Travelling to another planet is referred to interplanetary spaceflight. The term is usually used when travelling to a planet within the same planetary system (Fisher 1). The human race has made tremendous strides in space exploration. Man has made it to the moon and back, which was a great achievement for science as well as the human race. Man may not have stepped onto another planet yet, but significant achievements have been made in interplanetary exploration. There have been explorations using probes that have flown by every planet in the solar system. The New Horizons recently flew by the dwarf planet Pluto. The probe sent back spectacular photographs that were seen all over the world. The Dawn spacecraft is currently orbiting the Dwarf planet Ceres (NASA).
Planetary orbiters are more efficient in collecting information compared to flybys. There have been many other space missions that have either orbited planets or asteroids. Other spacecraft include NEAR Shoemaker, and Hayabusa. Mars has been of special interest to scientists. There have been remotely controlled landers that have been to missions to Mars. Such include Viking, Pathfinder, and the Mars Exploration Rovers. There have been no manned missions to other planets so far (NASA).
Interplanetary travel is very risky and expensive. There are those that agree that interplanetary travel for human beings is important, while others believe that it is not. Equipment failure is one of the main concerns of interplanetary travel. Those that oppose mention examples such as the Mars 96, Beagle 2 and Deep space 2. Once there is damaging and irreparable equipment failure in space, the losses are large. In addition to the costs incurred, there are the safety concerns of the crew. If the equipment fails, it increases the chance of the crew’s death.
It has been 25 years since humans walked on the moon. Currently, there are other plans that astronauts are working on, which is to get to Mars. There are plans to go to Mars, and there are many that are working on the problems that will possibly be encountered. Travelling to the moon presented a big challenge. However, Mars is much further away, which makes the problems to solve even more. Additionally, the earth takes 365 days to revolve around the sun. However, it takes Mars 687 days to revolve. Therefore, when the spacecraft is taking off from earth, the rockets have to point to the same direction as where Earth and Mars are moving (Fisher 1). The engines have to be powerful enough to match up Mars’ orbit. Additionally, if the estimated time to Mars is nine months, the crew should not aim directly at the current position of Mars. Instead, the rocket should be headed where Mars will be in 9 months.
Astronauts need to be highly skilled people since the missions they take part in a very expensive and very sensitive. There are months and even years of preparation of the missions to space. Astronauts have to be well chosen since once the spacecraft leaves Earth, there is nothing else out there. It would be up to the astronauts to figure out problems and solve them if they want to survive (Fisher 2).
The environment in Mars
Scientists believe that there was once life on Mars. It may have been a concept that was popularly spread by science fiction writer, but scientist have found evidence that water used to flow on the planet since there is evidence of valleys. There have been observations of water existing on the planet in the form of ice and minerals. It indicates that Mars in the past had conditions that could hold life. Therefore, if there is water in the underground, then it is very likely that life in the form of microbes may still exist (Mateo-Marti 234). Not all organisms need sunlight or oxygen like most species on earth. However, the most common factor wherever life exists is that there is water in every part where there is life. Therefore, if water exists in the underground, where there are higher temperatures, then it is possible that life still survives there.
Therefore, perhaps it is possible for the human race to colonize Mars and establish life once again. The most important part of a planet is its atmosphere. The earth's atmosphere provides the necessities that the living organisms need to breathe. Mars' atmosphere is too thin, however. Additionally, 95 percent of its atmosphere is made up of carbon dioxide, which cannot be useful to humans. The atmosphere also helps in reflecting dangerous radiation from the sun. Mars’ atmosphere us not thick enough to protect humans from the dangerous radiation (Fisher 2).
For every human being, there need to be certain conditions necessary for survival. The human body is only adapted for the earthly conditions. Millions of years of evolution have only enabled humans to live in Earth-like conditions. For us as humans, there is the need for food, water and oxygen. These can be considered as inputs. Mars is, therefore, a hostile environment that cannot accommodate the survival of human beings. Firstly, the temperatures are far too low, and the air is too thin. The supply of oxygen would be far too low (NASA Quest). Finally, there is no supply of water on Mars. The conditions on Mars are not encouraging in setting up a space colony. To set up a space colony, there needs to be a constant supply of food and water, construction material, people, energy, transportation, gravity and radiation protection.
Another challenge for human beings in the exploration of Mars is the climate on the planet. The average temperature on Mars is about -50 degrees Celsius. Like Earth, Mars also tilts, and therefore has seasons. It means that in the winter, it gets even colder. There are also dust storms on Mars. Despite the air on Mars being thin, it is still strong enough to produce winds that cause sand storms. The storms have been a challenge even for the operating rovers currently on Mars (NASA Quest).
Astronauts would also have to deal with the high radiation on the planet. The amount of radiation is not lethal. However, extended exposure could cause harm. Finally, there is the journey to Mars. The journey would take about nine months. The explorers have to make sure that the equipment they travel in is well developed to sustain life for the whole of the journey. Thousands of hours of training have to be done before the actual mission begins. The training takes time and has high costs.
