Were there people on Mars or not. This is why there are still no people on Mars. Incredibly long travel times
Rapid progress in space exploration on the one hand and the hopelessness of life on the other make people dream of other planets and stars. Today, the idea of going to Mars has gone from the roster of futuristic to the roster of tangible goals. There are many organizations that are conducting experiments and planning to conduct a manned flight to the Red Planet, but what can a man actually face in this flight.
NASA is planning its Orion mission, which will send two to six people to explore Mars. In addition, the European Space Agency, many private enterprises, Russia, India, China and Japan are also in the planning stages of sending people to the fourth planet from the Sun.
Many organizations and scientists are warning that humans are using Earth's resources too quickly to sustain life here. But at the same time, in no case should Mars be regarded as the “next Earth”, which can satisfy all the needs of mankind if it nevertheless destroys its home planet. And also those who go to Mars will have to cope with many difficulties, which will be discussed today.
1. Loneliness
Far from being a minor inconvenience, loneliness can actually cause serious health problems. Even if Mars eventually becomes quite popular with travelers, there is little chance it will replicate the closely interconnected communities and societies that have been built over the centuries on Earth. To combat the effects of loneliness, travelers to Mars can talk to robots and engage in complex individual activities.
2. Muscle degradation
Those who have seen footage of astronauts aboard the International Space Station may have noticed that they spend quite a bit of time exercising on exercise bikes and other equipment. They do this because the change in gravity has a huge impact on the muscular structure of the body. While on Earth, people hardly notice the work of their "anti-gravity" muscles, namely the quadriceps muscles and muscles in the calves, neck and back. But without the daily pressure of gravity on these parts of the body, such muscles begin to degrade.
Measures are currently being studied to keep people fit and healthy, especially their muscular systems, during short-term flights. However, no one has ever spent decades or a lifetime on a distant planet. Thus, it is impossible to really study the long-term effects of living in these places. And muscle health also directly affects the skeletal system, reproductive health and internal organs.
3. Depleted oxygen
There are several ways to create oxygen from other materials during space travel and living on another planet. However, its level on a planet like Mars would not be able to fully match the oxygen available on Earth.
The human body needs oxygen for almost all of its life functions, from breathing and digestion to cell division and growth. In the future, solid oxide electrolysis could be used to isolate oxygen from carbon dioxide, which makes up 95 percent of Mars' atmosphere.
4. Extreme temperatures
The atmosphere on Mars is so rarefied that it is almost impossible to keep warm on the planet. The average temperature of the planet is -62 degrees Celsius, which is really very cold.
5. Incredibly long travel times
It is worth remembering how tedious it is to spend even a few days on the same train. While space probes can get to Mars fairly quickly (at least 2 months), sending people to Mars will take much longer. Even the most optimistic forecasts suggest 400 to 500 days on the road.
6. Radiation
First, a person will receive a huge dose of radiation on the way to Mars. Then, during the whole time of life on the planet, constant precautions will have to be taken to avoid exposure to radiation. Both galactic cosmic rays (GCR) and solar energy particles (SEP) can cause irreversible damage to the human body.
Simply being on the Red Planet would “provide” astronauts with radiation levels 100 times higher than on Earth, and flights back and forth are even more risky. High-energy particles can cause changes in DNA and cells. In the human brain, this can lead to deterioration and seizures.
The eyes can be affected by cataracts, the lungs can develop cancer, and the skin can be damaged or even burned. The heart and digestive organs will be damaged, and radiation can make a person infertile.
7. Claustrophobia
NASA and other spaceflight organizations screen people for extreme claustrophobia before recruiting. According to astronaut Chris Hadfield, the tests were really strange, for example, they closed him in a “little black bag” and did not say when he would be released. And the flight is half the trouble.
Imagine having to spend the rest of your life on Mars, traveling between small compartments and stations to avoid radiation and maintain proper oxygen levels. At the same time, a person will never be able to go to the surface without a special suit and a helmet, which also causes claustrophobia.
