The chief scientist , David Stofan , wants humans on Mars by mid-2030s . Dr Ellen Stofan is deep in conversation with a journalist when , unable to contain himself any longer , an adviser with phone triumphantly held aloft blurts out : `` Rosetta -- It 's landed ! '' Astronauts would take 8 months to reach Mars , face radiation , thin atmosphere . But Mars would help us better understand Earth . Believes there must be intelligent life in our universe .
The chief scientist , David Stofan , wants humans on Mars by mid-2030s . Astronauts would take 8 months to reach Mars , face radiation , thin atmosphere . But Mars would help us better understand Earth . Believes there must be intelligent life in our universe .