A decade after the release of Andy Weir's thrilling bestseller 'The Martian', mankind stands closer than ever to actual Mars exploration—but not quite in the way Weir envisioned. With a fictional timeline projecting human landings on the Red Planet by 2035, we are now ten years deep into a journey marked by exploration, discovery, and unexpected controversies.

As a planetary geologist collaborating with NASA on Martian exploration, I’ve witnessed firsthand the evolution of science and policy in space exploration. Back in 2010, the U.S. National Space Policy boldly aimed for human missions to Mars in the 2030s. However, the 2017 Space Policy Directive redirected NASA’s gaze toward the Moon under the Artemis program, leaving Mars missions in a state of uncertainty.

The True Heroes: Robotic Discoveries