding is good news for when we send people to Mars since "they could scoop up the soil anywhere on the surface, heat it just a bit, and obtain water," the study's lead author Laurie Leshin, said in a statement.

In another study, scientists learned that a rock named "Jake_M" represents a previously unknown type of Martian magma. 

"Jake_M compares very closely with an uncommon terrestrial rock type known as a mugearite, typically found on ocean islands and in rift zones," Curiosity chief scientist John Grotzinger wrote in an introduction to the series of reports. "It probably originates from magmas generated by low degrees of partial melting at high pressure of possibly water-rich, chemically altered martian mantle that is different from the sources of other known martian basalts."

Since mugearites are formed in the presence of water on Earth, this adds to the growing body of research that there could be water deep beneath the surface of Mars.

SEE ALSO: New Methane Discovery On Mars Is 'Disappointing For Many'

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For a long time, scientists have known that the Martian surface was modified by volcanoes that were active billions of years ago. But a new study suggests that some ancient volcanoes were more violent than we once thought.

Researchers from the Natural Museum of History, London, and NASA have found evidence that the Red Planet was once home to giant, explosive volcanoes known as supervolcanoes, changing our understanding of how the atmosphere and sediments were formed on early Mars.

The findings were reported on Wednesday, Oct. 2, in the journal Nature.

The discovery is explained in a Nature Video. We've pulled out the highlights.

We know that Mars is covered with craters, cracks, and mounds.

Watch the full Nature Video on Supervolcanoes here »

These were formed by impacts from space, erosion, and volcanoes.

Watch the full Nature Video on Supervolcanoes here »

A volcano is a crack in a planet's crust, from which lava, ash, rock, and gases erupt.

Watch the full Nature Video on Supervolcanoes here »

Update: The MAVEN project has been given exception status from the shutdown so they don't miss their launch date, according to a tweet from NASA scientist Jared Espley. 

The chance to launch a rocket to Mars comes around once every 26 months.

If the government shutdown lasts longer than a few days, it's very possible that NASA could miss the coming launch window, and end up two years behind their currently on-time and on-budget Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution spacecraft, also known as MAVEN, project.

The government shutdown means that NASA has ceased all work on any un-launched projects [PDF]. MAVEN was set to launch sometime between Nov. 18 and Dec. 7 — the only open launch window for more than two years.

Currently,  there is "no end in sight" to the shutdown.

The project, a collaboration between NASA and the University of Colorado, cost $671 million.

MAVEN will explore Mars' upper atmosphere, including interactions with the sun and charged particles blown out by the sun known as solar wind. While the NASA site about MAVEN has shut down, the University of Colorado's is still open.

Maven "is going to tell us why the atmosphere changed over time," lead scientist Bruce Jakosky, of the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, told Florida Today. "We think that the surface was conducive to supporting life four billion years ago, and not today, and we’re trying to learn why."

Depending on how much work they miss out on while the government is closed, there's a real possibility that they will miss their window. They still have "pre-launch" testing, cleaning, packing, and checking to do on the craft and the satellite before the official launch. 

The team tweeted on Monday that they have a few days of buffer room on the project:

We'll turn #MAVEN back on when told that we can. We have some margin days built in & are absolutely committed to launch at this opportunity.

— NASA's MAVEN Mission (@MAVEN2Mars) October 1, 2013

Also, contractors can continue to work on the project, as long as their contracts have money and they aren't working at a government facility.

The actual MAVEN hardware is currently at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and has been put into a "known, stable, safe state." For now, the team is ready and waiting to turn her back on.

Her launch rocket, the Atlas V rocket, should currently be at Florida's Port Canaveral. They were supposed to be moved in late September, to the nearby Space Launch Complex 41 for stacking, and the protective payload fairing will arrive from its manufacturing location in Harlingen, Texas. We aren't sure if any of those events have happened.

SEE ALSO: NASA Astronauts In Space Will Not Be Affected By Goverment Shutdown

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There is a hole in one of the wheel's on the Mars Curiosity rover.

Here's a closer look:

The tear in Curiosity's left front wheel was first spotted by Emily Lakadawalla of the Planetary Society after new images from the six-wheeled robot, which touched down on Mars in August 2012, were beamed down on Tuesday, Oct. 2.

But don't be alarmed. Curiosity's handlers say the hole is not an issue. Dents, scratches, and punctures are expected as the wheels come into contact with various Mars rocks. 

"Holes in the wheels are not a concern for the Curiosity mission," according to NASA. "Such wear and tear is expected, especially in the thinnest areas of the wheels between the treads." 

Curiosity's wheels are constructed from tough aluminum, with some regions only .75 mm thick (.03 inches). The wheels were purposely designed to be thin and light to reduce weight and cost. 

As Lakadawalla points out on her blog, Curiosity doesn't need perfectly round wheels to move around the planet's surface because she doesn't actually roll. It's more like she's shuffling along the ground, and for that all the wheels really need to do is "grip the ground," she explains. 

The rover moves at an agonizingly slow pace — only 5 centimeters per second, or about .011 miles per hour.

So a few holes and scuffs on Curiosity's feet won't do much to further slow the mission down.  

SEE ALSO: Supervolcanoes Transformed Early Mars

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With the release of Alfonso Cuaron's "Gravity," it appears the portrayal of outer space in science fiction is about to take another huge leap forward.

From all accounts so far, the special effects and visions of outer space in the movie are being hailed as second-to-none.

Every few years — and sometimes every couple of months — a movie comes along that pushes the boundaries of what we believe is possible on screen. Ever since the first science fiction films hit the screen in the 1920s audiences have been wowed by visions of venturing into the great black and beyond.

Our understanding of science and technology have advanced along with filmmaking techniques and storytelling since the early 1900s, as has the movie medium's portrayal of space.

This is a look at how outer space in film has changed over the years. The films here represent leaps both in the technology behind making outer space happen, bringing outer space to life on the big screen, the current understanding of science and how it is presented on the screen, and the movie's ability to inspire awe or wonder.

We may see giant space battles or giant space balls that "brake for nobody." There might be realistic movies that detail a historical event or even films that have moved us to laugh or inspired childhood delight. 

These are the films that make a difference when it comes to outer space. 

1900 - 1929

"Le Voyage Dans La Lune" ("A Trip to the Moon") (1902)

While the French silent film directed by Georges Méliès wasn't known for breaking much technical ground as far as editing, props, and filming technique, the silent short's portrayal of the moon and space is still widely recognized as iconic to this very day and it is one of the earliest representations of outer space on screen.

