As it moves forward with plans to send astronauts to the Moon, NASA is also thinking about human exploration of Mars. A primary mission involving four people sent there for thirty days is already, so to speak, being prepared.
After the Moon, the planet Mars. This is the stated goal of NASA, which, according to current plans, aims for a first manned mission in the late 2030s. To achieve this, many technical, technological and health challenges for astronauts will have to be overcome.
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If all these challenges are overcome, the American agency wants to send a mission of four people, with two staying in Mars orbit and another two going to the surface.
A 30 day mission
The mission plan is still in its infancy and could change considerably in the coming years. However, for now, NASA is considering using a habitat-like spacecraft to transport crew members to the Red Planet. The idea would be to use a hybrid rocket stage (powered by both chemical and electrical propulsion). The round trip would take about 500 days. The astronauts would remain in place for 30 days.
Gravity, or lack thereof, will be an issue. These astronauts will arrive after several months in microgravity and will therefore have to have some time to recover. In addition, Martian gravity is about three times less than Earth’s. One way to solve this problem would be to have the astronauts live in a pressurized capsule during the mission.
About twenty-five tons of supplies and equipment would be sent by a robotic mission in advance. These supplies would include a pre-activated ascent vehicle, allowing astronauts to leave Mars and enter orbit around the planet. From there, they would join the other two astronauts and return to Earth.
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