Back in 1969, Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the moon, uttered his famous words: "That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind."
The statement has inspired ever since. More than 500 astronauts have entered space in the nearly five decades that have followed, and over 10 have landed on the moon.
Buzz Aldrin, the second man to set foot on the moon and Armstrong's companion in the Apollo 11 mission, gave a presentation on his ideas for visiting Mars at the Global Space Exploration Conference (GLEX 2017), which concluded on Thursday.
WHAT IS THE NEXT STOP?
Global leaders in space exploration have now set their sights on Mars, including China.
Wu Yanhua, deputy head of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), said that the country has started an unmanned Mars probe project and plans to launch a Mars probe around 2020.
Steve Eisenhart, senior vice president of the Strategic and International Affairs of the Space Foundation of the United States, said that Aldrin has been working on his idea for close to 30 years.
According to Aldrin's plan, humans may be able to land on Mars before 2039 and set up a station there. Eisenhart and Aldrin, while not representing the U.S. government or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), agreed that Mars is a good destination for space exploration.
However, Jan Woerner, director-general of European Space Agency (ESA), said that the moon is a good stepping-stone before going to Mars.
"If we have a goal which is too far away, there might be roads in between those inspirations," said Woerner, adding that the moon is close enough to test and develop needed technology. "It's a very good test bed -- then go deeper into our solar system."
Tian Yulong, secretary-general of the CNSA, said that China is now in discussions with the ESA on co-building a "moon village."
Tian said that a house on the moon could be constructed within a week with materials brought from Earth as well as moon surface materials using 3D printing technology.
Yasuyuki Ito, associate director-general of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, said that his generation was greatly affected by the Apollo program.
"Lunar exploration is our target. At the same time, we've also been discussing a Mars goal," he added.
Pascale Ehrenfreund, chair of the executive board of the German Aerospace Center, said that bringing humans to Mars is very difficult, as is raising funds for space exploration.
"We do things in steps. And the moon is one of the important steps on our way to Mars," she said.
CHINA'S LUNAR EXPLORATION
China's Chang'e lunar program, named after a legendary goddess, includes three phases: orbiting, landing and returning with samples.
Liu Jizhong, director of the China Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center of the CNSA, said the Chang'e 5 lunar probe is expected to land in the Mons Rumker region and to take samples back to Earth at the end of the year.
The probe landing site, an isolated volcanic formation located on the northwest of the near side of the moon.
