NASA's Human Mars Mission Will Require Living Off the Land

NASA's goals to land humans on Mars in the 2030s will require Mars settlers to "live off the land," just as the early European settlers did when they came to what is now the United States, according to a recent statement from the agency. The practice of using local Martian resources for human survival — also known as "in-situ resource utilization" ISRU) — is something researchers are pursuing at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. "It was an incredible accomplishment when we went to the moon," said Bob Cabana, director of KSC and a former space shuttle astronaut, inthe statement.