Sir Alemeth
Member
I've always been fascinated with the idea of going to another planet, and perhaps setting up space stations with recyclable consumables such as water, crops, etc. to sustain life independently on the red planet. Lately, there's been talks about manned mission to mars, which is very exciting to me. However, can it be done? If so, when will it happen? And just how realistic is it with the technology that we have nowadays?
Below are some very interesting articles related to this topic:
A One-Way, One-Person mission to Mars:
http://www.universetoday.com/2008/03/04/a-one-way-one-person-mission-to-mars/
Another informative article(a bit old):
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/russia_mars_040510.html
...and perhaps the most interesting and relevant one:
http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/01858/text-only/manned_problems.html
So GAF, what are your thoughts on this? Can it be done? How badly does everyone want to see this in their lifetime?? Do share! I know I do!! =)
Extra articles:
Bush proposal to send man to Mars: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3381531.stm
McCain would like to see a man on Mars: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080606111510.5jnz56gu&show_article=1
Below are some very interesting articles related to this topic:
A One-Way, One-Person mission to Mars:
http://www.universetoday.com/2008/03/04/a-one-way-one-person-mission-to-mars/
A One-Way, One-Person Mission to Mars
Written by Nancy Atkinson
Will humans ever really go to Mars? Lets face it, the obstacles are quite daunting. Not only are there numerous, difficult, technical issues to overcome, but the political will and perseverance of any one nation to undertake such an arduous task just cant be counted on. However, one former NASA engineer believes a human mission to Mars is quite doable, and such an event would unify the world as never before. But Jim McLanes proposal includes a couple of major caveats: the trip to Mars should be one-way, and have a crew of only one person.
McLane worked at NASA for 21 years before leaving in 2007 to work for a private engineering firm. Being able to look from afar at NASAs activities has given him a new perspective, he says.
But McLane was still at NASA when he originally had an idea for a one-way, one-person mission to Mars. He calls his proposal the Spirit of the Lone Eagle," in deference to Charles Lindberghs solo flight from New York to Paris in 1927.
McLanes idea came from his acquaintance with a Russian cosmonaut. I noticed the cosmonaut seemed to be a slightly different type of person than the American astronaut," McLane said. Cosmonauts are primarily pilots, and like test pilots, they are very focused on getting the job done. The current American astronauts are picked for things such as their speaking ability and social skills, and most of them have advanced degrees. But the cosmonaut struck me as an adventurous, get-things-done-type person, like our original astronauts back in the 1960s."
A return to the get it done" attitude of the 1960s and a goal of a manned landing within a short time frame, like Apollo, is the only way well get to Mars, McLane believes. Additionally, a no-return, solo mission solves many of the problems currently facing a round-trip, multiple person crew.
When we eliminate the need to launch off Mars, we remove the missions most daunting obstacle," said McLane. And because of a small crew size, the spacecraft could be smaller and the need for consumables and supplies would be decreased, making the mission cheaper and less complicated.
While some might classify this as a suicide mission, McLane feels the concept is completely logical.
There would be tremendous risk, yes," said McLane, but I dont think thats guaranteed any more than you would say climbing a mountain alone is a suicide mission. People do dangerous things all the time, and this would be something really unique, to go to Mars. I dont think there would be any shortage of people willing to volunteer for the mission. Lindbergh was someone who was willing to risk everything because it was worth it. I dont think it will be hard to find another Lindbergh to go to Mars. That will be the easiest part of this whole program."
And like Apollo, such a mission would stimulate new technology and reinvigorate science. McLane feels a mission to Mars should be international in scope, encompassing contributions from multiple nations to represent a milestone for the whole human race.
I think people have forgotten how exciting the Apollo program was, and this would bring that excitement back," he said. And it wasnt just here in the US; the whole world was excited. This enthusiasm would be the greatest effect of a program that places a man on Mars, over and above anything else, whether it makes jobs, or stimulates the economy, or creates technology spinoffs. Were all humans and the idea of sending one of our kind on a trip like that would be a wonderful adventure for the entire world. The whole world would get behind it."
