NASA to Put Man on Space Rocks and Mars

NASA created a deep space mission department to oversee deep space manned mission explorations such as traveling to space rocks and Mars.

President Obama charged NASA to put astronauts on an asteroid by 2025, and Mars by mid 2030s.

The new office is called "Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate", which combines the existing Space Operations Directorate and the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate.

The Human Exploration and Operations office will be responsible for developing a capsule for astronauts to travel safely and building a heavy-lift rocket capable of traveling far enough to reach those goals.

NASA is at a turning point as it recently retired its space shuttle and prepares for a new era of manned missions into deep space.

"America is opening a bold new chapter in human space exploration," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement. "By combining the resources of Space Operations and Exploration Systems, and creating the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, we are recommitting ourselves to American leadership in space for years to come."