Mars Colonization Timeline – Short Version

Have you ever imagined how humanity will explore and gradually settle the closest potentially habitable planet to Earth? Here we have created a speculative timeline of human exploration and colonization of Mars, blending optimistic tech forecasts with real-world progress. This is the SHORT VERSION of the full Mars Colonization Timeline, which you can explore HERE. The timeline, first published in October 2016, is regularly updated to reflect the latest developments.

2010s – Humanity regaining interest in Mars

Humanity's interest in Mars sparks anew in the 2010s as Curiosity drills into Gale Crater sediments that preserve records of ancient lakes, The Martian dramatizes the daily realities of living off local resources, and SpaceX reveals Starship plans while flying early prototypes. Robotic orbiters continue to explore the Red Planet from above while InSight lands to measure marsquakes and subsurface heat. These scientific returns, cultural reach and prototype hardware steps together rebuild the case for sending people to stay rather than only to observe.

2020s – Laying the groundwork for human arrival

The 2020s mark a surge in robotic exploration as Perseverance rover caches samples in Jezero Crater with Ingenuity proving sustained flight in the thin Martian air, and China delivers its first mission to Mars. SpaceX Starship advances through orbital tests, in-orbit refueling demonstrations and lunar cargo missions while early uncrewed vehicles attempt Mars landings and Marslink satellites begin a dedicated communications network. These efforts convert earlier visions into flight-proven transport chains and precursor systems ready for crewed arrival.

2030s – First humans on Mars

By 2035 the 2030s deliver humanity's first sustained presence on Mars when crews land at sites prepared by robotic forerunners and activate Mars Base Alpha with in-situ resource utilization plants, solar power arrays and nascent greenhouses. The initial teams focus on habitat expansion, water extraction and the first return flights that close the Earth-Mars loop, turning a fragile outpost into the foundation for permanent settlement. In parallel, the US and China are developing their separate bases in the Lunar South Pole region, competing for a dominant foothold there.

Mars colony for 5000 people in "For All Mankind" season 5

In season 5 of the alternate-history sci-fi series For All Mankind, set in an alternate 2012 where tensions between Martian colonists and their former home, Earth, reach boiling point, the international Happy Valley colony on Mars has grown into a settlement of more than five thousand residents. Happy Valley Base, located in Melas Chasma within the Valles Marineris system, was founded by NASA in 1995 during season 3. By season 4 (alternate 2003), it housed around 200 people.

In the nine years since, Happy Valley, governed by the Mars-6 Alliance (US, USSR, ESA, India, Japan, and the Coalition of Communist Countries for Spaceflight), has expanded far beyond simple growth. The colony now supports a genuine multi-generational population and features a far larger and more interconnected complex: expanded power, communications, fuel, and regolith processing facilities, multiple large agrodomes (several already operational with more under construction), a developed spaceport, and the distinctive radiation shield tower system. The central hub includes arrival halls with rover airlocks, control and laboratory modules, warehouses, and living quarters. A noticeable addition is the emergence of civilian commercial and social spaces alongside the industrial backbone. Helios and its Soviet competitor Kuragin both maintain offices on Mars; Kuragin is actively building a space elevator.

For All Mankind runs on the premise of a never-ending space race in a timeline where the Soviets reached the Moon first. Each season leaps roughly a decade into an increasingly divergent reality: season 1 (1969–1974) sees rival US and Soviet lunar South Pole bases; season 2 (1983) escalates resource competition on the Moon; season 3 (1992–1995) brings private company Helios and North Korea into a four-way race to Mars; season 4 (2003) features Happy Valley workers redirecting the lithium-rich asteroid Goldilocks into Mars orbit after "stealing" it from the M-7 Alliance.

Here we have collected high-resolution screenshots from season 5 (sourced from 4K UHD and optimized for web). They show the colony's exteriors and interiors without major plot reveals. There are separate galleries for Happy Valley agrodomes, spaceport and the Helios' office.

Spaceport of the Mars colony in "For All Mankind" season 5

In season 5 of the alternate-history sci-fi series For All Mankind, set in an alternate 2012, Happy Valley on Mars has grown into a settlement of more than five thousand residents. In the 9 years since season 4, colony's spaceport has been expanded and Helios's Soviet competitor Kuragin currently is building a space elevator for the colony.

Here we have collected high-resolution screenshots depicting Happy Valley's spaceport and the space elevator in construction:

Sojourner departing Happy Valley for a mission to Titan:

Helios' office at the Mars colony in "For All Mankind" season 5

In season 5 of the alternate-history sci-fi series For All Mankind, set in an alternate 2012, Happy Valley on Mars has grown into a settlement of more than five thousand residents. Helios Aerospace is a multi-national aerospace company and space manufacturer founded by Dev Ayesa, whom we have known since season 3. Helios acts as a private primary operator and transport provider for the Happy Valley colony. Although by Season 5, it is already facing fierce competition for Happy Valley development contracts from its Soviet competitor Kuragin, which has also opened its own separate office at Happy Valley and currently is building a space elevator for the colony.