And the whole world would be watching, said McLane, so it wouldnt be as if the lone astronaut would be completely by himself. You would have constant communication," he said. The astronauts on the International Space Station have an army of people on earth keeping track of what they are doing. They really have no peace. Somebody is constantly planning and monitoring their activities. I dont think being lonely will be much of a problem on a mission to Mars."
Of course McLanes hope is the solo astronaut would be joined by others shortly in the future. Orbital mechanics provides a desirable launch window from Earth to Mars every 26 months. This person wouldnt be there by himself for very long. Its just returning home that would be impossible," he said. Another option McLane has offered is a one-man and one-woman crew, possibly creating an Adam and Eve-type situation.
Unmanned landers would carry living accommodations, supplies and communication equipment to Mars surface before the human mission would even launch. The best location on Mars would be a low, sheltered area, perhaps at the bottom of a canyon, which would provide protection from radiation and weather, as well as the highest possible atmospheric pressure.
While technical issues abound for even the simplest human mission to Mars, McLane says technical issues didnt deter the Apollo program, and they shouldnt deter a mission to another planet.
I can remember during the early days of the Apollo program, there were even many more technical issues than we face today in going to Mars," said McLane. People dont realize that, or have forgotten that fact. Several things were tremendous unknowns back then, any one of which could have been a showstopper for a human moon landing."
McLane said the early designers of the Apollo spacecraft gambled that in 3 or 4 years, high powered transistors and small guidance computers would be developed. That was the only way the spacecraft would be lightweight enough to land on the moon. It was almost science fiction, but someone thought it could be done in just a few years, and sure enough the technology was perfected in time to make the mission possible," he said.
While Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin and noted author and physicist Paul Davies have also advocated a one-way trip to Mars, in our risk-averse society most people look askance at such an idea.
Even though explorers in the past traveled, for example, to the south or north pole, knowing they might never return, and thousands of immigrants moved to the US in the 18- and 1900's, knowing they would never see their homeland again, the human psyche has seemingly changed enough that a one-way ticket off the planet is not acceptable. According to psychologist Molly Dooley from Springfield, IL, it might take a major crisis on Earth for humans to seriously consider such a mission. Usually its the disenfranchised that are willing to take those kinds of risks," she said. When our present situation no longer works for us, we become more willing to take risks. The difference between the folks who are interested and those who arent is their attachment to their current situation."
McLane says the main reason NASA hasnt been able to focus on a human mission to Mars is simple: NASA doesnt get nearly enough money. This has been the case for many years," he said. They didnt get enough money to fix problems with the shuttle, and theyve always been chronically short of money. How we fund NASA is a big handicap, since every year, NASA has to go begging to Congress for funds and justify their budget. The Chinese space program, on the other hand, has an advantage in that they budget their projects in five-year increments. If we really want to go somewhere, well have to change how NASA gets its money."
But McLane thinks NASA is at fault for not even considering a one-way mission to Mars. For over forty years theyve studied all sorts of options, but havent admitted to ever looking at a one-way mission to Mars," he said. We shouldnt be stuck on this rock forever. I believe its in our human nature to try to go somewhere else, and weve almost worn this world out. I think now is the time to reach out and go somewhere else to start with a clean slate. There is no reason not to try."
Another informative article(a bit old):
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/russia_mars_040510.html
Russian Space Chief Says Mars Mission Is Realistic
By Associated Press
MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia's new space agency chief said Monday that a manned mission to Mars in the near future is realistic provided funding is adequate, and appeared to express support for an ambitious plan to visit the planet within a decade, the Interfax news agency reported.
"The project is very interesting and I am not turning it down," Interfax quoted space agency chief Anatoly Perminov as saying in Berlin, apparently referring to a plan announced last month to send a six-man crew to Mars.
"Any project is flatly rejected by some and fully supported by others at first. We hold a fairly progressive, professional, neutral stance. We support it, and it should be further developed," he said.
Georgy Uspensky, a researcher at the Central Research Institute for Machine-Building, Russia's premier authority on space equipment design, said in April that it would carry out the project with funding promised by Aerospace Systems, a little-known private Russian company that says it draws no resources from the state budget.
Uspensky said the small US$3-5 billion budget for the mission reflected plans to use already developed spacecraft, and predicted it would happen around 2011-2013.
A spokesman for the Russia's Federal Space Agency said at the time that he had never heard of the project and that it would be impossible to implement with such a meager budget and in such a short time period.
