Around the 2020s and 2030s it's expected that a manned mission to Mars will take place. Throughout the 20th into 21st century a manned mission to the red planet has always been a subject of science fiction, engineering, and scientific proposals.
Plans for mission to Mars involve discovering for life and finding out whether humanity holds a future among the stars. Since the Apollo missions NASA has stopped going to the moon and can barely reach low-earth orbit.
For decades there have already been many proposals for a mission to Mars.
For example, when the first George Bush was president, he launched the Space Exploration Initiative which resulted in NASA's 90-day report.
This included a plan to complete a space station, returning to the moon and building a permanent base followed by a manned mission to Mars. However, the plan never took place and disappeared as it came.
Why Mars is Important?
However, if we live on Mars as well as Earth humanity has much better chance of survival as we will have to planets. If one is destroyed we will still have another planet. There are many threats out there in space, from asteroids, to gamma ray bursts, supernovas etc.
According to the theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking humanity will not be able to survive the next thousand years if humanity does not expand into space.
Mars is closest planet to the Earth with enough resources to be habitable to the human species. It has a 24 hour day which is necessary for growing plants and all the minerals needed to support life.
Colonization of Mars would also open up an abundance of resources including ores and other valuable resources for humanity. It will also conserve the limited resources back on Earth which would eventually deplete.
Furthermore, the Earth is already over populated. There are over 7 billion people on this small planet. If every person in the world were to live the lifestyle of an average American you would need four Earth's to provide resources to support them. By extracting the resources on Mars we would have enough resources to completely abolish poverty.
The red planet is vital for the human race is that it has been long speculated that there is life on Mars. Photos from probes and rovers on Mars have given us evidence that there could be or could before been life on Mars. Unmanned Spacecraft orbiting Mars have taken photos which show evidence that there were once rivers and oceans on Mars that have now disappeared.
It will also bring forth tremendous innovations in technology which will further help in our colonization of space. Many entrepreneurs such as Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX dream of eventually building a city on Mars ushering an age when humnanity is a multi-planet dwelling species. It will also bring about trillions of dollars to a country's economy as there is abundance of resources in space.
Aside from survival of the human race and economic benefits, the exploration of Mars will also answer one of the most important questions?
Is there life on other planets?
Evidence of ancient streams and rivers have astonished scientists, and there is possibility that Mars was once a world covered with water just like Earth over a billion years ago or so.
However, it is not known how a world like Mars ended up a cold dead planet it is today.
Challenge of Getting There
There are many challengers of getting Mars. Some of them are technical while others are financial and political.
Lets first focus on the financial problems of getting there. First of all, it is extremely expensive to get to Mars. It costs billions of dollars just to get a spacecraft up to Earth's orbit. It will certainly be even more expensive to get humans to Mars. Even with our most modern manned spacecraft including the space shuttle, it still very expensive.
Fortunately, though many innovative people are finding ways of making space travel cheaper and more sustainable.
They include Peter Diamandis, an entrepreneur and innovator who co-founded the Xprize Foundation, the Zero Gravity Corporation, Space Adventures, Planetary Resources and many other companies.
For example, SpaceShipTwo from Virgin Galactic which will be provide space flights for tourists will drastically reduce the cost of travelling to Earth's orbit.
SpaceX's is Falcon 9 rockets are reusable launch vehicles which cost $61 million to build and $200000 per launch.
As it is reusable each launch after the first one will only cost $200k which is very cheap for space travel.
Fortunately, though many innovative people are finding ways of making space travel cheaper and more sustainable.
They include Peter Diamandis, an entrepreneur and innovator who co-founded the Xprize Foundation, the Zero Gravity Corporation, Space Adventures, Planetary Resources and many other companies.
For example, SpaceShipTwo from Virgin Galactic which will be provide space flights for tourists will drastically reduce the cost of travelling to Earth's orbit.
SpaceX's is Falcon 9 rockets are reusable launch vehicles which cost $61 million to build and $200000 per launch.
As it is reusable each launch after the first one will only cost $200k which is very cheap for space travel.