Here we have collected high-resolution screenshots depicting Helios' office at the Happy Valley colony on Mars:

Helios' office is located into a hill near the Happy Valley colony:

Agrodomes of the Mars colony in "For All Mankind" season 5

In season 5 of the alternate-history sci-fi series For All Mankind, set in an alternate 2012, Happy Valley on Mars has grown into a settlement of more than five thousand residents. Among other facilities the colony features multiple large agrodomes (greenhouses) from which eight are already operational and several more in construction.

Here we have collected high-resolution screenshots depicting the work and recreation of the residents of Happy Valley in these agrodomes:

The Alpha Quarry - Part 8 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 8-month break he has published another 5 pages of those sketches (currently 45 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".
• 7th part (5 sketches) depicted expedition's road to the aluminum quarry.

Here is the 8th part (5 sketches) depicting the largest ore processing plant on Mars - "The Alpha Quarry":

“The largest ETS dump trucks were produced on Mars and could only work here and nowhere else due to the low gravity”:

Mars is ours! HD shots from "For All Mankind" season 5 trailer

In a teaser released in January Apple TV revealed that in season 5 of the alternate-history sci-fi TV series For All Mankind, the Happy Valley Base on Mars has grown into a thriving colony with thousands of residents. Two days ago the full trailer dropped, confirming that the friction between the Martian colonists and their former home, Earth, will be the central theme of season 5 - depicting the alternate year 2012.

For All Mankind is exploring the idea of never-ending space race if the Soviets had beaten the 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 the first on Mars; in season 4 (2003) there is a sprawling international human base on Mars, but Martian rebels "steal" a large, lithium-rich asteroid, locking it in Martian orbit. Season 5 will start airing on March 27 on Apple TV.

Here you can watch the trailer and explore a set of high-resolution shots from it (downscaled from 4K UHD screens for better image quality):

In 9 years since the events in season 4 Happy Valley Base has grown into a real colony:

Dev Ayesa's Martian mansion:

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:

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:

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".

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.

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:

You woke alone in a Martian base.. only to discover you are not quite alone..

Moons of Madness is a first-person cosmic horror adventure game released in 2019. Set in a near-futuristic Martian research outpost, the game blends hard science fiction with Lovecraftian horror, drawing inspiration from works like The Martian and H.P. Lovecraft’s mythos. The narrative follows Shane Newehart, an engineer tasked with maintaining the outpost until a relief team arrives on the transport ship Cyrano. The game’s depiction of the Martian outpost and its pervasive atmosphere of loneliness and abandonment are central to its immersive, unsettling experience.

The Martian outpost, Trailblazer Alpha, is a meticulously designed, state-of-the-art research facility built by the Orochi corporation to investigate a mysterious signal of intelligent origin detected from Mars. The outpost is a believable blend of scientific realism and eerie desolation, featuring functional areas like a greenhouse, infirmary, research labs, and solar panel arrays, all inspired by real-world Mars mission planning. The environment is detailed with personal touches – photo frames, workstations, coffee machines, and sticky notes – that evoke a sense of lived-in habitation, contrasting sharply with the growing sense of decay and neglect. As Shane navigates the base, he encounters malfunctioning systems, such as a flooded greenhouse filled with strange mist, Martian dust leaking into the infirmary, and alien-like, tentacle-covered vines sprawling across corridors, hinting at an otherworldly presence. The stark, rust-colored Martian landscape outside, with its dust clouds and desolate vistas, amplifies the outpost’s isolation, while the interior’s claustrophobic corridors and flickering lights enhance the feeling of being trapped in a failing, abandoned structure.

Shane, with limited security clearance, is unaware of the outpost’s true purpose and isolated from the broader mission, fostering a sense of disconnection from his colleagues and the world. His team’s absence – unexplained as they fail to return from an EVA mission – deepens this solitude, leaving him to face the outpost’s breakdowns alone. The narrative introduces psychological horror through Shane’s hallucinations and visions, possibly tied to his mother’s mysterious disappearance and his own fragile mental state, blurring the line between reality and madness. Cryptic messages, such as “They Never Turn Away!” scrawled on bulletin boards, and encounters with eerie entities like the “Thing in the Mist” intensify the feeling of being watched yet utterly alone. The outpost’s gradual transformation, with alien growths overtaking its once-functional spaces, mirrors Shane’s descent into isolation, as the environment itself seems to reject human presence.

The game’s pacing reinforces these themes, starting with routine tasks like aligning solar panels or repairing rovers, which ground players in Shane’s solitary duties, before escalating into survival against supernatural threats. The lack of combat mechanics heightens vulnerability, forcing players to confront the outpost’s dangers with only their wits, further emphasizing helplessness. While the story’s later plot twists – such as the revelation of Martian technology stabilizing the moons Phobos and Deimos as dormant elder gods – can feel disjointed, the atmosphere of loneliness and abandonment remains consistent, making Trailblazer Alpha a haunting stage for Shane’s unraveling psyche.

Here is a collection of images from the game, focusing on depiction of the Martian base: