Thousands are living on Mars in "For All Mankind" season 5

Today Apple TV released the first teaser for the long-awaited season 5 of For All Mankind alternate history sci-fi TV series. It was accompanied by several promotional photos from the season and a synopsis: "Season five of “For All Mankind” picks up in the years since the Goldilocks asteroid heist. Happy Valley has grown into a thriving colony with thousands of residents and a base for new missions that will take us even further into the solar system. But with the nations of Earth now demanding law and order on the Red Planet, friction continues to build between the people who live on Mars and their former home."

From the teaser it seems one of the underlying themes in season 5 will be Freedom.. Freedom on Mars.

For All Mankind is exploring the idea of never ending space race if Soviets would have beaten US in the race for the Moon and the intention of the show is each season to jump about a decade further into the increasingly diverging reality of the show: in season 1, depicting alternate 1969 to 1974, both Soviets and US start building their separate bases near the lunar South pole; in season 2 (1983) both bases have been expanded and the superpowers compete for resources on the Lunar surface; in season 3 (1992 to 1995), Soviets and US are joined by a private company Helios and North Korea for a four way race to be first on Mars; in season 4 (2003) there is a sprawling international human base on Mars and an unexpected side enters the race to get hold on a large, lithium-rich asteroid for mining. Season 5 will start airing on March 27 on Apple TV

Here you can watch the teaser and see the accompanying photos:

Happy Valley Base has been expanded a lot since season 4:

Alex Poletov (Ed's grandson) rides a motorcycle near the Happy Valley Base:

Free Mars graffiti are all over the Happy Valley Base:

Lunar base in 'The Wandering Earth II' (2023) movie

The Wandering Earth II is a 2023 Chinese movie set in the mid-21st century as humanity races to save Earth from the Sun’s impending expansion into a red giant. The film chronicles the global effort to build thousands of massive planetary engines (and three more on the Moon) to propel the entire planet out of the Solar System - an audacious plan known as the Moving Mountain Project - while contending with the rival Digital Life Project that seeks to upload human consciousness into computers instead.

In the film, the Lunar bases for the three giant planetary engines built into Lunar crater rims are portrayed as sprawling, industrial megacomplexes carved into the Moon’s harsh terrain - towering gantries, clusters of spaceships on multiple launch pads, heavy lunar rovers kicking up plumes of regolith, and extensive networks of modular habitats, storage tanks, and processing plants illuminated by harsh artificial lights.

Here is a collection of Lunar scenery from the movie:

Merry Christmas to all Martians!

Created using Grok Imagine by xAI

P.S. It's incredible how fast the AI text-to-image generation has evolved recently. Only a few years ago you couldn't generate such image without deep knowledge of the right tools, now it's accessible to anyone.

SpaceX spaceship orbiting Mars by Encho Enchev

Concept art for a SpaceX nuclear-powered spaceship departing Mars' orbit by Ubisoft' 3D environment artist Encho Enchev from Bulgaria.

Another render of the same spaceship, but with a partially terraformed Mars bellow:

Martian colony by Goodname Studio

Picture of the Day 07/12/2025 - several spacecraft approaching a Martian colony rising from a sea of sand dunes by Goodname digital art studio based in Lithuania. The colony consists of a colossal, domed megastructure and smaller auxiliary domes flanking the central edifice; the colony is half-buried in an endless sea of golden desert dunes and its weathered surface is etched with intricate geometric patterns. The scene radiates a blend of ancient grandeur and futuristic desolation, evoking the atmosphere of a long-lost interstellar civilization swallowed by time and sand.

Set of paintings with scenes from "For All Mankind" TV series

French urban artist Colin Doublier has created a set of paintings with scenes from For All Mankind alternate history sci-fi TV series. For All Mankind is exploring the idea of never ending space race if Soviets would have beaten US in the race for the Moon and the intention of the show is each season to jump about a decade further into the increasingly diverging reality of the show: in season 1, depicting alternate 1969 to 1974, both Soviets and US start building their separate bases near the lunar South pole; in season 2 (1983) both bases have been expanded and the superpowers compete for resources on the Lunar surface; in season 3 (1992 to 1995), Soviets and US are joined by a private company Helios and North Korea for a four way race to be first on Mars; in season 4 (2003) there is a sprawling international human base on Mars and an unexpected side enters the race to get hold on a large, lithium-rich asteroid for mining. You can watch the show on Apple TV+. Season 5 should air soon.

