Mars has always been a place of wonder and mystery to earthlings, and the current idea that there could be humans on Mars in less than a decade is, needless to say, an exhilarating and mind-boggling thought. It has been one of mankind’s wildest and most dazzling dreams for so long, and it finally seems to be coming true.

As I am only 12, I could be one of the first people to set foot on the rusty Martian surface. My children could hold in their hands pictures of parts of Mars never seen before, or even pictures of the first crops grown on Mars. My grandchildren could see the first permanent human settlement on Mars and might even live in it. The possibilities seem almost endless with technology progressing at its current rate.

I often wonder what everyday life would be like on Mars. Would things be so alien that everyday activities would become strange adventures? Or would it be relatively similar to life on Earth, despite the obvious differences? Having this in our future is like having the promise of a great surprise yet to come. One that we know is special, vital and completely wonderful, but still ultimately mysterious.

There are major questions, which can only be answered in the decades to come, but we can at least try to lift the veil of mystery about living on another planet by sending humans to Mars. This will be the first stepping stone in the tortuous path to reaching the pinnacle of the human imagination, making another planet our own.