8 Hostile Life Forms
There's a reason astronauts have carried weapons into space "just in case" for decades, from special "survival" knives to handguns. While it is generally stated that astronauts may encounter survival situations when they return to Earth (by landing in an unsafe area or in hostile territory), the second reason is much less commonly stated.
While no conclusive evidence of intelligent life has yet been found, the existence of extraterrestrial microorganisms is almost guaranteed based on fossil evidence. In addition, the probability of the existence of other life forms is so high that it is almost beyond doubt. In fact, in 2016, scientists determined that there was less than a 1 in 60 billion chance that humans are the only advanced species in any galaxy.
9. Eye Deformity and Vision Loss
In 1989, NASA began testing the vision of astronauts after space travel. What they learned was shocking at first. Many astronauts have found more health problems than before the flight into space. Moreover, vision problems sometimes lasted for many years or even remained forever.
It turned out that the eye itself actually changes in space, along with the brain and cerebrospinal fluid. The likely culprit is intracranial hypertension, or high pressure on the brain and spine. Considering that the flight to Mars will last several hundred days, one can only guess what this is fraught with for health.
10 Space Madness
Before humans took to the stars, scientists were concerned that space travelers would eventually become "impulsive, suicidal, sexually aberrant thrill-seekers." They thought being stuck in a confined space for an extended period of time and lacking modern conveniences would drive the astronauts crazy. Because many of these grim fears were eventually disproved, the idea of cosmic madness became a legend.
However, there have been examples of people who couldn't handle the pressure of the cosmos. Some people exhibited strange behavior even after a short trip out of the atmosphere. A trip to Mars will take much longer than modern spaceflight, so the effects are unpredictable. In addition, the brain is made up of a lot of water, and the effects of changes in gravity on brain composition are largely unexplored.
Landing a man on Mars today has ceased to be a fantasy. The guys from the American space agency NASA say with confidence that the colonization of the Red Planet will definitely begin in the middle of the 21st century. But as to who will be the first to send a man to Mars, they are not so sure. NASA is going to do this approximately in the 2030s, but some private companies promise to surpass them and arrange a manned flight to Mars much earlier, and most importantly, for astronauts this will not necessarily be a one-way trip. In this article, we will consider the most likely candidates for the first colonizers of Mars.
Why do we need to go to Mars at all?
Current research on the Red Planet is carried out through orbiting telescopes, interplanetary stations, spacecraft and rovers. All this made it possible to make many interesting discoveries, such as the Martian channels and the presence of water on the Red Planet, but many theories have also appeared, to confirm which it is advisable to send a person there.
Earth explorers will have to find on Mars signs of germs in the past, and perhaps even their present day. And this will confirm the existence of life on another planet in the solar system.
Space exploration is inevitable, so why not start now? One of the priorities of the study of Mars is checking it for suitability for future resettlement there a person. After all, even Stephen Hawking was sure that sooner or later we will not be able to live on our Earth because of a world war or a global cataclysm.
Paradoxically, on Mars we will be able to learn a lot of new things not only about the Earth, but also about the distant corners of space.
USSR and Mars
For all known reasons, the USSR will no longer be able to send anything to Mars, but the Soviet plans for this planet deserve attention.
In those days, only science fiction writers talked about landing a man on Mars, but scientists seriously considered the possibility of creating a spacecraft for a manned flight.
One of the first major projects was martian manned complex(IPC). It was supposed to be assembled in near-Earth orbit from different blocks. The original weight of the ship would have left 1650 tons (!). Upon returning to Earth, only a part of the ship weighing 15 tons would remain. The total flight time was to be 2.5 years.
But soon Soviet engineers presented more progressive projects. heavy interplanetary ship. There were several variants of such ships that could fit up to 4 crew members.
It got to the point that in 1960 the Central Committee of the CPSU even scheduled the start of the flight of a ship not yet built for June 8, 1971. But the project had to be closed, because the so-called "lunar race" began.
