Quote:
Originally Posted by CDG
Franklin Chang Díaz is a pioneer. As a child, he dreamed of going into space. As an adult, he made his wish come true. Diaz was the first naturalized U.S. citizen from Latin America to become an astronaut. After making seven trips into space, the MIT-educated Díaz retired from NASA and set his sights on speeding up the journey to Mars. A trip using chemical-powered rockets takes nine months—Díaz has developed a plasma-propelled engine that he says will cut the journey down to just over one month. We visit Ad Astra Rocket Company in Webster, Texas, to see the project Díaz has been working on for 40 years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiBVs9ZwA-Q |
Very cool but... Mars surface has serious radiation levels as well. Many times Earth’s and if we are only now finding out about the moon... maybe much, much higher? The astronauts would have to be protected at all times, not only while in space but the whole time..
It is supposed to be a one way ticket for first settlers? So a life in space suit forever, if that is even possible? Materials that are delivered ahead of time to construct shelter by 3D printers or by astronauts themselves? How about a sustainable food supply for the rest of their lives?
I don’t see a solution other than robotic construction of protective shelter ahead of arrival of humans there.
I think a mission to Mars is a pipe dream for now. Probably not in our natural lifetimes.
Way too many challenges to overcome. People manage to perish getting lost on our own planet which is a paradise by comparison.