Kelly said the society has taken some practical steps to demonstrate that human exploration of Mars is possible. During the summer, the society built a research station on Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic. It's rocky terrain. He was bitten by the Mars bug two years ago while attending a science fiction convention. Kelly said reasons to go to Mars are to search for life or past life, learn how to better take care of the Earth and look for another place to live.
Humanity does have one home at the moment.
Mars is our best neighbor. That would be the logical place to establish another branch of humanity. Kelly said Mars would be more hospitable than the moon because it has an atmosphere and mineral resources. With current technology, a trip to Mars would take six months. Hazards would include the physical and psychological effects of such a prolonged trip and the dangers of radiation, meteorites and having a major medical problem or an equipment breakdown that fellow crew members couldn't handle.