As of August 2026, NASA publishes no official launch date for the first crewed Mars landing. An internal plan included a space shuttle by 1977, a lunar base by 1976 and preparations for a human Mars mission as early as the 1980s. NASA’s current architecture is more specific and still not a manifestNASA’s present approach is called the Moon to Mars Architecture. The return vehicle is the part every date must carryA human landing announcement can focus attention on the outward trip. What would make a Mars date credibleA credible landing date would sit inside an approved mission sequence with funded systems, assigned responsibilities and test milestones.