Destination Mars: The Story of our Quest to Conquer the Red Planet (Hot Science)

Mars is back.

Suddenly everyone - from Elon Musk to Ridley Scott to Donald Trump - is talking about going to the Red Planet.When the Apollo astronauts walked on the Moon in 1969, many people imagined Mars would be next.

However NASA' s Viking 1, which landed in 1976, was just a robot.

The much-anticipated crewed mission failed to materialise, defeated by a combination of technological and political challenges.Four decades after Viking and almost half a century after Apollo technology has improved beyond recognition - as has politics.

As private ventures like SpaceX seize centre stage from NASA, Mars has undergone a seismic shift - it' s become the prime destination for future human expansion and colonisation.But what' s it really like on Mars, and why should anyone want to go there? How do you get there and what are the risks?