"Himmelskibet" ("A Trip to Mars") (1918)

"A Trip To Mars" is a 1918 Danish silent film Phil Hardy of The Overlook Film Encyclopedia says is "the film that marked the beginning of the space opera sub-genre of science fiction."* In the GIF above, the fearless explorers gear up their space suits to explore Mars, where a humanoid alien population awaits. Themes in early science fiction involving the moon and Mars were both popular concepts at the time. We knew Mars was there, but we had no way of knowing what was on the planet or what it was like.

With the moon, there were still mysteries. We understood that the surface was likely barren, but what about the inside?

"Frau im Mond" ("Woman in the Moon") (1929)

This German silent film by Fritz Lang came after his 1927 masterpiece, "Metropolis." In "Woman in the Moon" the three main characters blast off for the moon in a rocket ship in search of gold. The movie is thought by some to be the first film to use the idea of "countdown to a rocket launch" as a plot device. 

During the '20s it was still obviously thought that venturing into space on a rocket was doable while wearing sweaters and laying unrestrained in cots.

Also worth mentioning: "Spaceship Take Off A Technical Fantasy" (1928)

1930s

"Flash Gordon" (1936)

The '30s were the era of the serial. "Flash Gordon" was actually told in 13 installments and featured the comic book hero on the screen for the first time, as played by Buster Crabbe. Flash used animals as aliens (Iguanas!) and popularized the use of sparklers as rocket exhaust.

"Things to Come" (1936)

This film by H.G. Wells tells the story of a future of wars and technological progression leading up to the launch of a rocket ship out of a massive gun in 2036. The movie isn't about outer space, nor does it venture into space until the very end. But it does establish humanity as having the ultimate goal of space travel and conceives a creative way of accomplishing this, albeit not a very reasonable one.

"Buck Rogers" (1939)

Buster Crabbe returned as Buck Rogers in the 1939 serial which had a shoestring budget. To save money they actually re-used background shots from the futuristic musical "Just Imagine" (1930). They also likely literally used those shoestrings to hold up the model rockets with sparklers.

1950s

"When Worlds Collide" (1951)

You'll notice the absence of outer space portrayals in the 1940s. During that period the world was at war for half of the decade and recovering for the rest. Audiences were more interested in escapist, "grounded" movies like "The Invisible Man Returns." Yes, outer space could be considered escapist, but the main heroes of the day were not blasting off to other worlds, they were taking care of problems right here at home and defeating the bad guys.

But then you have "When Worlds Collide" which is a perfect allegory to bring us back to outer space and otherworldly adventures. Outer space is looked at as a barrier to overcome in order for humanity to survive. We must get to the other world before ours is destroyed, and they build the space ship above to do this.

"The War of the Worlds" (1953)

While this might be the most famous science fiction film of the '50s — perhaps one of the most famous of all time — there was actually only a small portion of the movie that showed outer space, and that was the opening sequence (above) which set the tone for the entire movie: We're gonna get hammered, and hammered hard, and it's something from outer space that's coming. 

"This Island Earth" (1955)

While the spaceship might have looked like a bedpan and the planet it was trying to avoid a racquet ball, "This Island Earth" was a great movie aliens coming to earth to find scientists to help them with their war that had advanced special effects for the time.

"Forbidden Planet" (1956)

Robots! Flying saucers! Space travel! Adventuring to other planets! This movie had everything and it didn't skimp on the space travel part of the adventure. The crew didn't just magically arrive at the colony on the planet, you get to see the saucer land in spectacular fashion on a strange world. And it looked — and still does look — good.

This was one of the first movies to really set the "flying saucer" tone in popular culture.

1950s honorable mentions:  "Destination Moon" (1950), "The Day The Earth Stood Still" (1951), "Plan 9 From Outer Space" (1959).

1960s

"Journey to the 7th Planet" (1962)

Heading into the '60s we get more awesome space suits as evidenced by the blue and yellow far out man suits worn by the crew on the 7th Planet. The "getting there" part was comprised of actual rocket launch footage and a quick, lame, animated cut scene. This was framed by a scene leaving the 7th Planet using a camera pull-back shot of a static image of a planet-moon-type-thing. No, the best part of this movie is the suits. Those fantastic-looking '60s astronaut suits.

"First Men in the Moon" (1964)

Probably best to just let John Landis describe the film. But needless to say the trademark Ray Harryhausen stop-frame animation is present.

"2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968)

As far as science fiction film, special effects, and outer space goes, there is everything before "2001," then there is everything afterward. The Stanley Kubrick film based on the novel by Arthur C. Clarke was a sea-change in film. This was the first true space opera. It was serious, hard sci-fi that dealt with the origins of humanity itself — origins which were influenced by beings from outer space.

The special effects in this movie were so far beyond anything else at the time that they still hold up today. The blend of realistic and functional sets with incredible model work was a pre-computer graphic generation revelation. It was a revelation — full stop. The spacecrafts were inspired by engineers, not Hollywood.

This is a film that presents outer space as an experience in and of itself. It draws viewers into the void and gives it a personality without shoving anything down your throat. It's probably best to listen to Lucas and Spielberg explain the importance of "2001."

1960s honorable mentions:  "Countdown,""Planet Of The Apes,""Journey To The Far Side Of The Sun"

1970s

"Star Wars IV: A New Hope" (1977)

"Star Wars" was made possible by "2001," and where "2001" brought a reality and a seriousness to outer space, "Star Wars" brought in the fantasy. It took the visual exquisiteness of Kubrick's work and turned it on its head by establishing a universe in a "galaxy far, far away." The sheer variety of creativity on display in the outer space reaches of "Star Wars" helped make it the classic and beloved franchise that it is today. Outer space provided the platform to bring together so many of the wonderfully imaginative characters and civilizations Lucas created.

Outer space in "Star Wars" is meant to be explored, conquered by evil, and saved by good. The fate of an entire galaxy is at stake. Space is vast in "Star Wars," and the possibilities are endless.

"Capricorn One" (1977)

This is the movie that made NASA the bad guys. When they lose funding to a mission, they decide to fake the whole thing, keeping the astronauts on the ground and out of space. When the astronauts don't take to their plan, they try to escape and are hunted down one by one by the government. 

Great premise for a movie with decent execution. Like a few other movies on this list, "Capricorn One" brings space down to Earth and gives it a sinister, conspiritory bent. It's hard to choose a movie like this over "Silent Running," but "Capricorn One" did bring something new to the table, the "space chase on the ground." 

"Close Encounters Of The Third Kind" (1977)

There really isn't much outer space to be seen in this film, as the aliens come down to us, playing the electric keyboard with scientists on a mountain. 

But "Close Encounters" deserves to be here above other similar movies as it made aliens less terrifying, made space less scary. What if the beings that are out there weren't evil? They just wanted to get to know us a little? 