Necessities to survive
The people living there will also need to figure out a way to extract water from the underground. Since there is no air, the water can be used to generate oxygen that is necessary for human beings to breathe. The oxygen can be produced through hydrolysis that separates the oxygen from the hydrogen. There is also the need to produce enough water to prevent dehydration. The water can be recycled from the wastes from plants and human beings. The plants can give out the oxygen while humans give out the excess carbon dioxide. Urine can also be recycled to reclaim the water. There should be no drop of water that goes to waste. Currently, NASA uses the Environmental Control and Life Support System (NASA). The system recovers water from everywhere, including sweat, urine and other forms.
Humans will also need to be able to eat and therefore, packing enough food is necessary. Since the mission to the planet will take long, the food needs to be in large supply. There needs to be a way to grow food. The plants cannot be grown outside like here on earth. The environmental conditions are not favourable for their growth. The bacteria necessary for plant growth would have to come from Earth. There are no microorganisms on Mars’ surface. Therefore, the bacteria would have to be cultured carefully and planted into the Martian soil.
The people living there can produce power with the use of solar panels. Mars holds the resources to make solar panels, which are carbon and hydrogen, which are necessary for the manufacture of silicon cells. The cells are used in the manufacture of photovoltaic solar panels and other electronics (Tourneux 3). Since Mars has an atmosphere, humans living there can generate wind power, which is renewable along with the solar energy. Power could also come from a Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG) that converts heat from the radioisotopes to efficient electrical energy (NASA). Such would also have to come from earth since mining on Mars will, of course, not have started yet.
The sun us also an important source of energy; and as mentioned earlier; humans need food to be able to survive on the planet. Electrical power is not nearly enough to help with the photosynthesis of all the plants on the planet. Therefore, humans have to find a way to enable plants to grow on Mars. Mars' atmosphere is enough to protect the plants from solar flares. Therefore, inflatable and thin-walled greenhouses can be useful in protecting the plants from the elements (NASA Quest). The walls of the greenhouses can be protected using the UV-resistant plastic shield domes. Domes that are50-100 meters are enough to hold the favourable atmosphere the plants need. The domes can trap the air as well as the right amount of temperature for the plants.
The construction material would be necessary to build housing that will protect humans from the external elements as well as maintain the necessary conditions set inside necessary for survival such as the Earth –like atmosphere. The air pressure on Mars is also very low. Therefore, the housing needs to be pressurized so that those that are inside can breathe normally. The oxygen levels would also have to be regulated to avoid less oxygen that would lead to suffocation as well as excess oxygen, which is still harmful (NASA). There has to be an efficient control system that constantly monitors the atmosphere to ensure that all the gases are well balanced. Human beings also breathe out carbon dioxide. Therefore, there has to be a system that absorbs the gas.
Mars has elements in abundance, just like Earth. Elements such as sulphur and sulphur are presents. Furthermore, Mars had volcanic activity taking place in the past before its core cooled. Therefore, there may be elements that were brought several minerals to the surface that may of be importance (Fisher 3). The volcanic activity may have brought high-grade mineral ore in certain areas. The mineral can be used to manufacture the basic needs that humans need and even further construction on the planet.
There is a lot of preparation that has to go in preparing a trip to Mars. There have to be thousands of simulations and practice. This is necessary since humans cannot exactly go back and forth to assess the situation. There are no stations or garages that one can stop over to make repairs. Everything has to be perfect. If humans are to set up a colony on Mars, there are additional challenges to the technicalities. For Mars to be economically sustainable, humans would have to multiply in millions to enable productions and activities such as mining and farming. Some equipment and manpower would have to come from the planet earth. In such as case, there have to be extensive analysis, such as if Earth gives away a certain commodity to Mars, what does Mars bring back? Will Earth have to incur the cost for some time? And for how long? The necessary labour required that the Martian colonists need to establish an economical exchange between perhaps them and Earth would be high.
Space exploration is an issue that has been up for debate for some time. Politicians have particularly been under the spotlight for the issue since it brings up questions of whether or not there is are any benefits of space exploration since it is very expensive. There are no current economic benefits to space exploration apart from the discovery of new things. Others may believe that it is highly dangerous unnecessarily since some of the things can still be done using probes. It is, therefore, not necessary to send people up in space. However, probes are not the same as humans. A probe can have all the equipment available in analysing all the necessary aspects of the mission, but cannot adapt to situations as humans can (Mateo-Marti 234).
Therefore, landing on Mars will be a great achievement for the human race since it will unlock many mysteries that the universe holds and have yet to be discovered. The trip may be expensive, but as human beings, we always want to discover more. This involves going beyond what has ever been done. Mars has always held certain mysteries for humankind. It is important that they are known because perhaps Mars may be the next home for the human race to survive on; and after that, perhaps another place, such as a moon revolving around Jupiter.
Work Cited
Fisher, Diane. “Packing for a L-o-o-o-ng Trip to Mars.” The Technology Teacher (2001): 1-4. Print.
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Mateo-Marti, Eva. “Planetary Atmosphere and Surfaces Chamber (PASC): A Platform to Address Various Challenges in Astrobiology.” Challenges (2014): 5: 213-233. Print.
May, Sandra. What Is a Spacesuit? 12 Feb. 2015. http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-is-a-spacesuit-58.html. 24 4 2016. <http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-is-a-spacesuit-58.html>.
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Tourneux, Michel. "Solar panels." U.S. Patent No. 4,336,413. 22 Jun. 1982.