Kuznetsov Station on Goldilocks in orbit around Mars in season 5:

Happy Valley Base on Mars in season 4:

Mars orbital station Phoenix in season 4:

Lunar Starship (HLS) interiors by SpaceX

On October 30, 2025, SpaceX provided a major update to its Lunar Starship (Human Landing System) program – a Lunar optimized Starship version which NASA has selected for the Artemis III and Artemis IV missions returning Americans to the surface of the Moon.

As it was written by SpaceX in the update: "Humanity is at an inflection point. For the first time in our existence, we possess the means, technology, and, for the moment, the will to establish a permanent human presence beyond Earth. Starship is designed to make this future a reality and is singularly capable of carrying unparalleled numbers of explorers and the building blocks they’ll need to establish the first outposts on lunar and other planetary surfaces. For these reasons and more, it was chosen to fulfill the key role of landing the first astronauts on the Moon in more than 50 years. It will be a central enabler that will fulfill the vision of NASA’s Artemis program, which seeks to establish a lasting presence on the lunar surface, not just flags and footprints, and ultimately forge the path to land the first humans on Mars. Starship provides unmatched capability to explore the Moon, thanks to its large size and ability to refill propellant in space. One single Starship has a pressurized habitable volume of more than 600 cubic meters, which is roughly two-thirds the pressurized volume of the entire International Space Station, and is complete with a cabin that can be scaled for large numbers of explorers and dual airlocks for surface exploration."

The update was accompanied with several new official renders of SpaceX's Lunar Starship, including its interior views.

Airlock:

Cockpit:

Infographic: Artemis landers (Starship HLS & Blue Moon MK2) vs Apollo Lunar Module

Recently NASA published an update on Human Landing System (HLS) program for Artemis missions. The presentation included, among other things, infographics about the SpaceX Lunar Starship (Human Landing System) for Artemis III and Artemis IV missions, the Blue Origin Blue Moon MK2 lander for the Artemis V mission, a comparison of both Lunar landers with the Apollo Lunar Module, as well as a Map of Artemis III candidate Landing sites.

SpaceX Lunar Starship (Human Landing System):

Blue Origin Blue Moon MK2 lander:

Map of Artemis III candidate Landing sites:

Eros, the site of the protomolecule experiment, in "The Expanse" TV series

Eros is the second-largest near-Earth asteroid located in the inner Asteroid Belt with dimensions of about 34 km × 11 km × 11 km, giving it an irregular, potato-like shape. It's notable as the first asteroid discovered to cross Mars' orbit, and it has been visited by NASA's NEAR Shoemaker probe in 2000, which orbited and landed on it, providing detailed images and data about its surface composition, primarily silicates and metals.

In the universe of The Expanse TV series – a gripping political hard sci-fi drama set in the mid-24th century, where humanity has colonized the entire Solar System – Eros hosts Eros Station, one of the earliest and most bustling outposts in the Belt. It's a major hub for shipbuilding, repairs, and entertainment, with a population of around 100'000 people. The station is spun up to create artificial gravity through centrifugal force, with levels built so that "down" is toward the outer hull, providing about 0.3g – enough for comfortable walking but still a challenge for Inners unused to it.

Unlike the more industrial Ceres, Eros is known for its lower docking fees and vibrant underbelly, featuring casinos, brothels, and shooting galleries that attract crews looking to blow off steam after long hauls. It's described as the "birthplace of the Belt," where early colonists turned raw ore into the skeletons of the first spaceships, though over time, much of the heavy shipping shifted elsewhere. The docks are clustered in five main areas, with old shipyards jutting out like massive spiderwebs of steel and carbon lace, dotted with warning lights and sensors.