"Alien" (1979)

Space is not endless in Ridley Scott's 1979 film, "Alien." Space is claustrophobic, it is terrifying. Outer space is where horrible things lurk and where you can fall victim to said horrible things.

When "Alien" was released in 1979 — two years after "Star Wars"— audiences expected another fun romp through the cosmos. What they got instead were chest bursters. My father saw the film on opening night and has often recalled how once the chest-burster scene hit, people were running from the theater in horror, crying, in disbelief. They expected the fanciful allure of "Star Wars" but received nightmares instead.

Space in "Alien" is explored and exploited by what we assume are fleets of gigantic industrial spacecraft, transporting their cargo across vast distances while their crews sleep. The "other" things that lurk out there are the inspired madness from the mind of H.R. Geiger brought to life in gooey detail.

"The Black Hole" (1979)

1979 was a great year for outer space in film. Disney's "The Black Hole" wasn't a great movie, but it was an entertaining one with good special effects and a sense of adventure, the main star of the movie being an evil robot and the menacing black hole itself.

"Moonraker" (1979)

James Bond in space. Moonraker was cool simply for the fact it used the concept of a space shuttle and astronauts battling it out in Earth orbit around a space station. "Moonraker" really brought home the idea of basing space on current technology and taking it up a level or five.

"Star Trek: The Motion Picture" (1979)

"Space, the final frontier." Having made the jump from cheesy TV series to the big screen, "Star Trek" brought with it the ability to inspire awe, only this time with improved special effects. If there ever was another series of films that had outer space as more of a central focus than "Star Trek," then I don't know what it is, well at least aside from the TV series "Battlestar Galactica."

"Star Trek" is essentially about the humanity of man, and staying true to that humanity no matter the odds and obstacles. Outer space provides the main basis for those obstacles in "Star Trek." The spaceship "Enterprise" is as much of a character as the humans. Outer space in "Star Trek" is the platform for the Enterprise and its crew to spread the gospel of humanity. Space is cold but full of possibility and it is portrayed that way.

** Note: Consider "The Wrath Of Khan" as part of "Star Trek."

1970s honorable mentions:  "Solaris,""Dark Star" 

1980s

"Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" (1980) and "The Return of the Jedi" (1983)

Look, this is "Star Wars" we're talking about here, aside from "Star Trek," space epics don't get any more epic than this, especially "The Empire Strikes Back.""Return Of The Jedi" leaned more on the space battle than did "Empire," but because "Empire" is the better movie, they deserve equal billing here.

But think about that final space battle in "Return Of The Jedi"; it was incredible in 1983, and it is still impressive today. Lucas stepped it up a notch with each installment in the series, pushing the boundaries of special effects.

"The Right Stuff" (1983)

"The Right Stuff" never outright takes audiences into space, and it probably should be considered more science fact than science fiction, but it takes us into the lives of the astronauts who are tasked with first conquering it. This is as much of a film about space as it is about those men. "The Right Stuff" was an important movie from the standpoint that it documented the exploits of the early U.S. space program and brought home the realities of just how difficult it is to actually travel into space. "The Right Stuff" is the anti-"Star Wars."

"2010" (1984)

While this is a continuation of the epic "2001," there was enough time between movies to warrant another leap in the portrayal of space while still staying true to the original masterpiece. "2010" in many ways is its own masterpiece, if for anything, the astounding visuals which were again done with model work and set design. But the computer graphic era was rapidly approaching and what space looks like in movies was about to change.

"Explorers" (1985)

Ethan Hawke! River Phoenix! Joe Dante! This mid '80s adventure movie really had it all. It is right in line with "The Last Starfighter,""Space Camp,""Enemy Mine," or "Flight of the Navigator." Three boys discover they're having dreams that are providing them with the instructions to build a spaceship out of a Tilt-A-Whirl car they name "Thunder Road." They blast into space and visit another alien kid who's just lonely. So '80s.

Silly plot, but fun movie that really does present outer space to a younger age group as something that could be attainable and adventurous. Space in "Explorers" is a frontier not to be scared of, but to strive toward. It wasn't enough for domestic audiences though, as the budget was $20-$25 million and it only grossed just over $9 million. 

"Aliens" (1986)

Ripley is BACK! And this time she has space marines to take on that nasty alien. Only now there are multiple nasty aliens, hence "Alien(S)." Space in James Cameron's interpretation of the "Alien" universe is governed by Marines. Space Marines with cool militaristic spaceships and large guns — which they need because there are also many aliens with acid blood. This movie spawned a generation of copycat special effects and space design in both film and other mediums like video games.

Think "Halo"would look the way it does without "Aliens"?

Space was still scary, but "Aliens" provided the tools to kick outer space's ass.

"Spaceballs" (1987)

Mel Brooks in space with John Candy, Rick Moranis, and Bill Pullman among others. Comedy in space can work, as John Carpenter's "Dark Star" proved, and as "The Ice Pirates" sort of proved. But Mel Brooks being the master of parody took on the "Star Wars" universe without holding back.

Many of the jokes (at least not the ones centered around bodily functions or class) were around space, like the super long shot of the spaceship in the GIF above, or the parody of light-speed travel with "ludicrous speed."

1980s honorable mentions: "The Last Star Fighter,""Enemy Mine," Flash Gordon,""Outland,""E.T.,""The Thing,""Ice Pirates,""Dune,""Star Trek: The Search For Spock,"""Cocoon," and "Flight Of The Navigator"

1990s

"Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" (1991) and "Star Trek: Generations" (1994)

The early '90s didn't hold much for outer space, with "Start Trek" really holding up the mantle with two films sandwiched around the movie that changed the game as far as special effects: "Jurassic Park.""Jurassic Park" wasn't geared around outer space, obviously, but the leap in technology and what could be done with computer graphics would have a direct impact on special effects in movies and what was possible. 

"Apollo 13" (1995)

In the post-"Jurassic Park" era, "Apollo 13" showed what was possible when it came to showing just how realistic outer space could be — and is. Much like "The Right Stuff," it followed the true-life exploits of U.S. astronauts as they fought to survive in a tiny capsule on their way to the moon, where they were supposed to land, but couldn't. So again, not really science-fiction, but because of what this film did for outer space in film, it deserves to be here regardless.

The launch of the Saturn V rocket and the subsequent cramped and tense atmosphere of the spacecraft, along with amazing shots of the moon and Earth, set the bar for the time. "Apollo 13" is what "The Right Stuff" could have been (special effects-wise) if it had been released in the mid-'90s.

"Independence Day" (1996)

Back from realism to aliens again, this time with Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum saving the day at the end with a trip into space to deliver a computer virus to the alien mother ship.

What?

