Human mission to Mars Mars. Many Mars mission concepts propose precursor missions to the moons of Mars, for example a sample return mission to the Mars moon Phobos – not quite Mars, but perhaps a convenient stepping stone to an eventual Martian surface mission. Lockheed Martin, as part of their "Stepping stones to Mars" project, called the "Red Rocks Project", proposed to explore Mars robotically from Deimos. Use of fuel produced from water resources on Phobos or Deimos has also been proposed. An uncrewed Mars sample return mission (MSR) has sometimes been considered to be an essential precursor to crewed missions to Mars' surface
Mars One is divided among the seven payloads as follows: In 2022, a robotic rover was proposed to be launched to Mars in order to scout a landing site for the 2027 lander and a site for the Mars One colony. At the same time, a communication satellite would be launched, enabling continuous communication with the future landed assets. In 2024, six cargo missions were proposed to be in close succession, consisting of two living units, two life-support units, and two supply units. A spacecraft transporting four astronauts was proposed to meet a transit vehicle bound for Mars. In 2025, the landing