The Future of Human Colonization on Other Planets.

Human colonization of Mars is possible within decades, according to Serkan Saydam, deputy director of the Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research. The first major step in establishing a successful Mars colony will be water, which can be extracted from ice and/or hydrated minerals. China plans to start sending human crews to Mars in 2033, while NASA aims to send astronauts there by the late 2030s or early 2040s. Exoplanet colonization may be possible in the future, but current technology limits travel times to tens of thousands of years. However, as humans learn to travel faster in space, travel times could drop to hundreds of years.