Another challenge is the extraordinary distance between Earth and Mars. The furthest we've ever went to was the moon, 200,000 miles from the Earth.
In its closest alignment with Earth, Mars is about 55 million miles away. At its furthest alignment from Earth it is over 250 million miles away.. With our present technology it will take at least 6 months to travel from Earth and Mars at its closest. The total journey time could take between 150 and 300 days.
In its closest alignment with Earth, Mars is about 55 million miles away. At its furthest alignment from Earth it is over 250 million miles away.. With our present technology it will take at least 6 months to travel from Earth and Mars at its closest. The total journey time could take between 150 and 300 days.
This raises the second problem: Will astronauts travelling to Mars be able to cope with psychological effects and isolation during mission? They will be a very long way from home and would have to live and sleep in a spacecraft for six months on their trip to Mars. Sending messages from Earth would also take a long time to reach Mars.
At its closest alignment signals can take approximately 3 minutes to reach Mars and at its furthest 40 minutes. This means if there is any problem or issue in the mission astronauts will have to probably have to deal with it all by themselves.
However, despite being in space by themsevles, astronauts will not be completely alone. They will have the whole world waiting for them to set man's first steps on Mars.
In addition, many of the great explorers have past have faced harsh conditions without any help, such as expeditions to Antarctica where many crewmen died. Astronauts will likely have lots of supplies and entertainment during their trip.
At its closest alignment signals can take approximately 3 minutes to reach Mars and at its furthest 40 minutes. This means if there is any problem or issue in the mission astronauts will have to probably have to deal with it all by themselves.
However, despite being in space by themsevles, astronauts will not be completely alone. They will have the whole world waiting for them to set man's first steps on Mars.
In addition, many of the great explorers have past have faced harsh conditions without any help, such as expeditions to Antarctica where many crewmen died. Astronauts will likely have lots of supplies and entertainment during their trip.
A third problem during their journey astronauts may have to face deadly radiation from solar flares and also cosmic rays, which exposure to can increase the risk of cancer.
Nonetheless, according to Dr Robert Zubrin who wrote the book the Case for Mars, which I strongly recommend for anyone who wants to learn more about a manned mission to Mars, the risk of cancer is only increased by about 1% which is low compared to someone who smokes, and whose risk of cancer is increased by about 20%.
Nonetheless, according to Dr Robert Zubrin who wrote the book the Case for Mars, which I strongly recommend for anyone who wants to learn more about a manned mission to Mars, the risk of cancer is only increased by about 1% which is low compared to someone who smokes, and whose risk of cancer is increased by about 20%.
How a Mission to Mars May Take Place?
Many plans have been made for a manned mission to Mars, although none have been put into action. This is due to the high cost of these plans. The NASA's 90 Day Report, for example would have cost $450 billion which is very expensive.
Fortunately, many private space companies such as SpaceX and also other space agencies across the world such as the Indian Space Agency are working on reducing the cost of launching spacecraft. This could help reduce the cost of a Mars mission.
This raises the question, would a future manned Mars mission be carried out by a private space company or the government. In my opinion, a manned mission should be carried out by a government space agency, but all the equipment and resources should be supplied by the private sector.
Fortunately, many private space companies such as SpaceX and also other space agencies across the world such as the Indian Space Agency are working on reducing the cost of launching spacecraft. This could help reduce the cost of a Mars mission.
This raises the question, would a future manned Mars mission be carried out by a private space company or the government. In my opinion, a manned mission should be carried out by a government space agency, but all the equipment and resources should be supplied by the private sector.
In September 2016 Elon Musk has announced a plan of taking humans to Mars called the Interplanetary Transport System . Below is animation which shows how his plan would work.
Are we ready for a manned mission to Mars?
A manned mission to Mars may take place place between the late 2020s and 2030s. However, it may even be earlier as Spacex plans to land on Mars in 2022.
Nevertheless, there are still many people who disagree that are ready to go to Mars.
However, despite all the challenges progress is being made and we are gradually getting closer to a manned mission to mars.
