The journey to Mars

25 years after the moon landing, space scientists have a detailed plan for how to realize a much more daring and complex goal: landing a manned spacecraft on Mars * safe flight to Mars - the astronauts will be protected by... water containers

The "Ares" spacecraft leaps from the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, behind it a trail of fire, driven by the thrust of 5 million kilograms, fired from an amplifier at a height of about 70 meters. The commander of the spaceship disconnects the first and second booster rocket from it. Three hours later, the spaceship, with a crew of six astronauts, is released from the Earth's gravity. Now she just needs to cruise towards her destined rendezvous with Mars.
Exactly 180 days later, after the crew members have eliminated about 40 kilograms of frozen meat roasts, the commander will prepare the spacecraft's external braking mechanism and direct "Ares" into the Martian atmosphere. If this maneuver fails, the spacecraft could crash and burn on the arid surfaces of the Red Planet. But everything will go well: the gravity of Mars will hug the spacecraft and direct it to an elliptical orbit. It will glide and make a soft landing not far north of Valais Marinaris. In the control center in Houston, everyone will hear the long-awaited announcement: "Houston, this is Wallace Marineris, Ares has landed."
What may sound like science fiction becomes reality. Only the years of one generation, 25 years, have passed since man managed to escape from the earth's gravity and put his foot for the first time on another celestial body. Today, as the world celebrates Apollo 11's success in landing on the moon, space scientists are striving to realize a much bolder and more complex goal: landing a manned spacecraft on Mars.
In 1989, President George Bush pledged that one day America would make a "journey to tomorrow". In response to his vision, NASA, the American space agency, stated that it was possible to reach Mars. According to their estimation, it will take 30 years and require an investment of 400 billion dollars. The high cost quickly curtailed the administration's interest in the project, and Congress reduced appropriations for the space agency. What remains of the ambitious plan to reach Mars is a handful of scientists who follow the research being carried out in academic institutions and industry.
Still, the dream of reaching Mars was not cancelled. A quasi-underground network of experts in all the fields necessary to carry out the mission to Mars continues with calculations, tests and cross-fertilization meetings. "We know what is needed to send a man to Mars and return him safely to Israel," says Robert Zubrin, an engineer at the aeronautics company "Martin Marietta", "and today we have the basic technology needed for this." All experts agree with this statement.
According to the old plan, the parts of the heavy spacecraft intended to reach Mars were supposed to be flown to a space station, where it would be assembled by 16-12 astronauts who would use the space station as a tester. The spaceship that will be assembled will be of enormous dimensions and will carry all the fuel necessary to reach Mars and back - but with such a weight it will not be able to land safely on the surface of Mars. Therefore, it will be equipped with a landing vehicle, which costs about one billion
dollar. Zubrin has, he says, a better idea. It is not required for space shuttles or space stations. Zubrin believes that one should do what America does well to do, what brought Neil Armstrong to the moon: "pick up and throw", in his words. The lift will be carried out by one of the giant American or Russian rockets - "Saturn" 5 or "Energy" - which will be called "Ares", the god of war in Greek mythology, whose Roman counterpart, Mars, is called Mars in dialect. "Venom" can be developed with the help of existing technology and parts, and with a relatively modest investment of 5 billion dollars.
The first missile to be launched will not be manned. It will contain a supply vehicle with six tons of liquid hydrogen, and a vehicle in the shape of a flattened cone, which in time will carry the astronauts out of Mars. A robot-truck operated from Israel will descend from the missile, carrying a nuclear reactor with a power of 130 horsepower. The nuclear reactor will activate a pump that will swallow the atmosphere of Mars. 95% of the air on Mars is carbon dioxide. When carbon dioxide combines with hydrogen - of which there will be six tons in the supply spacecraft - methane and water are formed.
Methane is rocket fuel. The water will be separated by an electrical process into its components, hydrogen and oxygen. Liquid oxygen is also rocket fuel.