Perminov, who took over as space agency chief in a government reshuffle in March, said the project should be international.
"It would be very difficult for one country to carry out such a program," Interfax quoted him as saying. He said a mission to Mars would require adequate funding.
Perminov said the Russian agency has discussed manned Moon and Mars projects with NASA, the U.S. space agency.
Earlier this year, U.S. President George W. Bush proposed a manned mission to Mars but did not set a timeline for such a trip, which American scientists believe would probably remain decades away.
...and perhaps the most interesting and relevant one:
http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/01858/text-only/manned_problems.html
Quest to Planet Mars - Man on Mars
Potential Problems Of A Manned Mission
Design of Mars-worthy spacecraft
Problem:
Winged spacecraft like the shuttle are clearly out as they are unreliable near home, as the two space shuttle disasters had shown us, what more about the unpredictable, wispy Mars atmosphere?
Solution:
Design of the spacecraft could be closer to the capsule model that has served the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs so well. A pod-like crew transfer vehicle to get astronauts to and from the space station and to take a little of the load off the shuttle have been designed by Boeing Aerospace and its design has won the backing of members of the U.S. Congress and the space community ever since the Columbia disaster resulted in the grounding of the entire shuttle fleet.
Journey to Mars
Problem:
A one-way flight to Mars from Earth would take roughly seven months and it is a journey that is both tedious and dangerous, given the amount of radiation that a spacecraft would be exposed to.
Solution:
Because of Mars' elliptical orbit, the distance between the Earth and Mars vary greatly. The two planets make a close approach every two years, providing a possible window for both outgoing and return flights. Ion propulsion and nuclear thermal propulsion can increase speed and cut down on travel time. Ion propulsion is a technology that involves ionizing a gas to propel a craft. Instead of a spacecraft being propelled with standard chemicals, the gas xenon is given an electrical charge, or ionized. It is then electrically accelerated to a speed of about 30 km/second. When xenon ions are emitted at such high speed as exhaust from a spacecraft, they push the spacecraft in the opposite direction (Newton's third law of force). However, the stream of ions produced by the engine is a thin one, therefore even a small ship takes a long time to accelerate. Nuclear thermal propulsion makes use of a larger reactor to superheat traditional fuel and blast it out the engine nozzle. Things will move faster with such an engine, but the engine would be heavier and cruder and the reactor will definitely cause jitters among the environmentalist. However the decision on whether that would be the preferred approach would involve many questions such as which technique might get the crew there the fastest (independent of how fuel efficient the trip might be) in order to reduce the radiation exposure and effects of long periods of near weightlessness. Heavy shielding could be used to protect the crew from the harmful radiation, but it will add to the overall weight of the spacecraft.
Food, water and fuel
Problem:
The Apollo missions to moon took no more than 12 days and one could fill up the tank and larder once before you left and carry along everything you need for the mission. However it would not be possible for a manned mission to Mars, considering the 14months of round-trip flight time between Mars and Earth and perhaps the one and a half year wait for the Earth-Mars alignment for the journey back to Earth.
Solution:
It could be possible to manufacture what is needed on Mars. If ice exists, it would be big news, because Martian water could be used for consumption, once purified. Also since water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen, it could be possible that decompose water to fill up the tanks of the spacecraft once it arrive on the Red Planet.
Another suggestion given by John Hoffman, a physicist at the University of Texas at Dallas who is working on a 2007 Mars probe is to send rockets up two years before people go, then robotically make water for an 18-month stay and fuel for the return journey.
If it is possible to make water, fuel and air on-site, then it would be possible to grow food. If the chemical samples like those onboard the Spirit prove that Mars soil is not poisonous, it would be a relatively straightforward job to assemble a greenhouse on Mars and grow crops there. 13 crops have been identified to be able to thrive in a space habitat including wheat, potatoes, Soya beans and salad green by Donald Henninger, a NASA chief scientist.
So GAF, what are your thoughts on this? Can it be done? How badly does everyone want to see this in their lifetime?? Do share! I know I do!! =)
Extra articles:
Bush proposal to send man to Mars: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3381531.stm
McCain would like to see a man on Mars: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080606111510.5jnz56gu&show_article=1