Eros plays a central and tragic role in the early story of The Expanse, particularly as the site of the infamous Eros Incident. Security on the station was initially handled by Protogen, but they pulled out and installed a puppet firm to oversee operations. This was all a setup for a massive experiment with the alien protomolecule, which was unleashed on the population as a weapon test, leading to horrifying mutations and the station's eventual takeover by the entity.

Here are some shots of Eros and Eros Station exteriors from the show:

Eros Station docks:

Mars colony with a large central dome by Erik Wernquist

A human colony on Mars with a large central dome by Swedish digital artist Erik Wernquist, the author of the stunning visionary shortfilms "Wanderers" (2014, depicting humanity's expansion into the Solar System) and "Go Incredibly Fast" (2022, identifying propulsion methods to send humans to outer Solar System and stars). This render was used as a background scenery for one of the scenes in "Go Incredibly Fast".

The Martian LEGO set has reached 10'000 supporters

The Martian LEGO set product idea, created by Steve Iuliano aka Mr Sci-Fi, has reached 10'000 supporter threshold on LEGO Ideas. Now it will go through a review by LEGO and, if approved, the final design will be created and made purchasable as a real LEGO Ideas set. The set includes Mark Watney's Habitat (HAB), Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV), Rover and the NASA's Pathfinder probe and Sojourner rover found by Mark Watney during his voyage in the famous 2015 sci-fi movie The Martian.

Exterior and interior view of the Habitat (HAB):

Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) with separable Command Module:

Mars Exploration Rover:

Road to the Quarry - Part 7 of Martian sketches by Andrey Maximov

Environment concept artist Andrey Maximov from Armenia has created an impressive set of artworks called Martian sketches depicting a "routine" journey to Mars in 2089. He has just published another 5 pages of those sketches (currently 40 in total). As the artist describes them: "this series is kind of like the road sketches of a member of an expedition to Mars. It's a routine flight in the not-too-distant future. The planet is more or less inhabited. We have an orbital station around Mars. There are already several settlements on the surface, mining is going on."

• 1st part (10 sketches) of Andrey's Martian sketches depicted the expedition leaving Earth;
• 2nd part (5 sketches) depicted expedition's arrival to "International Mars Orbital Station";
• 3rd part (6 sketches) depicted spaceport "Anteros" on Mars.
• 4th part (4 sketches) depicted expedition's road to the "Harmonia City".
• 5th part (5 sketches) depicted the multi-leveled "Harmonia City" on Mars.
• 6th part (5 sketches) depicted southern (industrial) district of the "Harmonia City".

Here is 7th part (5 sketches) depicting expedition's road to the aluminum quarry:

Wilhelm Beer Valley:

Southern District - Part 6 of Martian sketches by Andrey Maximov

Environment concept artist Andrey Maximov from Armenia has created an impressive set of artworks called Martian sketches depicting a "routine" journey to Mars in 2089. After a year's break he has published another 5 pages of those sketches (currently 35 in total). As the artist describes them: "this series is kind of like the road sketches of a member of an expedition to Mars. It's a routine flight in the not-too-distant future. The planet is more or less inhabited. We have an orbital station around Mars. There are already several settlements on the surface, mining is going on."

• 1st part (10 sketches) of Andrey's Martian sketches depicted the expedition leaving Earth;
• 2nd part (5 sketches) depicted expedition's arrival to "International Mars Orbital Station";
• 3rd part (6 sketches) depicted spaceport "Anteros" on Mars.
• 4th part (4 sketches) depicted expedition's road to the "Harmonia City".
• 5th part (5 sketches) depicted the multi-leveled "Harmonia City" on Mars.

Here is 6th part (5 sketches) depicting southern (industrial) district of the "Harmonia City":

Mars terraforming outpost

Picture of the Day 14/07/2025 - visualization of a terraforming outpost on Mars by Sebastian Esposito. The outpost unfolds across the rust-red plains of Mars, its gleaming geodesic domes and translucent greenhouses springing to life amid an otherwise barren landscape. Billowing plumes of vapor rise from atmospheric processing units - an effort to thicken the thin, carbon-dioxide-rich air, while clusters of solar arrays and modular habitats stretch toward the hazy horizon. Nearby, rockets stand ready to ferry supplies and settlers between the outpost and orbiting stations, underscoring humanity’s bold commitment to transform the Red Planet from a cold desert into a living world.