Never mind the plot. The space stuff was cool, and really it brought back the outer space menace to Earth again, with what was probably the first great "Earth is under attack!" movie since "War Of The Worlds." Well, at least along with "Mars Attacks!"

"Contact" (1997)

"Contact" managed to cram nearly all of the outer space stuff at the very end of the movie when Jodi Foster hits her wormhole burners and blasts across space in search of aliens. The scene in the GIF above was particularly impressive and teased places and worlds that we wished were explored more in the movie. Unfortunately, that was not to be and audiences instead get a meeting with her an alien in the form of her father. 

No matter, the wormhole travel and quick stops along the way, staring at stars, spaceships, and planets with four suns was impressive, and "Contact" did bring back a sense of wonder for outer space that had been really lacking since "2010," as "Apollo 13" was just too damn scary to do.

"Starship Troopers" (1997)

Paul Verhoeven's take on Robert A. Heinlien's novel by the same name brought the big space battle back to the screen, with space Marines kicking ass in ways not seen since "Aliens.""Starship Troopers" was essentially a satire, but a satire with damn good special effects of sweeping space battles between man and bug.

"Armageddon" (1998)

It is hard to get too angry at Michael Bay for doing what he does: create ridiculous movies. Why? Because he has a very large budget — this film cost an estimated $140 million — to create ridiculous movies, and this usually translates to some pretty nifty special effects. Armageddon was no different. A manned mission to an asteroid must succeed in planting a nuclear bomb on the rock before it smacks into the Earth. In the process, Michael Bay attempts to blow up outer space. See image above for relevance.

The reality is the science behind the space stuff was more of a de-evolution of outer space in film rather than an evolution. But, it was fun to watch and it put butts in seats at the theater, and again, it had some nice eye candy. Boom! Blamo! Kablam! And Aerosmith, when they were still sort of cool.

"Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" (1999)

Critics and just about everybody else loves to hate on "The Phantom Menace." Rightfully so. It was a bad movie, and it let down a generation of "Star Wars" fans. That said, this was the first all-digital film and George Lucas was dead set on pushing filmmaking in this direction.

He succeeded. "The Phantom Menace" opened the doors for new filming techniques and levels of realism, that if used appropriately could make outer space look more real than ever. There were some outstanding space scenes in "The Phantom Menace," and they ended up looking better than the computer-generated characters in the long run. "The Phantom Menace" today looks dated with the overuse of computer imagery before its prime.

1990s honorable mentions:"Total Recall,""Gattaca,""The Fifth Element,""Dark City," Stargate,""Fire in the Sky,""Men in Black,""Event Horizon,""Dark City,""Lost in Space,""Galaxy Quest," and "Star Trek: Insurrection."

2000 - 2009

"Mission to Mars" (2000)

Humanity returns to Mars once again. Every couple of years there's a new Mars movie and "Mission To Mars" heads to the red planet to find out what happened to a missing crew.

The film takes the "Apollo 13" approach to realism and the "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" approach to aliens at the end of the movie. It doesn't work very well, but what is there looks pretty and inspires a little bit of space wanderlust.

"Star Wars: Attack Of The Clones" (2002) and "Star Wars: Revenge Of The Sith" (2005)

Ah the continuation of the "Star Wars" prequels, leaving so many wanting so much more. Still, the fact remains that as an outer space fantasy adventure, there's not much out there quite like "Star Wars," and Lucas did at least continue to up the goods special effects-wise. "

Attack of the Clones" wasn't a huge step above "The Phantom Menace," but "Revenge Of The Sith" was easily the most impressive-looking of the three. By the third movie Lucas had a better handle on the digital special effects process he was so keen on using, and it showed.

Where "The Phantom Menace" looks dated now, "Revenge Of The Sith" looks much less so. What can we say, this is "Star Wars." By the time J.J. Abrams helms the newest installment, we can expect — or at least we can hope — for another major leap in taking audiences on new galactic adventures.

"Serenity" (2005)

Joss Whedon, now of "The Avengers" fame, once started off a little bit smaller with some very popular television series and a little movie called "Serenity" back in 2005, which was based on the sci-fi cult classic, "Firefly." This was a good movie — a great adventure in space with some very cool outer space scenes, particularly at the end with a giant space battle.

"Zathura: A Space Adventure" (2005)

The special effects were hardly groundbreaking and the plot fairly standard, but "Zathura" is the "Explorers" of the 2000s. It is the evolution of the kids' sci-fi take on outer space that "Lost In Space" probably should have been. Geared toward kids and tweens, this semi-sequel to "Jumanji" whisks a couple of kids away on a space adventure.

"Sunshine" (2007)

Take a little "Event Horizon,""2010," and "Mission To Mars," mash them up a little bit and you have Danny Boyle's "Sunshine," a tale of a spaceship crew racing to re-ignite the sun before it goes out and dooms humanity.

Outer space is out to kill us again, and it is a cold and dangerous place. The realities of how difficult it would be to make the trip to the sun are explained well, and while the climax doesn't fit in with the tone of the movie up until that point, it does provide quite the stellar spectacle. You start to notice a trend over the years with these ventures out into our solar system. They go to more and more exotic locations: the moon, then Mars, then Jupiter and the Sun.

Sci-fi films continue to revisit the most well-known planets in our solar system, but as we learn more about the rest of it, expect movies that focus on trips to places like Neptune, Venus, and Mercury as well.

"WALL-E" (2008)

Pixar's venture into outer space was a stunning one. "WALL-E" managed to up the game for sci-fi animation like no other before it. Sure, we had movies like "Titan A.E" and "Final Fantasy," but "WALL-E" managed to bring more realism and emotion into an animated movie about a robot that falls in love than almost any other animated film aside from "Toy Story" and a few select others.

While the first half of the movie takes place on a desolate Earth long forgotten and polluted, the second half sees WALL-E hitching a ride on a spaceship into the stars to meet up with a fleet of misguided humans.

"Avatar" (2009)

"Avatar" gets a lot of flak for a variety of reasons, but the reality is the movie was a groundbreaking achievement in special effects and 3D. And that's where the ship is heading out to Pandora — pure space porn.

Yes, there were cheesy blue aliens, evil Marines, a tree of life, and other silliness, but how incredible did this movie look on IMAX 3D? This was a movie built for the biggest screen out there and built to be the most immersive cinematic experience possible, and it largely achieved that if you could look past the faults.

Like "2001" before it, there is pre-"Avatar" and post-"Avatar" when it comes to space in science fiction film.

"Star Trek" (2009) and "Star Trek Into Darkness" (2013)

Say what you will about J.J. Abrams and lens flare, but the rebooted "Star Trek"— along with "Star Trek Into Darkness"— was one hell of a renaissance of the franchise. It took what many considered niche and nerdy and turned the series back into the powerhouse franchise it once was, giving the final frontier a new life. The special effects were outstanding and the Enterprise never looked so good.