Who knows, if the collapse of the USSR had not happened, it is possible that the first colonists would have planted a red flag on the Red Planet ...
Inspiration Mars Foundation
For a change, let's consider applicants for a regular flight to Mars without landing. Indeed, for the first time to see this planet with your own eyes, and not on the screen or through the lens of a telescope, is also worth a lot.
The non-profit organization Inspiration Mars Foundation has in its plans already in 2018 make the first manned flyby of Mars.
The entire journey will take 501 days. The flyby trajectory is calculated in such a way as to spend the least amount of fuel. The crew will consist of a man and a woman. This couple should safely fly to the Red Planet, circle it and return to Earth.
Such a flight is of considerable importance in terms of studying the physiological and psychological state of a person in interplanetary space. The data obtained will be very useful when we go to Mars for the purpose of landing.
Aurora Program
The European Space Agency also has its own plan for the Martian mission. These comrades want to land a man on Mars closer to 2033.
The agency's leadership says that due to low funding, they will be forced to resort to international cooperation. For example, Russia is involved in one of the stages of the program called ExoMars.
While within the framework of Aurora, launches of vehicles for the study of the Red Planet are being carried out, a manned flight to the Moon (2024) and an unmanned flight to Mars (2026) are planned. And if everything is in order with funding, a manned flight to Mars is quite possible. There is a possibility that Russia will be involved in this.
NASA
The guys from NASA constantly complain about the lack of funding. If you think about it, every organization in the world that lives at the expense of its state has such problems. But NASA is an American agency! This country without a twinge of conscience declares that it rules the world. So why can't you guys support something as important as conquering other planets by leaving it to private companies? And, well, yes, it is necessary to organize economic wars with the Bear ... The US government has already broken off its plans for Mars several times to its space agency.
Be that as it may, NASA is determined to land a man on Mars soon, which should happen within the next 20 years. Exact dates have not yet been announced. The flight will take place when all vehicles are ready, and provisions with water and oxygen supplies have been previously delivered to the Red Planet.
Today's NASA plan is well detailed and consists of three phases:
- "Support to the Earth". At this stage, it is supposed to study the conditions of life on other planets. This is necessary to create life support systems for people on Mars. In addition, it is required to work out technologies that can save astronauts in interplanetary space.
- "Testing Ground". The moon will be the testing ground. So far, NASA is not sure that they will necessarily land on the Earth’s satellite and equip a base there in order to “train” in front of Mars. Perhaps it will be enough to stay in the orbit of the moon. In any case, these events are planned to be held until 2020.
- "Complete independence from the Earth". After careful preparation, people will have to go to near-Martian orbit. The following options are discussed below:
- A temporary base is being set up on one of the satellites of Mars. And already from there people together with the equipment will go to the planet;
- Astronauts will immediately land on Mars and organize a permanent colony.
NASA experts have high hopes for 3D printing technology in terms of creating a sustainable and self-contained habitat.
It is also interesting that at one of the press conferences, representatives of the agency noted that the flight to Mars must be international. No strife between Russia and the United States should be reflected in scientific research, and especially in the study of other planets.
In short, the guys from NASA are confident that if everything goes according to plan, then by the end of this century, all problems regarding the possibility of living on Mars will be solved.
Centenary spaceship
The project with the same name was developed by one of the scientific centers of NASA. It is much cheaper than the main plan of the space agency, since the colonists will be sent to Mars forever.
If the project succeeds, the selected volunteers will fly to the Red Planet as early as 2030. With them they will have a small nuclear reactor, the necessary equipment and means for the production of food, water and oxygen.
Roscosmos
Russia, as mentioned earlier, is taking part in a joint project with the European Space Agency. This project is called "Exomars". But its task is only to deliver research modules into orbit and the surface of the Red Planet. Of course, Rokosmos has plans to send a man to Mars by the middle of the century, but he obviously will not be the first there ...
The Proton-M rocket was used for the ExoMars mission By the way, in Russia in 2015 the Mars-500 program, within which an imitation of a manned flight to Mars was conducted. The results of the experiment contribute to the further preparation of the participants of the expedition to Mars.
