NASA Will Keep Astronauts Safe to Mars Using These Methods

 

  sending humans into deep space is  definitely happening  pushing the boundaries of the  exploration of space further than ever  before  think a 34 million mile trip to mars one  way or 600 times further than going to  the moon  but how will we keep those brave souls  who volunteer for this mission safe  and keep the spacecraft in one piece  welcome to fact nomina today we're  sending full power to life support  systems in how to keep astronauts safe  on a mission to mars the mission  there are two major players that have  boots on mars as a firm  and non-negotiable goal for the  not-too-distant future  one has been a household name since the  late 50s when the u.s government dared  to ask if men could survive in outer  space  we're talking about nasa the government  agency that has been synonymous with  space travel and exploration  for over 60 years and has the red planet  in their sights  the lunar artemis missions gave nasa an  opportunity to test out new technology  that will aid in a successful journey  both to and back from mars  there's no set date yet pending data  from both the perseverance rover and  experiments on the moon  the other is led by a flashy billionaire  smart as a whip with lofty ambitions  we're talking about spacex captained by  the ever eccentric elon musk  after landing a portion of the lucrative  contract to launch some of the space  force's rockets into space  spacex have doubled their efforts to  meet a bold 2024 launch prediction date  to be the first company to send an  unmanned starship reusable rocket and  spacecraft combo  to mars they're looking to become the  ferry service to transport both supplies  and people to a martian base  when it's built this is the largest  undertaking  in human history and such a long trip  each way comes with a unique set of  problems that require creative solutions  keep in mind that astronauts rarely stay  aboard the international space station  for longer than a year  size matters you know it takes an  incredible amount of fuel to lift off  from the earth and break through the  atmosphere  it's probably not something that  everyone thinks about but this huge  volume of fuel is what makes up most of  the weight  for example the saturn v rocket that  took armstrong and company to the moon  tipped the scales at a whopping 3 000  tons  out of this only 140 tons or 5 percent  of its launch mass  made it to a low earth orbit from there  only 50 tons made it to the moon  less than 2 percent of its initial  pre-launch mass  such a long trip to mars would require a  fair amount of fuel on board  as every maneuver and correction to the  course on the way there and back  consumes valuable rocket fuel not to  mention the retro boosters required  to land safely as well as the rockets  required to break free of the martian  atmosphere  ahead of the journey home spacex have  come up with a brilliant plan to refuel  their crude starship  once it reaches orbit by way of a  separately launched tanker craft  this means that the fuel weight loss to  the spacecraft and equipment that are  carried up into orbit  can be replenished before the burn to  mars  time is the enemy as briefly mentioned  the seriously long distance to cover in  order to reach mars  takes time this is a two-headed issue as  not only will the astronauts be in space  longer than is generally deemed healthy  but also it's a long time to burn fuel  deep space probes will usually carry  minimal fuel and use the gravitational  forces of the sun  and other planets to plot complex  trajectories through space  though the gravity-assisted slingshot  maneuvers increase momentum and save  heavily on fuel  it does lengthen the course by years not  ideal for a live human cargo  the most fuel efficient way to travel  between earth and mars is called the  home and transfer  using a single burn elliptical transfer  orbit to move between the two  almost circular orbits of the planet  this takes on average  259 days but can vary between six and  nine months  the main issue is that because of the  differing orbits of mars  earth and the sun such a trip can only  be won every two years in a rather  narrow launch window  spacex are claiming they can do it in  six months flat  however the fuel cost would be  astronomically higher and only possible  with a mid-orbit refuel  human limitations then there are the  astronauts  who have to endure what must seem like  an eternity at zero in low gravity  the reality is that a squad of between  four and six people will need to live  together in a tin can the size of a  winnebago for three years  enough for anyone to get on your nerves  but putting the social and behavioral  issues aside for a moment  what happens to the human body and is it  dangerous  the earth's protective gravitational and  magnetic fields provide us with gravity  obviously but also protect from most of  the harmful radiation coming from the  sun  and outer space microgravity  it's well documented that the longer a  human is in microgravity the more fluids  build up in their head  they start to resemble a walking talking  lollipop in a process that leads to a  phenomenon known as  puffy face and bird legs the human body  is two-thirds water  and on earth gravity pulls that water  down to our feet  and our heart and circulatory system  pump it back up to the brain  in microgravity it's different as the  fluid naturally travels  up to the head and away from the legs  looking exactly how the name implies  blocked noses and stuffy sinuses are the  milder side effects  while longer exposures to microgravity  can cause debilitating motion sickness  and even blindness factor in the extreme  drop in bone density from the  weightlessness of space  and you have some very sick astronauts  on your hands  muscles have to do less work in the  absence of gravity and the bones have  less force pulling on them to promote  repair and renewal of the tissue  despite astronauts having to adhere to a  strict 4-hour per day exercise and  resistance regime while in space  muscles atrophy and bones demineralize  calcium  losing two percent of their bone mass  for every month spent in space  it's likely that after a three year  journey the martian astronauts legs may  snap under their own weight  when they return to earth that is if  their muscles are even strong enough to  support them  radiation now let's talk about the  radiation  despite our best efforts to shield them  no absorbent ozone layer means that  astronauts absorb over 10 times more  radiation than the average person  and that's just in a low earth orbit the  deeper into space you go the higher the  dose  during a single solar storm the dose of  radiation is equivocal  to several hundred chest x-rays enough  to damage the dna  and markedly increase the risk of  developing cancerous tumors in later  life  a spacecraft traveling to mars would  need to have some way of promoting an  environment of at least half the gravity  of earth  in order to keep astronauts healthy  there is plans to build a device called  a lower body negative pressure chamber  which is worn by an astronaut from the  waist down to recreate the pull of  gravity and help with circulation  another method may be to create a  carousel that rotates around a central  spindle  using centrifugal force to simulate  gravity similar to what happens when you  swing a rope around with a rock at one  end  more robust radiation shielding will be  needed to prevent shortening the  astronauts lifespans  galactic cosmic rays are no joke and can  rip through metal like tissue paper  causing cell death and mutations  astronauts on the way to mars would  receive  two millisieverts of radiation each day  equal to a full body spiral ct scan  every six days the trio who went to the  moon experienced  this insane level of radiation exposure  but only for a two week period  priming the body with antioxidants would  help to lessen the effect of the damage  causing free radicals  created when radiation splits electrons  off oxygen molecules in the body  keeping the astronauts fed with a diet  high in vitamins a and e  as well as selenium methanol found in  berries is crucial to reduce the  short-term effects of such a dose  expect the unexpected accidents happen  and sometimes people get seriously hurt  the mars crew must include one qualified  physician  competent in 10 or more fields of  specialty and the other members need to  have advanced to expert level medical  training  injury and illness are a real threat to  the mission success  and without the support of anyone  outside those people inside the  spacecraft  astronauts need to be able to heal  themselves  there are also plans to develop a  medical artificial intelligence system  on board  that could identify symptoms recommend  tests make a diagnosis from the results  and advise a course of treatment  unfortunately this technology does not  exist just yet  so anyone feeling under the weather or  has had a nasty accident  will need to rely on the skills of their  crewmates in order to survive and make a  full recovery