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Imagine
a pink sky by day, vicious winds that cause dust storms, which can last
for weeks, and an atmosphere unable to hold in enough heat to keep water
liquid. The planet Mars has always fascinated scientists and spectators
alike. The fact is, at the tender age of about a billion years old,
Mars and Earth are thought to have been relatively similar in their
cosmic makeup - so why life arose and evolved quickly on Earth and not
Mars, is still a mystery. The quest to find signs of life, and understand
what makes Mars tick, is well along the way by NASA scientists and a
private aerospace company owned by Robert Zubrin. The aim of their respective
research is to be the first to make a human mission to Mars.
Zubrin's firm
is named Pioneer Astronautics and he is the founder of a group called
The Mars Society. Zubrin has designed a Mars's mission, which he refers
to as Mars Direct. His plan has offered many unique ideas to NASA, which
now have contracted Zubrin to further test those ideas for the possible
incorporation into NASA's final plan. If all goes well, a crew of six
will be launch in the year 2014. Critical to any mission is timing.
Earth and Mars are at their closest distance to each other every 26
months, which makes for the most efficient use of resources, specifically
fuel for the journey.
This is one of
Zubrins major contributions to the project. In Zubrins plan,
whilst on the surface of Mars a propellant-production system will be
able to produce enough fuel required for the astronauts journey back
to Earth. He will also show how astronauts can live off the harsh land
of Mars. Although, Mars is far more barren, drier and colder than earth,
it has many resources that can be utilized for life support. By virtue
of the propellant-processing unit, the crew will be able to process
oxygen and water for various life support systems, as well as fuel for
their vehicles used on Mars. This system makes use of the fact that
the atmosphere on Mars is 93.5% carbon dioxide.
The NASA teams
strategy is to send two rockets to Mars. They are currently developing
a variety of rocket propulsion systems, ranging from solar electric
propulsion to nuclear electric propulsion. The first rocket sent will
hold the missions Earth return vehicle, which will be left in
Mars orbit for the astronauts to rendezvous with and to use for
their homeward voyage. The second rocket will have the surface habitat,
exploration equipment, and the Mars ascent vehicle. Before the astronauts
leave Earth, another rocket will be launched that will have a second
set of equipment and vehicles. This will be sent ahead as a safety contingency.
The reason for this is to set up as much as possible before the astronaunts
arrive and to have back on everything to help avoid unfavorable situations
that could occur.
This first stage of
the mission may begin in 2011, with the launch of the first rocket.
The crews mission will last two and a half years -a six month
journey one way, and about a year and a half on the surface of Mars
undertaking scientific research before returning to Earth.
Operating within a similar timeline, Zubrins focus strategy is
to produce a rocket smaller and lighter than that of NASAs. He
proposes a vehicle that by virtue of its lighter weight can make a direct
mission to Mars, without the need to leave any vehicles in orbit along
the way. Again for safety, two sets of vehicles and equipment would
be deployed before the astronauts left Earth.
With the innovations
that are being used in these plans, it makes a journey to Mars not only
more affordable, but actually makes it a more reachable goal. The thought
of traveling safely beyond the moon is truly an exciting one and is
one that is long due. With the signs being on the surface that at some
stage in its evolution, Mars had running water, the question follows,
was there some Martian life form, and are they still there now? If the
mission is able to come to full completion, we may have the answer.
One thing is for sure, in this race for a human mission to Mars, which
is just over a decade away, it will certainly bring a totally new meaning
to getting to know the neighbors.
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