2010 and Beyond

"Prometheus" (2012)

"Prometheus" got hammered for being too confusing and not making enough sense. Regardless, Ridley Scott's sort-of prequel to the "Alien" series did impress, especially on the big screen. It took the look and feel of the original "Alien" and updated it to today's standards, much in the same way "Star Trek" did in 2009. What is especially impressive about "Prometheus" was Scott's use of actual sets that seamlessly blended with CG effects.

Space was once again a foreboding and scary place in "Prometheus," and there will hopefully be more of it to see with a sequel.

"Prometheus" proved that set design and model work in a major sci-fi epic is not dead. A big budget film ($130 million) does not have to rely solely on CG to impress audiences. Considering the oversaturation of CG effects in movies since Lucas went full digital, here's hoping more filmmakers take the hint that more isn't always better.

And just how utterly, ridiculously cool was the "Prometheus" spaceship itself? An incredible amount of care and work went into getting the design to what you see on the screen, and it really showed.

"Elysium" (2013)

2013 is a great year for science fiction and outer space. Neil Blomkamp, who made waves with his first theatrical release "District 9," returned with his sophomore effort. "Elysium" pits Matt Damon against Jodi Foster in class warfare; those on what's left of the Earth against those living in luxury and privilege on the space station "Elysium."

Blomkamp put his gritty, realistic style on display in "District 9" and took it into Earth's orbit. This was a fantastic looking movie and the ringworld-style design of the space station is a classic of science fiction. It was great to see it come to life in such detail.

Here's hoping this might provide some inspiration and motivation for an adaptation of Larry Niven's "Ringworld" novels.

And that brings us to ...

"Gravity" (2013)

Many are hailing "Gravity" as the finest and most incredible portrayal of space since "2001" more than 40 years ago. It currently sits at a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes after 149 reviews. Alfonso Cuaron has been at work on this movie for four years. Business Insider's own Kirsten Acuna has seen the film and said she needs to go back for a repeat viewing to soak it all in.

"Gravity" takes place entirely in Earth's orbit and follows Sandra Bullock as she struggles for survival after the space station meets with disaster. Cuaron is known for setting up incredible shots, and from the reviews of "Gravity" he uses his skill in this area in combination with computer graphics to achieve what some are saying is "the closest you can get to being in space without actually going."

High praise, and what looks like another major leap forward and evolution of space on the silver screen.

2000s honorable mentions:"Solaris,""Pitch Black,""Chronicles Of Riddick,""Space Cowboys,""Moon,""Europa Report,""District 9,""Red Planet,""Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within,""Signs," "Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" (Sorry, no "Transformers," Michael Bay had his installment with "Armageddon.")

What's next? "Ender's Game" is right around the corner, and with the recent box-office success of science-fiction films, outer space is the limit.

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One day, humans could re-make a world in Earth's image.

Engineering an inhospitable world into a livable one, a process known as terraforming, could be a successful way to colonize another world after a long, interstellar journey, said Ken Roy, an engineer and presenter at last week's Starship Congress in Dallas, Tex.

Roy's terraforming vision hinges upon what he calls "shell worlds." Upon arrival at an ideal planet, humans would literally encase the alien world inside of a protective shell made from Kevlar, dirt and steel. [Shell-Worlds: How Humanity Could Terraform Small Planets (Infographic)]

"We have a central world. We put an atmosphere on it," Roy said. We can have the "composition, temperature, pressure of our choosing. Let's assume we want 'Earth-normal,' and we put a shell around the central world to contain this atmosphere. The atmosphere then exists between the shell and the central world. The outer part of the shell is essentially a vacuum."

While the planet's gravity would remain unchanged, the rest of the world could be made very similar to Earth after importing vital materials, Roy said. The new world could even have some benefits not afforded on Earth, such as:

• Industry and facilities that could benefit from access to a vacuum could use a port that connects to the outside of the shell.
• Ultraviolet radiation from a star would not be a problem since the world would be fully encased in the shell.
• The heating, cooling and the length of a day on the world would not be dependent upon the orbit of the planet around a star.
• The shell would provide radiation protection.
• The world would provide an almost limitless playground for design. For example, cities could hang down from the interior of the shell.

A small planetary body like Mars or even Pluto would be a great candidate for the shell world treatment, Roy said.

Martian gravity is about one third that of Earth's, and the surface area of the Red Planet is equal to the land area of Earth. Mars has no magnetic field; plate tectonics seem to be non-existent, and the planet's core is frozen, Roy said.

While all of these factors might seem to add up to an inhospitable world, they actually make a Martian-type planet a great candidate for shelling.

"That is not a bad thing," Roy said. "It means you don’t have to deal with volcanoes and earthquakes. I'd say that's a good thing."

SEE ALSO: Here's The Longest You Could Survive On Mars Wearing Only Jeans And A T-Shirt

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Wow. Wired's Adam Mann directed us toward this stunning overhead view of a crater rim on Mars, posted by NASA. The image is actually a screen shot from a simulated movie about the Mojave Crater called "Soaring over Mars," which you can watch below.

The terrain models in the movie were generated from images taken by a camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, a satellite that has been orbiting Mars since 2006.

Mojave Crater is 37 miles in diameter and 1.6 miles deep. It's estimated to be around 10 million years old, which is quite young for a crater of this size, NASA scientists say. It was created when a meteor or something else from space crashed into the planet.

SEE ALSO: How long could you actually survive on Mars without protection?

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Nearly ten years ago, the Mars Express orbiter arrived at its destination in orbit above Mars on Christmas Day, 2003. Since then, it has orbited the planet 12,000 times, giving us an unprecedented view of the red planet.

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the orbiter launch, the European Space Agency released a 3D-video tour of the surface of Mars back in May. They just posted the video to Youtube a few days ago, which is when we found it.

The video is the result of ten years of 3-D imaging and photographing using the spacecraft's High Resolution Stereo Camera. The scientists at the the German Aerospace Center then assembled the images like a jigsaw puzzle to create a nearly complete global map of the planet.

To give you an idea of how much surface has been covered: The surface of Mars is 56 million square miles; 37.5 million have been covered at high resolution (where one pixel equals about 65 feet per side) and nearly the entire surface has been imaged at a lower resolution where one pixel is equal to 325 feet per side.

Here are a few of the choice landmarks at Mars (so when Elon Musk finally takes you on that trip to Mars, you know what you are looking at):

2:57 - This is Valles Marineris, the largest crevice in the solar system. At about 2,500 miles long, it extends across 1/5 of the entire Martian equator and would stretch from San Francisco to New York, if superimposed on the Earth.

