Fifty years ago, humanity set foot on the Moon. The journeys to our nearest celestial neighbour stretched the limits of our capabilities. However, in the decades since the Apollo program, we have sought to better understand how to live and work in space. Now, with all that we have learned, are we finally ready to do more than orbit the Earth and take brief trips to the Moon? Are we willing to again dramatically stretch the limits of humanity’s capabilities by reaching farther to Mars and beyond? While only time will tell what path we will take to the stars, at this stage there are many intriguing possibilities.