Solar System - Mars - Part 2 (travel)

Note: This post is a result of a query posted regarding travel to Mars. Not sure if it helps clarify. Only Naari can tell . For you @Naari
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Before responding to the query let us learn a bit about how the current spaceships are sent to Mars.

Though Mars is our neighbor, the planet is not always close to us. Just as we (Earth) go around the Sun, so does Mars. Mars’ orbit (lane) is further away from the Sun than ours; so it has a longer distance to travel. It takes 687 Earth days for Mars to make one orbit. That is almost once every 26 Earth months.

It is natural to think that is the best time to travel. After all the shortest route would mean saving on time and fuel, isn’t it?

Well, this is interplanetary travel and things don’t quite work the same way in space as they do on Earth.

The best way is to use the momentum from planet Earth at an arc and then the Suns’ gravity will do the major work for us “pulling” us towards it. We would travel around the Sun in an arc and then reach Mars, almost sneak upon it from behind the planet. This is known as the Hoffman transfer.


This YouTube video will explain what this is.


The Indian mission Magalyan used less fuel and circumnavigated the Earth multiple times gaining momentum with each revolution around the Earth and then moving on.


Image courtesy: quora.com

Research is ongoing to use more efficient methods – using less fuel and faster travel to shorten the duration of the trips.

Now the question:

Why travel to Mars.

image courtesy: nasa.gov.

The human penchant - Wandering, Exploring, Discovering.

Humans have always been a curious lot. That is our inherent nature. That’s how we are made – we are wanderers, we love to explore, we discover, we invent.

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  • First we traveled only over land.
  • Then we wondered if we could move over water. We built ships.
  • Soon we wanted to fly and we did.

The heavens have always been an enigma to us. We have questioned everything that we see; we needed answers that have always puzzled us. That is our spirit.
There was this bright white thing in the sky which would wax and wane every month. We wanted to find out more about it. So we traveled to it - the moon.

Now we want to push a little further. We want to try and go to the next planet. The other neighbor closer to the sun, Venus, seems very harsh and inhospitable. So we set our sights outside.

There was Mars. It seemed like a good place to start.

Can we do it?

This question always will remain. We always doubted our ability to achieve

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  • At first crossing the ocean to another continent was scary. Folks had their doubts. But we did it.
  • Could we defy gravity and fly? We did it.
  • But then moon is so far away! Could we go there? We certainly could and did.

Apart from just the human nature to explore, there is also a necessity to improve space travel.

In the event that humans still exist in the next many million years (without being erased off Earth by global warming), they could face the natural danger of our Earth turning into an inhabitable planet.

We know our moon is moving away from us and that our Earth’s spin is getting slower. At one point the Earth’s spin will be so slow that it will not help in generating the Magnetosphere, our protective shield.

There could be other catastrophic events too - A large meteor, comet, Asteroid - anything may come and wipe out life on Earth.

In that event we need to escape from Earth so that this elusive thing called life, which seems to be present only on Earth today, may continue to exist.

Space travel becomes imperative to help life move out of the inhabitable Earth to places that could be conducive to its existence.

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That said, Mars/space travel is not easy.

Here are a few of the difficulties and dangers.

Distance.

Despite being our neighbor at about 55 million km at the closest encounter, traveling to Mars will take anywhere between six to nine months, or even longer.

Radiation

The most dangerous problem astronauts will be facing is radiation, which causes cancer.

There are two types of radiation. The first type comes from the sun. The solar particles are made up of mainly protons. However these protons are of low energy and their penetration can be easily prevented by the spacecraft itself.

The second and most dangerous radiation comes from interstellar galactic cosmic rays. They are mostly protons too; however they contain all the elements from helium to the heavier metals. These will knock of atoms from the structures they strike – the spacecraft, the space suit, and even the astronaut. Pretty soon the area will be full of sub-atomic particles causing secondary radiation which is lethal.

Currently a lot of research is being conducted to create a material that will shield the astronauts from the intergalactic radiation, which will be lightweight, and also not add payload.

Lack of Gravity

The effects of lack of gravity during the nine months of travel to Mars will have our bones deteriorate fast.
Not just bones, our circulatory system could also get whacky. Our heart is so designed that it works hard against gravity to send blood to our head. Now imagine the long term effects when it does not have to work that hard. It gets to become a couch-potato too!

In fact studies are currently going on aboard the ISS on the long-term effects of a zero gravity environment.

