Aerospace firm planning mission to Mars

(KTVU) - The aerospace and defense firm Lockheed Martin is making plans to send astronauts on a three-year round trip to Mars. 

This historic journey in space could begin within the next 12 years. 

The plan calls for a crew of six to take off to Mars in a spacecraft that looks very much like a space station.

No one would actually land on the red planet, but the crew would orbit Mars to gather important information.

A Lockheed-Martin spokesman says the mission is already well underway. 

Tony Antonelli with Lockheed Martin says, "The hardest part of the journey has already started, we build here at Lockheed Martin the Oriorn vehicle, which is the next generation of deep space. In fact, it's the only deep space spacecraft in development.

Lockheed Martin's proposed mission comes at the same time President Trump is asking NASA to step up its exploration of deep space, including Mars.