1:07 - This is Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system. At 16.7 miles in height, it is nearly three times as tall as Mount Everest.

1:13 - This is the summit caldera of Olympus Mons. It is 50 miles wide and up to two miles deep.

2:25 - This is one of Mars' many large impact craters. This one in particular is almost 50 miles long, 6 miles wide at one end and 15.5 miles wide at the other.

Here's the full video:

Oddly, NASA just released a very similar set of images and video created by data from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, a satellite that has been orbiting Mars since 2006.

SEE ALSO: Crazy Photo Will Make You Feel Like You're Flying Through A Crater On Mars

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India likes its stuff cheap.

Maker of the world's cheapest car ($2600), world's cheapest tablet ($60) and even the world's cheapest house ($700), India is now launching the world's cheapest mission to Mars, which takes off this week.

The mission, launched by Indian space agency ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) will cost the Indian government just $80 million, which compares to NASA's $2.5 billion expenditure on the US' Mars Curiosity project. 

The satellite is called Mangalyaan (Mars Vehicle), and will not touch down on the planet. It has been only been designed for orbit. 21 of the 51 global missions to Mars gave failed, including the one launched by China. 

But how has India managed to keep its costs so low? The answer, according to the Economic Times,  is "frugal engineering," which has a few basic principles: to adapt existing technology as far as possible, minimize the number of physical models and optimize testing.

Unlike its European and US counterparts, ISRO has a much smaller budget and cannot afford to experiment and build iteratively. While NASA and the European Space Agency usually make three models of the spacecraft, ISRO modeled everything on software and physically built only the final model. 

This frugal approach does increase risks, which are evident from India's previous failedspace missions. Also, instead of flying directly, the 350-tonne rocket will orbit earth for nearly a month, building up the necessary velocity to break free from the earth's gravitational pull. 

India's space mission has been criticized as being a waste of resources in a country where a huge proportion of the population still lives in poverty. However, defendants of the program have stated that the space program goes hand-in-hand with India's development goals. The Washington Post reports Dean Cheng a scholar at the Heritage Foundation saying, "The country realized early on that satellites would enable health officials to practice medicine remotely, reaching inaccessible parts of the country. The same was true for remote education. ISRO's major focus, in other words, has been to use space research as a way to overcome the country's (still) steep economic obstacles."

The chairman of ISRO, K. Radhakrishnan, has defended the program saying that India's budget for space exploration is only 0.34% of its annual budget, of which 7% has been allocated to planetary exploration. He also believes that the mission will also have positive implications for the rest of the economy, and will help with cyclone forecasting. 

SEE ALSO: 26 Crazy Things That Only Happen In India

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Somehow, India plans to send a satellite to Mars — already a difficult task with 21 of 51 global missions to the red planet having failed— for the incredibly low cost of $73 million.

Let's compare this to some other space mission and some Hollywood space missions for perspective.

First, consider NASA's Maven satellite, which is due to launch later November and is broadly comparable in scope to India's mission. It costs $671 million.

Second, NASA's more ambitious Mars Curiosity mission, launched in 2011 and cost $2.5 billion.

India's mission certainly does seem like a bargain compared to NASA missions.

How does it compare to other expensive things? Well, as one Reddit user has pointed out, it's less than the estimated budget ($105 million) for critically acclaimed space film "Gravity," released earlier this year:

This may be a silly comparison, but it does make you wonder — why is India's mission so cheap?

For one thing, the mission is cutting corners, using existing technology as much as possible, and minimizing the number of physical test models used by replacing them with computer simulations. David Alexander, director of the Rice Space Institute, told NPR that India's cheaper labor costs may well also keep costs down too.

Is a cheap mission to Mars it a good investment?

A cheaper Mars mission is in many ways a riskier Mars mission, but so far India's done better than China and Russia's failed 2011 attempt, which suffered a number of problems after launch and never made it beyond low Earth orbit. There has, however, been some compelling criticism that India shouldn't be spending money on Mars when so many of its citizens live in poverty.

But remember, you have to put money in to get money out — Gravity turned a huge profit at the box office. Investing in things like space missions has in the past spurred innovation and created jobs.

India's Mars mission could very well crash and burn, but even if it makes it the return is unclear.

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Four billion years ago, Mars was a completely different world.

It had blue skies, fluffy clouds, and flowing water.

Today, the planet is cold and dry with no signs of life.

The transition from an ancient habitable world to a cold desert is depicted in a new video released by NASA's Conceptual Image Lab.

The animation coincides with the upcoming launch of MAVEN, which will investigate how Mars lost its atmosphere when it reaches the planet in September 2014.

Ancient river channels and craters suggest that Mars once supported oceans of water. From this evidence, we know that Mars used to have a lot more air surrounding it, preventing water from evaporating into space.

But scientists still haven't nailed down how Mars was stripped of its thick atmosphere roughly 3.7 billion years ago.

According to Joseph Grebowsky from NASA's Goodard Space Flight Center, the leading theory is that layers of air were siphoned off into space when the planet lost its global magnetic field, a type of shield that protected the atmosphere from charged particles blown out by the sun, known as solar wind.

Today, the planet's low temperature and thin atmosphere means that water can only exist as solid ice or gaseous vapor — liquid water would either freeze or boil. Thick Martian dust — colored by iron oxides — makes the sky appear red as it scatters other colors of visible light.

Explore Mars as it existed billions of years ago in the video below:

SEE ALSO: Here's The Longest You Could Survive On Mars Wearing Only Jeans And A T-Shirt

SEE ALSO: Astronomers Spot A Never-Before-Seen Comet-Like Thing In The Sky

SEE ALSO: Stunning New Details From The Largest Asteroid Impact In A Century

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The first spacecraft aimed at figuring out where all the water on Mars went is set to launch at 1:28 p.m. EST on Monday, Nov. 18, from Cape Canaveral in Florida.

MAVEN, which stands for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, should arrive at the Red Planet in late September 2014. Its goal is to measure the composition of Mars' upper atmosphere, giving scientists clues about how the planet lost its atmosphere and surface water over time.

The mission is unique because it is the first Mars explorer to focus exclusively on Mars' upper atmosphere, rather than looking for chemical traces of water on Mars or signs that the planet could have once supported life (currently the objective of the Curiosity rover).

MAVEN will explore "the single biggest unexplored piece of Mars so far," Bruce Jakosky, the mission's principal investigator, said in a statement.

More than four billion years ago, scientists think that Mars has a thick atmosphere and was warm enough to support liquid water. Then, something happened. Mars was stripped of its thick atmosphere, oceans of flowing water disappeared, and Mars became the cold desert that we know today.

Scientists hope MAVEN will help solve the long-standing mystery of how Mars' climate changed so drastically.  

