Space experts and U.S. lawmakers have poked holes in NASA’s ‘Journey to Mars’ plan, claiming that it is too expensive to achieve.

At a recent hearing of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, expert witnesses argued that the funding needed to get to the red planet far outstrips the money currently pledged to NASA from the U.S. government.

Sending humans to Mars would also require significant technological developments, heard the committee.

Lawmakers at the hearing stated that a more detailed plan is needed for a Mars mission, with more achievable milestones along the way.

“What we do not have is a plan, strategy, or architecture with sufficient detail that takes us from today to humans on the surface of Mars,” said Tom Young, former director of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

As an expert witness, Young argued that NASA can’t afford to pursue both a deep-space Mars mission and a low Earth orbit programme, referring to the International Space Station.

Some suggested that NASA should ditch its Mars mission and divert its attention to returning to the moon instead.

As the end of President Obama’s stint in the White House nears an end, a concrete plan is crucial if NASA is to stay on track with its plans to get humans to Mars by the 2030s.

NASA boss Charles Bolden has previously emphasised the need for the space agency to stay focused and expressed concerns that a new president or Congress could ditch the planned mission to Mars.

“If we change our minds at any time in the next three or four years, which always is a risk when you go through a government transition, my belief is that we’re doomed,” he said in 2015.

Image credit: NASA