The Naked Scientists
  • Login
  • Register
  • Podcasts
      • The Naked Scientists
      • eLife
      • Naked Genetics
      • Naked Astronomy
      • In short
      • Naked Neuroscience
      • Ask! The Naked Scientists
      • Question of the Week
      • Archive
      • Video
      • SUBSCRIBE to our Podcasts
  • Articles
      • Science News
      • Features
      • Interviews
      • Answers to Science Questions
  • Get Naked
      • Donate
      • Do an Experiment
      • Science Forum
      • Ask a Question
  • About
      • Meet the team
      • Our Sponsors
      • Site Map
      • Contact us

User menu

  • Login
  • Register
  • Home
  • Help
  • Search
  • Tags
  • Member Map
  • Recent Topics
  • Login
  • Register
  1. Naked Science Forum
  2. General Science
  3. General Science
  4. Is it possible for people to travel to Mars?
« previous next »
  • Print
Pages: [1]   Go Down

Is it possible for people to travel to Mars?

  • 3 Replies
  • 1049 Views
  • 7 Tags

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Nadeem Gabbani (OP)

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • 13
  • Activity:
    0%
  • Naked Science Intern
    • View Profile
Is it possible for people to travel to Mars?
« on: 22/11/2019 14:58:43 »
James Lee asks:

Is it possible for people to travel to Mars?

Discuss!
Logged
 



Offline evan_au

  • Global Moderator
  • Naked Science Forum GOD!
  • ********
  • 9185
  • Activity:
    71.5%
  • Thanked: 915 times
    • View Profile
Re: Is it possible for people to travel to Mars?
« Reply #1 on: 22/11/2019 17:07:17 »
Quote from: OP
Is it possible for people to travel to Mars?
Yes, Elon Musk sent a human-sized dummy in a spacesuit (and a Tesla car) on an orbit that takes it well beyond the orbit of Mars.
- He could have sent it on an orbit which intersects with Mars.
- This was launched with a chemical rocket

However, if it were a human in the spacesuit, a human would not have lasted more than a day of a journey that is at least 9 months.
- Even with food, water and shelter for a journey of this duration, the human would not have survived the encounter with Mars
- you need a lot of rocket power to slow down the spacecraft for a soft landing
- And even more food, water and shelter to survive on Mars until more supplies can arrive.
- That is before dealing with things like long-term exposure to cosmic rays and zero-gravity.

With suitable planning and preparatory/follow-up missions, it is possible to safely send someone to Mars - and even return them (as the movie "The Martian" portrayed).

But to do it repeatedly and safely, we really need a more effective propulsions system than chemical rockets.
- The best we have at present is ion propulsion, but this requires lots of power, and isn't really much faster for a trip to Mars.
- The ideal would be a fusion drive, but we can't even build one on Earth, let alone one small enough to fit into a spacecraft.
Logged
 

Offline alancalverd

  • Global Moderator
  • Naked Science Forum GOD!
  • ********
  • 11409
  • Activity:
    100%
  • Thanked: 671 times
  • life is too short to drink instant coffee
    • View Profile
Re: Is it possible for people to travel to Mars?
« Reply #2 on: 23/11/2019 00:31:26 »
Some astronauts have stayed in orbit for more than 9 months, so radiation and zero-g tolerance are not limiting factors. Soft landing may be limiting, but resupply (or preferably, presupply) doesn't require a human-survivable descent. The return journey is unnecessary - the Mayflower was a one-way trip that turned into quite a success.   
Logged
helping to stem the tide of ignorance
 

Offline Chloecristall

  • First timers
  • *
  • 6
  • Activity:
    0%
  • Naked Science Forum Newbie
    • View Profile
Re: Is it possible for people to travel to Mars?
« Reply #3 on: 26/11/2019 10:43:32 »
Why not? Moon was a dream and became a reality. So maybe one day...
Logged
 



  • Print
Pages: [1]   Go Up
« previous next »
Tags: space  / exploration  / mars  / humans  / travel  / colonise  / interplanetary 
 

Similar topics (5)

Why will the same situation cause some people to choose a fight response and other to choose a flight response?

Started by thedocBoard Physiology & Medicine

Replies: 1
Views: 3819
Last post 08/08/2016 23:31:55
by evan_au
Why Do People Wave at and Wave From Boats ?

Started by neilepBoard Physiology & Medicine

Replies: 5
Views: 11993
Last post 14/07/2018 09:20:33
by Colin2B
Why are more people right handed than left handed?

Started by thedocBoard Physiology & Medicine

Replies: 4
Views: 6668
Last post 12/01/2018 07:12:19
by Monox D. I-Fly
How "fast" does force "travel"

Started by f6Board Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology

Replies: 30
Views: 25209
Last post 05/07/2019 17:12:57
by yor_on
Why do people with brown hair have brown eyes?

Started by Dana LippstreuBoard Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution

Replies: 5
Views: 11690
Last post 19/02/2009 10:30:11
by lyner
There was an error while thanking
Thanking...
  • SMF 2.0.15 | SMF © 2017, Simple Machines
    Privacy Policy
    SMFAds for Free Forums
  • Naked Science Forum ©

Page created in 0.19 seconds with 43 queries.

  • Podcasts
  • Articles
  • Get Naked
  • About
  • Contact us
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Subscribe to newsletter
  • We love feedback

Follow us

cambridge_logo_footer.png

©The Naked Scientists® 2000–2017 | The Naked Scientists® and Naked Science® are registered trademarks created by Dr Chris Smith. Information presented on this website is the opinion of the individual contributors and does not reflect the general views of the administrators, editors, moderators, sponsors, Cambridge University or the public at large.