NASA's live TV coverage of the event begins at 11 a.m. EST.

Live streaming video by Ustream

SEE ALSO: Here's What Mars Looked Like 4 Billion Years Ago

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NASA's next Mars explorer lifted off from Cape Canaveral on Monday afternoon.  

MAVEN, which stands for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, should arrive at the Red Planet in late September 2014. Its goal is to measure the composition of Mars' upper atmosphere, giving scientists clues about how the planet lost its atmosphere and surface water over time.

Some pictures from the launch are below.

The MAVEN spacecraft sits atop an Atlas V rocket. At 37.5-feet-long and weighing 5,400-pounds when fully-fueled, MAVEN is about the size of a family sport utility vehicle.

Before launch, liquid oxygen begins flowing into the Atlas first stage booster. 

The night before launch, a full moon rises behind the Atlas V rocket with the MAVEN spacecraft onboard. 

On Sunday, Nov. 17, MAVEN rolls to the pad at Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida after a 20-minute journey from the Vertical Integration Facility. 

Live streaming video by Ustream

SEE ALSO: Here's What Mars Looked Like 4 Billion Years Ago

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NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's first mission to Mars left Earth's orbit early on Sunday, clearing a critical hurdle in its journey to the red planet and overtaking the efforts in space of rival Asian giant China.

The success of the spacecraft, scheduled to orbit Mars by next September, would carryIndia into a small club, which includes the United States, Europe, and Russia, whose probes have orbited or landed on Mars.

India's venture, called Mangalyaan, faces further more hurdles on its journey to Mars. Fewer than half of missions to the planet are successful.

"While Mangalyaan takes 1.2 billion dreams to Mars, we wish you sweet dreams!" India's space agency said in a tweet soon after the event, referring to the citizens of the world's second-most populous country.

China, a keen competitor in the space race, has considered the possibility of putting a man on the moon sometime after 2020 and aims to land its first probe on the moon on Monday.

It will deploy a buggy called the "Jade Rabbit" to explore the lunar surface in a mission that will also test its deep space communication technologies.

China's Mars probe rode piggyback on a Russian spacecraft that failed to leave Earth's orbit in November 2011. The spacecraft crumbled in the atmosphere and its fragments fell into the Pacific Ocean.

India's mission showcases the country's cheap technology, encouraging hopes it could capture more of the $304-billion (185 billion pounds) global space market, which includes launching satellites for other countries, analysts say.

"Given its cost-effective technology, India is attractive," said Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, an expert on space security at the Observer Research Foundation think-tank in Delhi.

India's low-cost Mars mission has a price tag of 4.5 billion rupees ($73 million), just over a tenth of the cost of NASA's latest mission there, which launched on November 18.

"BIG ACHIEVEMENT"

Homegrown companies - including India's largest infrastructure group Larsen & Toubro, one of its biggest conglomerates, Godrej & Boyce, state-owned aircraft maker Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and Walchand Nagar Industries - made more than two-thirds of the parts for both the probe and the rocket that launched it on November 5.

India's probe completed six orbits around Earth before Sunday's "slingshot", which set it on a path around the sun to carry it towards Mars. The slingshot requires precise calculations to eliminate the risk of missing the new orbit.

"Getting to Mars is a big achievement," said Mayank Vahia, a professor in the astronomy and astrophysics department of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai.

India's space agency will have to make a few mid-course corrections to keep the probe on track. Its next big challenge will be to enter an orbit around Mars next year, a test failed in 2003 by Japan's probe, which suffered electrical faults as it neared the planet.

"You have to slow the spacecraft down once it gets close to Mars, to catch the orbit, but you can't wait until Mars is in the field of view to do it - that's too late," Vahia said.

India launched its space programme 50 years ago and developed its own rocket technology after Western powers levied sanctions for a 1974 nuclear weapons test. Five years ago, its Chandrayaan satellite found evidence of water on the moon.

By contrast, India has had mixed results in the aerospace industry. Hindustan Aeronautics has been developing a light combat aircraft since the early 1980s, with no success.

The Mars probe will study the planet's surface and mineral composition, besides sniffing the atmosphere for methane, a chemical strongly tied to life on Earth. NASA mission Curiosity did not find significant amounts of the gas in recent tests.

China is still far from catching up with the established space superpowers, the United States and Russia, which decades ago learned the docking techniques China is only now mastering.

Beijing says its space programme is for peaceful purposes, but the U.S. Defence Department has highlighted China's increasing space capabilities, saying it was pursuing ways to keep adversaries from using space-based assets during a crisis.

(Additional reporting by Krishna N Das in NEW DELHI and Sumeet Chatterjee in MUMBAI; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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NASA's Curiosity rover has found evidence of an ancient Martian lake that could have supported life as we know it for long stretches — perhaps millions of years.

This long and skinny freshwater lake likely existed about 3.7 billion years ago, researchers said, suggesting that habitable environments were present on Mars more recently than previously thought.

"Quite honestly, it just looks very Earth-like," said Curiosity lead scientist John Grotzinger, of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. [Ancient Mars Could Have Supported Life (Photos)]

"You've got an alluvial fan, which is being fed by streams that originate in mountains, that accumulates a body of water," Grotzinger told SPACE.com. "That probably was not unlike what happened during the last glacial maximum in the Western U.S."

Habitable Mars

The lake once covered a small portion of the 96-mile-wide (154 kilometers) Gale Crater, which the 1-ton Curiosity rover has been exploring since touching down on the Red Planet in August 2012.

The main task of Curiosity's $2.5 billion mission is to determine whether Gale Crater could ever have supported microbial life. The rover team achieved that goal months ago, announcing in March that a spot near Curiosity's landing site called Yellowknife Bay was indeed habitable billions of years ago.

The new results, which are reported today (Dec. 9) in six separate papers in the journal Science, confirm and extend Curiosity's landmark discovery, painting a more complete picture of the Yellowknife Bay area long ago.

This picture emerged from Curiosity's analysis of fine-grained sedimentary rocks called mudstones, which generally form in calm, still water. The rover obtained powdered samples of these rocks by drilling into Yellowknife Bay outcrops.

The mudstones contain clay minerals that formed in the sediments of an ancient freshwater lake, researchers said. Curiosity also spotted some of the key chemical ingredients for life in the samples, including sulfur, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and carbon.

The lake could have potentially supported a class of microbes called chemolithoautotrophs, which obtain energy by breaking down rocks and minerals. Here on Earth, chemolithoautotrophs are commonly found in habitats beyond the reach of sunlight, such as caves and hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor.

"It is exciting to think that billions of years ago, ancient microbial life may have existed in the lake's calm waters, converting a rich array of elements into energy," Sanjeev Gupta of Imperial College London, co-author of one of the new papers, said in a statement.

