Is life on Mars really worth it? The European Space Agency thinks we will soon be able to live in space. But scientists are divided on whether this is a good idea — or even possible.
Humans to live beyond Earth ‘by 2040’
A land far, far away: Mars is approximately 140 million miles away from Earth — Nasa estimates that any astronaut going to Mars would be away for at least three years. Glossary
Asteroids - Small bodies in space, made of metal and rock material. Asteroids usually orbit the sun, but if knocked off course they can be drawn into Earth’s gravity and fall towards it.
Orbit - A regular, repeating path that one object in space takes around another one.
Voltaire - A French enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher known for his criticism of Christianity and slavery.
Jeff Bezos - The founder of Amazon and one of the world's richest people.
Elon Musk - A South African-born entrepreneur whose companies have included the online payment service PayPal. He now controls Twitter, renamed 'X'.
Nasa - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, responsible for the US space programme.
Anthropologist - Someone who studies human beings and societies. The word "anthropology" comes from the Greek "anthropos", meaning "human". It developed as a subject in Europe in the 19th century, although some regard the Arab historian Ibn Khaldun as the first anthropologist.
Radiation - Energy given off when radioactive material decays. It can be extremely harmful and sometimes fatal, causing vomiting, skin damage, hair loss and cancer.