NASA has an elaborate roadmap for the journey to the red planet, but will it actually work?
Astronauts, governments, and even everyday people have been eyeing Mars for quite some time now, and talk of a manned mission to the red planet has reached a point where serious questions need to be asked. A Congressional Committee recently argued that the trip to Mars is completely unfeasible, blasting NASA scientists for even thinking they could make it work by their stated goal of sometime in the 2030s.
But what will it actually take to get send the first humans to Mars? While NASA may lack the funding for such an elaborate mission (Congress estimates that it would cost over $1 trillion in investments before the trip is even possible), they certainly don’t lack the brainpower to figure out the logistics.
NASA’s plan to send humans to Mars is extremely elaborate, and is outlined in a 36 page report on their website. The agency wants to extend human presence deeper into the solar system, and it believes that Mars offers the best shot for doing so. NASA’s top officials have stated that they want people to be able to work, learn, operate, and live sustainably for extended periods of time on the red planet.
Much of the work being done in preparation for an eventual Mars journey is taking place currently on the International Space Station. Working together with 11 other space agencies, NASA’s research activities align with the Global Exploration Roadmap, a framework that outlines how humans may one day extend their range beyond the confines of the Earth.
NASA’s key strategic principles for space exploration seek to make the journey as feasible and worthwhile as possible. Most importantly, the agency is trying to be realistic about their funding – they want a near-term budget that could be implemented to achieve actual results, and they want to be assured that this funding will be available for longer time frames.
NASA also seeks to further our understanding of worlds outside of the Earth, by applying high technology and continuing to develop tools that will be essential for man’s survival away from Earth.
Most importantly, NASA wants to get the ball rolling and keep it rolling. The agency has a number of near-term probe launching projects that will keep our interest in Mars strong, hoping that one day their progress will help the first human step foot on the red planet.
A NASA press release describing the nuts and bolts of a manned Mars mission can be found here.
Bibical thoughts aside, there are many obstacles that need to be overcome before a human, or any life form for that matter, could even travel a fraction of the distances to Mars. Many people think it is just a matter of having enough water, food, and oxygen. This is no camping trip like we have ever seen before! There are many things that people don’t understand concerning the effectes of space on living life forms. Like the massive amounts of radiation that our planets electromagnetic field and atmosphere protection us from. Even the ISS (International Space Station) is protected from most of this radiation as it is only about 250 miles above the earth as where Magnetosphere is thousands of miles in coverage. Blocking this radiation is not as easy as building a lead layers space ship. Search Google or NASA for Space Radiation and Magnetosphere. http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/spacenews/factsheets/pdfs/radiation.pdf
According to NASA, MARIE is in orbit around Mars and continues to measure the
amount of harmful radiation at the planet itself. Unlike Earth, Mars does not have a global magnetic field to shield it from
solar flares and cosmic rays. Mars’ atmosphere is also less
than one percent as thick as the Earth’s.