NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden has often observed that humans are closer to their first mission to Mars than ever before in history. In this current series of Hangout discussions, we will hear from experts on breaking the gravitational reins to enable the first human expedition beyond low-Earth orbit in a half century. Join Tony Darnell, Harley Thronson and Alberto Conti as they discuss with Tim Cichan and Steve Jolly, both from Lockheed Martin, and Darby Cooper from Boeing, a new scenario for human exploration of the Red Planet. Here are the links discussed in the hangout: http://beyondearth.com/path-to-mars/ http://lockheedmartin.com/us/ssc/mars-orion.html Download the DeepAstronomy App and stay current on all content: Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=me.dwnld.vrf985&hl=en_GB Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/deep-astronomy/id1098749154?ls=1&mt=8 Follow DeepAstronomy on Twitter: @DeepAstronomy Like DeepAstronomy on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DeepAstronomy/ Like Space Fan News on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpaceFanNews/ Follow DeepAstronomy on Google+ http://google.com/+DeepAstronomy http://google.com/+TonyDarnell We also have a great Google+ Community, come share your thoughts and join the discussion! https://plus.google.com/communities/109849939648748938781