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NASA Hosts Meeting To Consider Ideal Place For Humans To Land On Mars

HOUSTON (CBS SF) -- In the news, 'boots on the ground' refers to men and women at war. At NASA, 'boots on the ground' means humans on Mars.

Tuesday, the space agency is hosting a meeting of scientists to identify the ideal place on the Red Planet to put boots on the ground.

The public is invited to listen online as researchers discuss the places where "humans could land, live, and work on the martian surface."

The goal is to identify specific 'regions of interest' and 'exploration zones.'

Recently, NASA announced the discovery of briny water on Mars, essential for human life. Future missions may focus on the most livable areas.

Robitic missions to Mars are happening now, but manned missions are still a ways off. However, according to agency estimates, there won't be any human boots on the Martian ground until sometime in the 2030s.

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