NASA's astronauts exploring Phobos

In this NASA concept rendering, an astronaut in a bulky EVA suit stands on the jagged, crater‑pocked surface of Phobos, Mars’s largest and closest moon, as the ruddy disk of Mars looms enormous on the horizon. The uneven regolith stretches out toward a steep crater rim, inside which a fleet of landers and robotic hopper vehicles carry out survey operations.

The render is sourced from NASA's video "Pioneering Space" published 10 years ago:

Mars Cycler visualization by Walter Myers

Mars cycler is a specialized orbital trajectory designed to shuttle spacecraft between Earth and Mars on a regular, repeating schedule. First proposed by astronaut Buzz Aldrin in the mid-1980s, a cycler orbit intersects both planets’ paths repeatedly, allowing a dedicated transport vehicle - the "cycler" - to swing by Earth, pick up crew or cargo, then cruise through interplanetary space before encountering Mars again. Because the cycler itself never needs to slow down or perform large propulsive maneuvers to match planetary velocities, only small “taxi” vehicles are required to ferry astronauts between the cycler and each planet. This minimizes the delta‑V (fuel) requirements for the main habitat, making long-term habitation modules, radiation shelters, or artificial‑gravity setups more economical and sustainable across multiple missions.



Beyond fuel savings, cycler systems offer significant advantages for crew health and mission logistics. The consistent schedule - typically once every 2.1 years for Earth-Mars synodic alignment - means that life‑support, water, and radiation shielding infrastructure can remain aboard the cycler, reducing the need to rebuild or resupply large habitats for each departure. Cyclers can also be designed to generate artificial gravity through rotation, mitigating the deleterious effects of microgravity on astronauts during the months‑long journey. However, practical implementation faces challenges: fine-tuning phasing maneuvers to ensure planetary fly‑bys occur at the correct times, performing occasional station‑keeping burns to counter perturbations, and integrating Earth and Mars rendezvous vehicles into a coherent logistical framework. Despite these complexities, Mars cyclers remain a compelling vision for establishing a reliable, reusable link between Earth and the Red Planet.

Here is a visualization of a Mars Cycler by US sci-fi artist Walter Myers:

Evolution of SpaceX' vision for human colony on Mars

From 2017 onward, SpaceX steadily refined their vision for the 1st human colony on Mars - from the debut of early visuals of an ambitious Mars City during the BFR (Big Falcon Rocket) unveiling, to increasingly detailed illustrations by 2019 showcasing the gleaming stainless‑steel Starship touching down and launching from this base. The 2022 update introduced animations emphasizing mission sequence - transports arriving, crewed modules landing, and a functioning spaceport. By April 2024, the concept had matured into a recognizable, modular Mars habitat design centered around a robust Starship fleet. Finally, in May 2025, the latest rendering unveiled a full-fledged Martian city with partially underground habitats to shield against radiation and Tesla Optimus robots constructing the city, marking the culmination of conceptual evolution from isolated landing pads to a thriving, self‑sustaining urban landscape on Mars.

September 2017

On September 29, 2017, Elon Musk provided 2nd annual presentation of the Starship architecture (then called BFR or Big Falcon Rocket). During the presentation titled "Making life multiplanetary" first official SpaceX visualizations for a Mars City were provided:

March 2019

On March 22, 2019, Elon Musk visited Doyle Ryder Elementary school in Flint, Michigan and demonstrated a new video of SpaceX's Starship landing at Mars Base Alpha:

SpaceX Starship Mars mission update 2025

On May 29th at Starbase, Texas SpaceX CEO and lead designer Elon Musk provided an update of SpaceX's Starship Mars architecture "The Road to Making Life Multiplanetary". Here are slides from his presentation.

Full presentation:

Slides from the presentation

Starship mission timeline for next 4 Earth-Mars transfer windows every 26 months:

The next opportunity is in the end of 2026, with landing in 2027:

SpaceX Mars mission in 2026:

SpaceX Mars mission in 2028: