Oct 09, 2015 11:34 AM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

Within the next two decades, NASA hopes to have a concrete launch planned to send astronauts to Mars and the space agency now has an outline for the mission.

According to Space.com, NASA tentatively set its "Journey to Mars" for the 2030s and is currently testing various components of the mission. For example, the Orion spacecraft has been undergoing unmanned test flights and is slated to be tested with astronauts aboard within the next 10 years.

You can read here NASA's full 36-page document detailing its three-phase plan for traveling to Mars.

"NASA is closer to sending American astronauts to Mars than at any point in our history," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a news release. "Today, we are publishing additional details about our journey to Mars plan and how we are aligning all of our work in support of this goal. In the coming weeks, I look forward to continuing to discuss the details of our plan with members of Congress, as well as our commercial and our international and partners, many of whom will be attending the International Astronautical Congress next week."

In short, the three steps are as follows:

1.     Earth Reliant: "We are testing technologies and advancing human health and performance research that will enable deep space, long duration missions."

2.     Proving Ground: "NASA will advance and validate capabilities required for humans to live and work at distances much farther away from our home planet, such as at Mars."

3.     Earth Independent: "Future Mars missions will represent a collaborative effort between NASA and its partners - a global achievement that marks a transition in humanity's expansion as we go to Mars to seek the potential for sustainable life beyond Earth."

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