The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 3 plus 3 plus 6 letter word THE RED PLANET
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
T
H
E
R
E
D
P
L
A
N
E
T
More clues leading to the result THE RED PLANET
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "To that place, departs with scheme to meet alien?" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case to that place, departs with scheme to meet alien? = the red planet.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.