Once upon a time, people dreamed of visiting Mars! Mars is a red planet far away from Earth. It takes a long time to get there, much longer than going to the moon. In 1969, astronauts walked on the moon. Everyone got excited about space! Many presidents promised to send people to Mars, but it didn’t happen yet. One president, Donald Trump, talked about going to Mars in a special speech. He said astronauts would plant the flag on Mars one day! Elon Musk, a famous rocket builder, wants to take people to Mars too. He started a company called SpaceX. They are making big rockets called Starship. These rockets can carry astronauts and lots of things to Mars! People are excited because this might be a big step for humans. Some experts think we need strong teamwork to go to Mars. It should not be just about politicians or famous people, but everyone working together. Teamwork is important, just like friends playing together! NASA, the space agency, is also working hard. They want to go back to the moon first. They think it will help them learn more for the big trip to Mars. But some say going to Mars is very hard. It takes many months to get there, while the moon is only a few days away. There are chances to launch rockets to Mars in 2026 and 2028. That sounds like a fun adventure! But there could be problems too. Some people worry that if one political group takes charge of the Mars mission, it may not be good. Everyone should join together and make plans for Mars. Going to Mars is like a giant treasure hunt! We must cheer on scientists and astronauts, so one day we can explore the Red Planet together. Would you want to take a rocket ride to Mars? What do you think we’d find there?