QUESTION: 
How do you think people will prepare for going to Mars and what do you
think they will need?

ANSWER from Steve Wall on February 2, 1997:
That's a really good question, and it's not an easy one to answer.  
Think about what you need to keep alive - food, water, shelter from the 
sun and cold.  Being far away, they will also need to be able to 
communicate with people on Earth. It also depends on how long 
they're going to stay.  If it's only for a short time they could 
bring food and water with them, but if it's for a long time they 
would need to be able to grow food and to get water from Mars - 
they could get it from the ice near the planet's poles if they 
landed near there, but some people think it might be possible 
to get it from the soil or even the rocks as well.

We will need a long time thinking about what people will want to do 
there, how long they will stay, and how much they can take with them 
before we'll really be able to answer your question.