The chemical plant that will be built will take advantage of the stay until the arrival of the astronauts, and will produce 108 tons of rocket fuel, an amount that is enough for the spacecraft that wants to return from Mars to Israel. Thus, a manned spacecraft that will make its way from Earth to Mars will not be required to carry fuel for the flight back - the cone spacecraft unloaded on Mars together with the fuel production plant will fill its tank with the fuel produced there. The spacecraft that will carry the crew from Earth will be light enough to make a soft landing on Mars, and for the giant "Saturn" 5 rocket to be able to "lift and throw" it into space, without needing the complicated construction and assembly of a special spacecraft on a space station. The gravity inside the capsule will be the one that prevails on Mars - 0.38 G. The scientists believe that it is better for the astronauts to get used to the gravity conditions at their destination, but they do not ignore the special problems that such gravity causes for those who are used to gravity that is about three times greater. The muscles weaken, including the heart muscles, and the bones lose their calcium content. To maintain bone structure and heart and lung function, the crew members will have to walk or jog on a walking device or ride an exercise bike for about four hours every day. Space biologists are convinced that the astronauts will not suffer. "Thanks to the Russian space station Mir, people have already been placed in zero gravity for longer periods of time than the flight to Mars," says Kent Josten, an engineer at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The journey may sound scary, but the spacecraft will sail without any problem to its destination. Thomas Meyer from the University of Colorado in Boulder explains that excellent guidance technology already exists, "and we have already performed fantastic demonstrations of guidance in space." For example, the targeting of the unmanned space probes launched to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, which are far beyond Mars.
On the way to Mars, the astronauts will sail through a sea of ​​steamy, raging radiation spewed from the Sun and other celestial bodies. Cosmic rays - the mystery of their origin has not yet been solved - can only be blocked with a steel partition several meters thick, and they are less dangerous than the tongues of fire that shoot from the sun. There is no assurance that the crew members will not suffer an injury that will cause genetic damage or cancer. Carl Papitzer, a radiation expert from McDonnell Douglas adds: "Those who ride this Roman candle to Mars will have other problems besides radiation."
To pass the time on the journey, a common room will be installed for the astronauts for meals and social and cultural activities, such as watching movies and listening to CDs. Each of them - women and men - will have their own room, with a bed and private toilets. They have already made sure that air flowing into the shower cabin will cause the water to fall on their bodies just like it does on Earth.
After 180 days of travel they will finally see the endless red expanses of Mars, its winding valleys, chasms and jagged cliffs. After two laps around the planet, the spacecraft will slow down and begin a slow descent, facing the blinking landing lights installed by the unmanned spacecraft. The intended landing site is at a high level, because there "is more air that absorbs the spacecraft", explains geologist Ronald Greeley from the University of Arizona.
The astronauts will maintain continuous radio contact with the country, and send data and voice messages - even if they travel at the speed of light, it will take them at least 20 minutes to reach the country. Thanks to an innovative laser system, which will be produced in the next decade, they will be able to transmit clear and sharp images of the landing, which will probably be broadcast all over the world. All are eager to get samples from the craters, where there were probably seas and lakes in the distant past, and to test if there was life on Mars. The astronauts may also look for natural treasures - aluminum, magnesium and iron. The researchers are confident that they will be able to grow hydroponic crops using the nitrogen, carbon and water of Mars.
NASA still regrets canceling the original plan, but no one disputes the merits of Zubrin's plan, which, by the way, costs less than the Apollo program. If Russia wants to participate, the expenses will be even lower. Sergei Gromov, a Russian missile expert, thinks it's just a question of money. "If they put 50 billion dollars on the table, we would reach Mars within ten years." Japan and EU countries may also want to participate in the conquest of Mars. Roja Bona from the European Space Agency believes that if one country declares its will - all the others will follow.
Do not think that the road to Mars is not fraught with dangers. Some are known, others will appear. In the meantime, even if the technology is accessible and the price is not that daunting, you need political backing and interest from the authorities, who will flow budgets and give the instruction. A new breakthrough into space will once again jump-start the high-tech industries and bring plenty of additional inventions and developments. The journey to Mars will perhaps answer the question of whether there has ever been life there, and indirectly whether man is the only intelligent animal in the solar system. It may even be possible to colonize Mars.
The Apollo program was driven by the Cold War, and the space race collapsed following the collapse of the Soviet Union. A journey to Mars will ultimately result from a desire to get to know the stars, to check the possibility of exploiting them and even settling on them.
 