Russia can also contribute to reducing the flight time to the Red Planet. Now Roscosmos, together with Rosatom, is working on a fundamentally new nuclear power engine and a transport module that will be compatible with it. With such an engine, it will be possible to get from earth to Mars in just a few months.
Mars One
Oriented by 2026, the Dutch company Mars One plans to send 4 colonists to the Red Planet without the possibility of returning them back to Earth, as is the case with the Centennial Spaceship project. It is noteworthy that volunteers from different countries should be among the colonists.
This is what a Mars One colony should look like If the idea comes true, then in 2027 the colonists will land. However, before it is necessary to have time to send living quarters, life support systems and cargo containers to Mars. All this stuff should be waiting for the rover there, which will be engaged in preliminary unloading.
This project is periodically compromised by the fact that it is simply untenable. Even some candidates for the flight say that the organizers of this movement did not raise the necessary money, but continue to hope for sponsorship.
As of February 2019 it became known that the Mars One project went bankrupt, so we give all the laurels to our winner.
SpaceX
In September 2016, the head of SpaceX, Elon Musk, whom many identify with Tony Stark himself, presented a program for the accelerated exploration of Mars. The first landing man will be able to carry out in 2024, and over the next 30 years, the Martian colony should increase to 1 million people. Elon emphasizes that it is time for earthlings to take off and become an interplanetary civilization.
Learn more about the spacecraft that will take humans to Mars in a video provided by SpaceX:
The implementation of the project of the spacecraft "Interplanetary transport system" will reduce the cost of a flight of one person to 200 thousand dollars. With current technology, that figure is $10 billion. Significant savings can be made on the possibility of reusable system components, and on specially selected fuel, the production of which is planned to be carried out directly in the orbit of Mars.
To date, the leading space agencies recognize the SpaceX program as the most promising in terms of the exploration of Mars. This is largely due to their Falcon 9 shuttle rocket, which today delivers cargo to the ISS. Its feature is the ability to land the first stage for reuse. Such technology is perfectly suited for Martian missions.
Many call Elon Musk a dreamer, because he sees the end result of his undertaking as the resettlement (or even evacuation) of earthlings to Mars, when others see this planet either as an object of scientific research, or as an opportunity to make money on space tourism.
However, the Musk project has a lot of support from the public and famous people. So recently, Leonardo DiCaprio mentioned that he signed up for a flight to Mars. It was after SpaceX published their colonization plan.
Boeing
In early October 2016, Boeing made a big announcement that it would compete with SpaceX to land a man on Mars.
Boeing management assured the public that they have everything for these purposes. They are sure that it is their rocket that will take the first person to the Red Planet, although detailed arguments have not yet been provided. Unless they mention new hypersonic engines that will exceed the speed of sound three times.
By the way, Boeing rockets have repeatedly delivered people to the moon.
Apparently, today these guys are primarily betting on space tourism, and not on the exploration of Mars scientifically.
Conclusion
The clear superiority in the Martian race today is held by private companies. The biggest promise comes from SpaceX with their rather ambitious plans. This company owns advanced technologies in terms of space travel and is not as limited in funds as NASA, Roscosmos or the European Space Agency. Of course, if all the departments had joined forces, surely the earthlings would have begun to conquer Mars much earlier, but the situation in the world fell in such a way that political strife was more important than progress.
> When will we send people to Mars?
Can Human turn out to be on Mars: modern ideas, plans and missions, manned flight to Mars, creation of a colony, ways of forming a living environment with a photo.
In 1969, an important space breakthrough occurred when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin managed to walk on the lunar surface. It was the culmination of decades of work and many sacrifices and failed attempts. What's the next step?
Now our goal is Mars! For several years now, they have been discussing future missions and the prospect of creating a colony. But this task seems even more difficult, so a clear plan is needed. Can Human turn out to be on Mars?
