Human mission to Mars
A human mission to Mars entails sending astronauts to the surface of the planet with plans for their safe return to Earth. Mars, the fourth planet from the sun, is often regarded as a prime candidate for human exploration due to its proximity and similarities to Earth. However, various challenges complicate this endeavor, including Mars' lack of an ozone layer, its thin and unstable atmosphere, and the lengthy duration of travel. The average temperature on Mars is significantly colder than on Earth, further complicating potential colonization efforts.
Mars is notable for its geological features, including vast volcanoes and polar ice caps, which suggest that it may have once harbored liquid water—a critical factor in the search for extraterrestrial life. Although no human has traveled beyond the Moon, Mars has been a focus of robotic exploration since the 1960s, yielding valuable data about its surface and atmosphere. Proponents of Mars exploration argue that it could serve as a backup for humanity in case of Earth’s potential uninhabitability due to various threats. Despite the compelling reasons for a human mission, significant technical and logistical hurdles remain to be addressed, making the prospect of crewed missions a topic of ongoing debate.
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Human mission to Mars
A human mission to Mars involves sending astronauts to the surface of the planet Mars (and, in most plans, returning them safely to Earth). Such a mission has been envisioned since the nineteenth century. However, carrying it out successfully is difficult for many reasons. Unlike Earth, Mars has no ozone layer to shield the planet from ultraviolet radiation. The distance is incredibly far, and the planet’s atmosphere is unstable. Designing a craft that can make the journey and withstand such conditions is extremely challenging.
Background
Mars is the fourth planet from the sun and named after the Roman god of war. It is sometimes called the “red planet” because of the color of its surface. The planet has two moons: Phobos and Deimos. Its orbit around the sun is longer than Earth’s. Mars takes roughly 687 days to complete this rotation.
Like Earth, Mars has an atmosphere that envelopes the planet. However, Mars’ atmosphere is much thinner and colder than Earth’s. Some of the features on the surface of Mars indicate that liquid water may have once been present on the planet’s surface—an important consideration in the search for extraterrestrial life. However, the history and current state of water on Mars is still a debated topic within the scientific community.
Mars is a volcanic planet and boasts some of the largest volcanoes in the solar system. For example, Olympus Mons, one of the large volcanoes found on Mars, is larger than the American state of New Mexico. In many cases, volcanoes on Mars are large enough to create massive volcanic landforms like plains of hardened lava or large volcanic cones.
Mars has two polar caps, one in each hemisphere. Scientists believe that these caps are covered in thick layers of dust and ice. During colder periods of the year, the frost from the polar caps appears to extend significantly toward the equator.
Overall, Mars tends to be much colder than Earth. The average temperature on Mars is roughly -80 degrees Fahrenheit.
Overview
Humanity has dreamed about traveling to other planets since people first theorized that space travel might be possible. Because of its proximity to Earth, Mars is a common point of interest. Though the United States was not able to send a manned craft to Mars, it began sending spacecraft to study the planet in the 1960s. The first successful spacecraft to visit Mars was the Mariner 4, which flew by Mars and sent photographs of the planet back to Earth. In the 1970s, NASA put two spacecraft in orbit around Mars and landed two rovers on its surface. NASA continued its exploration in the 1990s, landing the Sojourner rover to examine the Martian surface. It followed that with the Odyssey, Spirit, and Opportunity rovers, all of which sent data back to Earth.
Though human beings have yet to travel past the Earth’s moon, many compelling arguments have been made for humanity traveling to other planets. Because Mars is closer to Earth than similar planets outside the solar system, Mars is a common choice for humanity’s first interplanetary journey.
Some proponents of traveling to Mars argue that the planet is the most plausible one in the solar system for humanity to colonize. They argue that Mars receives enough sunlight for humans to utilize solar panels, allowing the colony to have a source of electricity. Mars has an atmosphere, though it is much weaker than Earth’s atmosphere. The day and night cycle on Mars is extremely similar to Earth’s, with only a roughly forty-minute difference between them. They also believe that the temperature and gravity on Mars, while different from Earth’s, are within an adaptable range for humans.
Many scientists and futurists argue that interstellar travel is a necessary part of humanity’s future. They worry that some event might render Earth uninhabitable. This could be caused by people, such as climate change or nuclear war. However, it could also be something that humanity might not be able to control, such as the type of meteor believed to have wiped out the dinosaurs. These thinkers believe that inhabiting multiple planets in our solar system is the best way to ensure humanity’s future survival. Along these lines, both national space agencies and private companies have developed plans for Mars missions over the years.
However, sending humans to Mars is an extremely difficult endeavor that presents numerous challenges. Astronauts have died traveling to and from the moon, and the journey to Mars is much longer and more harrowing. Mars’ atmosphere is unpredictable and unstable, meaning that any spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to Mars must be extremely tough and versatile.
The journey to and from Mars would take astronauts far more time than any previous space journey. The weight of food and other supplies would have to be carefully managed throughout the journey, and any mistakes could result in a loss of life. Additionally, in order to remain on the planet’s surface for any extended period of time, scientists would have to discover a means of producing food and water in such a harsh environment. Finally, in order to keep a small colony on Mars supplied, these journeys would have to happen regularly and consistently, an expensive prospect. As such, the concept of crewed Mars missions remains widely debated.
Bibliography
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