  A safe flight to Mars is possible * The astronauts must be protected by huge water tanks  
11.12.2003
 
By: Yuval Dror, Haaretz, Walla and news agencies 
 
  
After decades of watching astronauts orbit the Earth, space visionaries have reason for optimism. NASA and other agencies are working with the White House on a new pattern of discoveries.
Among the targets will be Mars or the Moon - or whether at all one of the plans will take off remains to be seen. For space enthusiasts, just engaging with the mission definition will give reason for hope.

After the crash of the space shuttle "Columbia", the USA is considering its steps in the field of space exploration - should it return to missions to the moon or should it set a new goal: Mars. New measurements carried out by the Odyssey spacecraft, which has been orbiting Mars for the past two years, reveal that although the Martian atmosphere does not provide protection from cosmic radiation (unlike the Earth's atmosphere), it will be possible to send astronauts to the planet to explore the surface and return safely.

Researchers from the Biomedical Space Research Institute presented the new data at the American Geophysical Union conference, currently taking place in San Francisco. The main problem that the researchers examined is the level of radiation to which the astronauts will be exposed. According to Dr. Kari Zeitlin, the astronauts will be exposed on their journey to Mars and back - and on the surface of the planet - to a dose of radiation many times greater than the radiation to which astronauts working on the International Space Station orbiting the Earth are exposed. This is, in part, because while the space station spends six months, the journey to Mars and back will take almost three years.
It turns out that the radiation problem is one of the reasons that may prevent a trip to Mars. An article published in the "New York Times" claims that the average American is exposed to a radiation level of 350 millirams per year (a unit of measurement for the level of radiation absorbed by the body), as a result of exposure to airplanes, X-rays, television and even rocks that emit radiation (see diagram). The astronauts who flew nine days to the moon in the "Apollo 14" mission absorbed radiation of 1,140 millirams, equivalent to the exposure of three human years on Earth. The astronauts who spent 87 days on the International Space Station were exposed to 17,800 millirams of radiation, equivalent to the exposure of 50 human years on Earth. According to estimates, on the journey to Mars the astronauts will be exposed to radiation of 130,000 millirams (about 400 years of exposure to radiation on Earth).

"Such a large dose of radiation raises questions about its biological effects, and these have never been tested," Dr. Zeitlin told the BBC, adding that not only the level of radiation is problematic but also the type of radiation. "This is cosmic radiation, coming from all directions and from all ends of the galaxy." According to him, the intense cosmic radiation may cause new types of cancer, eye problems and damage to the nervous system. To try to illustrate the intensity of the radiation, the scientists said that the advanced electronic instruments installed on the surface of "Odyssea" to measure the radiation levels around Mars, was itself damaged by radiation in October, following the intense solar flares.

But Dr. Zeitlin claims that despite the findings, these are risks that can be dealt with and humans will be able to fly to Mars relatively safely. According to him, the astronauts will be able to protect themselves from the radiation if they use the caves and spaces on the surface of Mars. In addition, he suggests that the astronauts use special materials that they will bring from Earth, which will help them reduce the radiation around them. But even such a solution may turn out to be problematic.

On Earth, materials such as concrete or lead are used to protect against radiation, but the cost of flying them to Mars is enormous. That's why the scientists are checking if it is possible to protect the astronauts by surrounding them with a giant water bubble, which they will have to take with them on the long journey anyway.

Despite Dr. Zeitlin's statements, the first manned flight to Mars is probably still far away. NASA's chief scientist, John Grunsfeld, said that studies examining the possible damage caused by radiation to human cells will last at least five years.