While the push for putting humans on Mars still is on the table, it looks as though much will need to be done before that happens. If all goes according to plans and hopes, the private Mars One mission expects to launch customers into space by 2024.

One of the first big missions to get out of the way before putting paying people into space is to send an unmanned lanner to the red planet to learn what the surface might be like and what to expect of the environment that the people can expect once they arrive.

The private company has partnered with Lockheed Martin—which also help build NASA’s Phoenix Lander. The Mars One in fact inspired the Mars One lander. One of the similarities to the Phoenix Lander that the Mars One will have includes solar panels for power.

For example, the size of the panels will be determined by the final weight and size of the lander because that will be different from the size of the Phoenix. Mars One will also have a robotic arm so that the private company will be able to dig the red planet’s surface and extract materials and water from the soil.

The Mars One lander’s main mission is to test all the technologies that humans will need in order to survive on Mars. The lander will have a video camera, which will be able to send live footage back to Earth. This will be made possible by a satellite that orbits Mars.

This first mission will cost the company a pretty penny. Mars One is working on its crowd-funding efforts. One of the efforts has been to launch an Iniegogo campaign to raise $400,000 by next month.

The company is also working toward sponsorships and media partnerships for the 2024-manned mission to mars, which could include a reality TV series. Perhaps we’ll get a sneak preview with the unmanned Mars lander when it lands on the red planet.

The one-way trip to Mars has started its application pool and narrowed the list down to just over 1,000 applicants after the first round. Around 200,000 people had applied. Between 2014 and 2015, a final set of four-person teams will be decided to equal about a few dozen.

Applicants could be tested and interviewed for their “mental and emotional capabilities.” The private company has also included the possibility of the final round also being voted on by various audiences.