Logistics of travel

Travel itself is a detriment when it comes to going on a trip to Mars. Imagine being cooped up in a bus for nine months with nothing to do and nothing to see outside the spacecraft.

The amount of food, clothing, oxygen, water, and fuel needed just for travel would be so enormous that the payload would shoot up.

The psychological damages to the human brain on the confinement and loneliness could be irrevocable.

Survival on Mars

In addition to the lack of gravity and exposure to radiation other problems exist.

It takes about 20 minutes for messages to come from Mars. It would take about 40 minutes just for messages to be relayed to Earth and to receive instructions. This could put lives at risk in case an emergency situation arises when on Mars.

Supplies – there is no way one could get supplies from Earth should the astronauts run short on any one.

Martian soil

The soil on planet Mars has been subject to billions of years of exposure to solar and galactic radiation. While the soil itself is not radioactive, the radiation has created the toxic contaminant known as “perchlorates” which are a highly oxidized chlorine.

The latest findings, July 2017, have proved that these perchlorates could be harmful to bacteria that exist on the surface of Mars when the bacteria come in contact with ultraviolet radiation that enter the ozone-free Martian atmosphere.

Until this problem is solved, and Martian soil made safe, it is not possible to grow our own food on the planet.

Contamination of the astronauts’ living quarters by bringing in even the smallest amount of Martian soil and fine dust that could adhere to space suits and boots.

Water

While water has been detected on the planet, and is suspected to be present beneath the surface also, it sure cannot be potable. Scientists need to find out how, if water is truly found, to convert it to one that can be safely used.

Till then the only solution would be to recycle and purify the water that astronauts take with them. Research is going on the ISS on how to use, conserve, and recycle water.

Returning to Earth

As if all these problems are not enough, there is this huge problem of returning to Earth from Mars. Scientists are working hard to figure out how they are going to bring the astronauts back to Earth.

For the spacecraft to lift off from Mars, a tremendous amount of fuel is required, about 33 tons of propellant. It is impossible to take this amount of fuel from the Earth as it would require immense energy to lift off this huge mass.

The propellants have to be made on Mars. The carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen present on the planet need to be converted to methane and liquid oxygen to be used as the propellant.

Contamination of Earth

There is another possibility that the spacecraft could harbor some of Mars’ contaminants and bring them to Earth. We are not sure the nature of these contaminants and what damage they could cause to our environment.

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NASA is building the spacecraft “Orion” in collaboration with all other space agencies of the world.

Some solutions to some of the problems have been proposed.

One of them is the problem of how to build the rocket that takes off from Mars to return the astronauts to Earth. The proposed solution is to take along the MAV (Mars Ascent Vehicle) on the onward journey and to travel in it on the return journey. NASA calls this a mission within a mission.

Space travel is not a gimmick; however it is not a certainty, though NASA aims to send humans to Mars in the year 2030. Can we find solutions to all the problems in the next twelve years? We do not know. We can only work harder and hope.

One day humans will travel to other planets and stars and galaxies. We may not be alive to see that day.
They may invent better technology. Humans might evolve into highly intelligent beings, they may also evolve into a species that can withstand radiation. They may even look different

Thank you.

(I wrote this article after reading multiple sources, books, and after long discussions with a few NASA scientists. Therefore this is not just my opinion.)

 

@Naari
Thank you so much for the lovely compliment Naari.
Glad I answered your query.

And thanks a ton for your other questions.
Can I respond on Monday? I am having weekend guests and am getting stuff ready.
I came to acknowledge, as it would look rude if I went silent for two days in a row.
See you Monday.

 

Hi @Naari
I read more about the MAV and found out that carrying the MAV on the onward journey was just one of the proposals.
There is another proposal to taking the MAV to Mars.

I found it in this article - How Will We Get Off Mars?

However, do not quote me on anything please. Right now a lot of ideas are being worked on I am sure.
When the final design comes out we will know.

 

Thank you @justanothergirl .
I was amazed when I learned about all the problems that travel to Mars poses. Our safe cocoon, Mother Earth, needs to be appreciated and well taken care of. Also the question, why did life form at all, with all its systematic functions to adapt and survive, keeps popping up the more we learn about the other worlds.
So humbling.

 

Thank you @SunPa .
You really made my day yesterday when I read the quoted lines. Sorry I had to rush off to an early am appointment I could not respond.

As for the reminder of your comments I have responded here Adda Da Hangout!.
It is a long post, so please bear with me.