NASA plans to fly a man to the Red Planet
The man will go to Mars, presumably, in the 2030s. This historic moment will come after scientists find ways to protect astronauts from radiation, minimize the detrimental impact on the health of a long space flight and provide researchers with everything necessary for life on the Red Planet. This was stated by the representative of NASA Greg Williams at the summit of Human to Mars in Washington. Before that, in 2027, NASA is planning an annual mission of flights around the moon - several astronauts will be in the orbit of the Earth's satellite during the year.
Stages of a long way
The representative of NASA Greg Williams told me what tasks need to be done to send a person to Mars. At the last Human to Mars summit in Washington, he said that before people go on such a long journey, NASA plans a one-year mission of flying around the moon: several astronauts will be in orbit around the moon for a year. The mission will start in 2027, Williams said.
NASA expects to use the Moon's orbit as a launching pad for a mission that will travel to Mars, but the annual round-moon flights have another important goal: testing the space ship Deep Space Transport.
Preparing the flight to Mars will take place in four stages. The first is research and testing of technologies (work is already under way). The second phase is the sending to the Moon of five vehicles, four of them with a crew (can last until 2026). Lunar orbit will be sent power equipment for the station, residential blocks, research equipment, a lock chamber for docking and a manipulator. The third stage, which is likely to take place at the end of the 2020s, is a one-year flight around the Moon. And finally, the fourth is the human expedition to Mars, which may take place already in the mid-2030s.
Look closer
NASA consultant Mike Fuller at the summit of Human to Mars said that they can include the first flights to the Red Planet. According to him, it is worth considering the possibility of landing on the satellite of Mars, Phobos, in order to study the Red Planet from a relatively short distance.
It is too early to talk about other details of the mission. Especially since the first problems have already appeared. According to Williams, the delivery of the devices was supposed to begin about a year with the help of an ultra-heavy SLS booster. However, NASA announced the correction of testing plans for the new missile. Its first test launch will take place only in 2019.
Mundane needs
The problem of nutrition, that is, the necessary supplies of food and water, still remains relevant. Collected for many years, the materials analyzed by experts indicate that, judging by the remaining withered beds, once upon a time on Mars were the rivers. Reserves of water, probably, can be in the bowels of the planet. Proximity to such locations is one of the parameters that scientists take into account, choosing the place of possible landing of both robotic and living researchers of the Red Planet. If the water reserves are still there, perhaps the astronauts will be able to provide themselves with it.
In addition, the issue of food reserves has not yet been resolved. Researchers conduct experiments, studying the possibilities of cultivating edible plants in space. At the ISS, experimenting with planting salad, and scientists on Earth, imitating the Martian soil, look at how potatoes and other crops would grow in such conditions.
While the research is in full swing. NASA warns that the stages of the mission are only outlined and it is possible that the dates of its implementation will not once shift, but the tasks will be changed and refined.
Share:
Interesting articles:
- • By 2026, NASA plans to send a mission to prevent the asteroid threat
- • The international team of astrophysicists advanced its theory about 12 black holes
- • A super-earth with a size of only 5 earth masses