An icy Martian lake?

The ancient lake likely covered a minimum of 11.6 square miles (30 square km), researchers said. Based on the thickness of the sedimentary deposits, they estimate that the lake existed for at least tens of thousands of years — and perhaps much longer, albeit on a possibly on-and-off basis.

Taking into account the broader geological context, "you could wind up with an assemblage of rocks that represent streams, lakes and ancient groundwater systems — so for times when the lake might have been dry, the groundwater's still there. This could have gone on for millions or tens of millions of years," Grotzinger said.

The lack of weathering on Gale Crater's rim suggests that the area was cold when the lake existed, he added, raising the possibility that a layer of ice covered the lake on a permanent or occasional basis. But such conditions wouldn't be much of a deterrent to hardy microbes.

"These are entirely viable habitable environments for chemolithoautotrophs," Grotzinger said.

Researchers still don't know if the Gale Crater lake hosted organisms of any kind; Curiosity was not designed to hunt for signs of life on Mars. But if chemolithoautotrophs did indeed dominate the lake, it would put an alien twist on a superficially familiar environment.

"You can imagine that, if life evolved on Mars and never got beyond the point of chemolithoautotrophy, then in the absence of competition from other types of microbes, these systems might have been dominated by that type of metabolic pathway," Grotzinger said. "And that's an un-Earth-like situation."

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on SPACE.com.

• The Search for Life on Mars (A Photo Timeline)
• Mars Rover Curiosity's 7 Biggest Discoveries (So Far)
• Strangest Places Where Life Is Found on Earth

SEE ALSO: The 20 Most Exciting Moments From Curiosity Rover's First Year On Mars

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LONDON — It's a one-way ticket, but don't worry: You'll live there longer than back home on Earth, says Bas Lansdorp. After all, on Mars you can't get hit by a car. And everything you'll eat will be organic — no pesticides, just fertilizer made from, well, recycled human waste.

As he addresses a room full of entrepreneurs, Lansdorp — founder of the Mars One colony project — looks as excited as a child. He is here at a recent International Space Commerce summit to promote his out-of-this-world idea, a one-way trip to the Red Planet, and possibly spark the interest of investors.

"There's no good answer to the question why exactly we want to go to Mars. But it will happen because exploration is what we humans do," Lansdorp says enthusiastically. [Photos: How Mars One Wants to Colonize the Red Planet]

Wanted: Mars colonists

The audience of suited-up men and women watches Landsorp speak, every now and then a sarcastic question pops up. "And have you thought about space radiation?" asked one listener.

Lansdorp has. He explained that the water the crews will carry to Mars will serve as shielding against deadly solar particles and cosmic rays. And once on the Red Planet, the habitat's roof will have some two meters of Martian soil for protection. You'll just have to make sure not to wander outside too much and you'll be okay. [Red Planet or Bust: 5 Manned Mars Mission Ideas]

Lansdorp has also thought through the entire time scale of what will happen when. More than 200,000 candidates have applied already, and sometime this month Landsdorp is expected to announce who's made it into the second round of selection.

The first unmanned mission to pave the way will leave in 2016, followed by a first rover in 2018. This vehicle will start scouting for a perfect spot for the human outpost. In 2023, it will be joined by the very first Martians-to-be.

"What about you, will you go there?" asked another listener. It seems to be an unexpected question, which makes the Mars One founder pause momentarily.

"I started Mars One because I wanted to go, and I still want to go to Mars, but I had my first son a few weeks ago," Lansdorp answered. "But it's not even the main reason. I am just not that kind of person who can be locked up in a small room for 30 months with other people without hating each other."

"But I really hope I will be able to take my family to Mars one day," he added.

Martians forever

Lansdorp's vision evokes the image of a Ray Bradbury story "The Million-Year Picnic" in the book "The Martian Chronicles."

In the story, a father takes his family to Mars in the midst of war on Earth, duping them to believe it's only for a short vacation. When they arrive, he blows up the rocket and takes his wife and sons to meet other Martians. They go to a canal (on Bradbury's Mars, it is full of water), and see their reflection. That's the point — they are Martians. [Incredible Technology: How to Live on Mars]

Lansdorp's plan is very similar, except that in real life the Mars One crew won't have canals filled with water when they reach their destination. Nor will there be any breathable atmosphere. "The rovers will activate life support systems, they will feed them with Martian soil, which has ice crystals in it. This water will evaporate, and to make oxygen, we'll take nitrogen from the Martian atmosphere. We'll create an atmosphere," Lansdorp said.

That may work, technology permitting, and Lansdorp is sure it'll happen. But he is also certain that the Mars One colonists who leave Earth will be just like the folks in Bradbury's tale: They'll be Martians.

There may be more than 200,000 people happy to leave Earth (those who applied to the Mars One project online) but those that actually do make the trip, will never be coming back — even if they manage to build a rocket to return. "They will lose bone mass and muscle mass to such an extent that it will be extremely difficult for them to gain it back to survive a return trip to Earth and then the re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.

"They'll be Martians for the rest of their lives," Landsdorp said.

Live from Mars: Red Planet reality TV

To get his venture up and running, Lansdorp needs money.

Initially, he plans to finance it by turning the venture into a reality TV-like show, with people back home on Earth watching in real time the departure, the several months long trip, the arrival and the life at the first human outpost away from Earth.

So how much will it cost? About $6 billion to get the first four people on Mars and $4 billion for every crew that follows, says Lansdorp. But that's feasible, he added, because "the Olympic Games in London made about $4 billion in just three weeks of broadcasting, just because the world was watching. But this will be a lot bigger."

Of course, the world won't be watching forever, and at some point viewers' interest will dwindle — unless everything on the Red Planet starts going topsy-turvy. And if it doesn't, Lansdorp is certain that money will still be flooding in, to support the human outcasts far, far away.

"There is a small group of people in the world who have a lot of money," Lansdorp said with a cheeky smile. "There are 200 billionaires who can finance the trip from their net wealth. And if you have $6 billion in the bank, what are you going to do with it? You can buy a house, an island — but you'll still have $6 billion.

"Well, we offer you to buy immortality."

That may be well and good for Lansdorp's idealistic vision. After all, he isn't headed for Mars anytime soon.

But for those Mars One colonist hopefuls, assuming they make it, survive and even have kids, there may well be another reality TV show in a few decades from now: one about the first few Martians desperately trying to get back to Earth, wondering whether their parents made a wise choice.

One thing is certain: Those kids would have one heck of a story.

Follow Katia Moskvitch on Twitter @SciTech_Cat. Follow us @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook and Google+. Original article on SPACE.com.

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