Proposals to send humans to Mars
The concept of the first crewed mission was developed by Wernher von Braun. He was a former Nazi scientist and head of NASA's Mercury Project. In 1952, he proposed to create 10 vehicles (7 people each) that could deliver 70 people to the Red Planet.
Part of his development was based on the American project Operation Highjump, where they wanted to use several reusable shuttles. He believed that it was possible to achieve the construction of the ship before 1965 (later pushed back to 1980) and complete the sweat in both directions in three years.
Brown not only calculated the size and weight of the ships, but also determined the amount of fuel needed to carry out the maneuvers. But the flight of man to Mars did not take place. Moreover, since 1972, people have not returned to the moon. Eugene Cernan was the last to visit.
But after all, it is not the flight itself that is important, but the organization of people living on Mars. In 1990, Robert Zubrin, who focused on colonization, proposed his Mars Direct project. The first missions were to build a site for a future settlement. Later it would be possible to go underground and develop the habitat already there.
At the last stage, special geodesic domes could be placed. In such an environment, there is an opportunity to grow vegetation based on local resources. Zubrin knew that the colonists would still depend on earthly supplies. But over time, they will be able to achieve autonomy. There is a huge concentration of precious metals on Mars, besides, there is a lot of deuterium - a source of rocket fuel.
In 1993, the Mars Design Reference from NASA appeared, which was edited 5 times until 2009. But the project never went beyond calculations and conversations.
Modern Ideas for When We Send Humans to Mars
It all started with presidential statements. In 2004, George W. Bush decided that we should forget about the shuttles and come up with new devices that can deliver a person back to the satellite in the 2020s. Then Barack Obama in 2010 said that it is necessary to focus on Mars and visit it already in the 2030s. That is, at this stage, specific dates appeared when people would fly to Mars.
In 2015, a detailed plan was formed, where the delivery was based on the use of the Orion spacecraft and the SLS launch system. The project is based on 3 stages and 32 launches in 2018-2030s. During this time, it will be possible to transport the necessary equipment and equip the preparatory site. Until 2024, it is necessary to test Orion and SLS.
NASA also plans to catch the nearest asteroid and drag it to the Moon's orbit to test new equipment. This is an important mission that will help not only save the Earth from the fall of a dangerous space rock, but also use them to transform the planets (create a favorable environment for humans - terraforming Mars).
The first crew flight on Orion should take place in 2021-2023. At the second stage, a series of equipment delivery to the Red Planet will start. The third stage involves creating the necessary protective environment and checking all necessary devices.
But not only NASA has views of Mars. The ESA is also interested in exploring and colonizing the alien world. The Aurora program expects in the 2030s. send people on an Ariane-M rocket. In 2040-2060s. Roscosmos can visit the Red Planet. Back in 2011, Russia was running successful mission simulations. China has set itself the same time frame. One day we may come to the conclusion that people live on Mars.
In 2012, Dutch entrepreneurs announced that they were going to create a human base on Mars in 2023, which would later expand into a colony.
The MarsOne mission plans to deploy a telecommunications orbiter in 2018, a rover in 2020, and a settler base in 2023. It will be powered by solar panels with a length of 3000 m 2 . They will deliver 4 astronauts on a Falcon-9 rocket in 2025, where they will spend 2 years.
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, does not hide his desire for Mars. He is going to create a colony for 80,000 people. And this is only a small part of how many people are able to settle on Mars. To do this, he needs a special transportation system that would work in conveyor mode. He has already succeeded in creating a rocket reuse system.
In 2016, Musk announced that the first unmanned flight would take place in 2022, and the crewed flight in 2024. He believes that everything will require 10 billion dollars and it will be possible to launch 100 passengers. These will be tourist trips sent every 26 months (the window when Earth and Mars are closest).
The first missions may require sacrifice. But many have already expressed a desire to go one way. When will we see the first humans on Mars? There is no exact date, but evidence suggests that this will happen in the coming decades. Of course, we still have doubts. But no one believed in the success of the Americans on the moon. And yet there is their flag.