Human mission to Mars is no longer just a sci-fi dream
The notion of landing astronauts on Mars has long been more fantasy than reality: The planet is, on average, 140 million miles from Earth, and its atmosphere isn’t hospitable to human life.
But a human voyage to the planet is now, for the first time, within the realm of possibility, according to space advocates inside and outside government. As a result, plans for a mission around the planet, and ultimately for lengthier stays, have been sprouting like springtime flowers.
More health and science news
Large bat collected in South Sudan belongs to a genus all its own
Researcher was drawnt to its “strikingly beautiful and distinct pattern of spots and stripes.”
Study finds women consider men with heavy stubble to be most attractive
Clean-shaven men looked about as healthy and attractive but bearded men were seen as better parents.
Experts disagree on which fats should be consumed and in what proportions
Nutritionists agree that unsaturated fats are better than saturated ones. Polyunsaturated fats score high.
The new momentum, some space experts say, comes from the successful landing of the large rover Curiosity in a Martian crater last year, the growing eagerness of space entrepreneurs to mount and fund missions to Mars and encouraging new data about the radiation risks of such an expedition.
NASA says it hopes to land astronauts on the planet within the next two decades, and the agency is developing a heavy-lift rocket and a new space capsule to achieve this goal. It has even established an optimal time frame for this event — in the early 2030s, when the very different orbits of the two planets brings them closest to each other.
The challenges of space technology — including how to keep astronauts alive en route and on the planet — as well as government support and funding remain daunting, but the goal of landing humans on Mars is seeming less and less like a pipe dream.
“A human mission to Mars is a priority, and our entire exploration program is aligned to support this goal,” said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.
NASA has “overcome the technical challenges of landing and operating spacecraft on Mars” robotically, Bolden said. “We’re developing today the technologies needed to send humans to Mars in the 2030s.”
‘Human destiny’
With both the promise and the obstacles in mind, Bolden and other top NASA planners, rocket developers and scientists, as well as leaders from the commercial space industry and organizations and agencies abroad will meet Monday at a conference at George Washington University. Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon in 1969, will be a keynote speaker at the three-day gathering. He has just written a book that he refers to as a manifesto laying out the reasons humans can and should set their sights on not only landing on Mars but also setting up a permanent settlement there.
It is “human destiny” to explore space and settle on other planets, he writes in “Mission to Mars,” which is being released this week. He has his own step-by-step plans on how to accomplish a Mars campaign, but he makes room for others as well.
“Our world isn’t just Earth anymore, and we need to get much more serious about that,” Aldrin said in an interview, adding that the leaders who take us to Mars and the pioneers who inhabit it “will go down in human history as heroes and be honored for thousands and thousands of years.”
A Plymouth or Jamestown colony on Mars is by all accounts a distant goal, but the timetable for sending humans there for a quick orbit and return to Earth, or even a landing on one of its moons, could be considerably faster.
Discussion Policy | FAQ | About Discussions | About Badges
91
Comments
5:17 AM GMT+0800
The whole idea is absurd. Visions of being on other planets and comments about "human destiny" arise from the fanatasies of Sci-fi and the images from Star Wars (and others) unrelated to real life. Even the photograph that accompanies the article projects an image of being outside in a Sandy desert like place, complete with beautiful sun and breeze; a bit like being in Southern Utah. The reality is that of being shut into a closed space with perpetual back ground noise of pumps and filters and cumbersome suits that protect the frail body from the harsh temperature, atmosphere conditions of Mars..... for years on end. Solitary confinement until the end! The romantics draw parallels to the spirit of the explorers who left their home shores to seek new adventures and fortunes in the New World, quite forgetting that the similarity is forced. Those who went exploring the unknown reaches of the Earth did not have to concern themselves with basics such as Oxygen. A manned trip to Mars starts with that. Spending time and money on human travel to Mars is a sheer waste. Robots can be sent and controlled and can be useful for both science and if needed/available for mining and transporting resources.
5:21 AM GMT+0800
I'm beginning to think this is something you might not enjoy. Am I right?
5:32 AM GMT+0800
If it was up to Sameerray, humanity would still be living in trees in Africa.
View all comments »
Add your comment | Reply to a comment | Recommend a comment | Report an offensive comment
More from The Washington Post
Sponsored Headlines
