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Mars Exploration 2: Manned Missions (Concepts; Preparations; etc.)

Colonizing Mars Might Require Humans to Radically Alter Their Bodies and Minds

In 2016, two astronauts finished nearly a year of work on the International Space Station. NASA's Scott Kelly and Russia's Mikhail Kornienko were studied closely for changes in their physical and psychological health.

NASA touts the mission as part of its "Journey to Mars", in which it hopes to send humans to the Red Planet by the 2030s. But a recent paper published in the journalSpace Policy argues that there are so many aspects to a Martian colony that it is all but impossible to simulate the parameters on Earth.

"We can not simulate the same physical and environmental conditions to reconstruct the Martian environment, I mean such traits like Martian microgravitation or radiation exposure," Konrad Szocik, a cognitive scientist at the University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszow, Poland and lead author of the paper, said in an e-mail. "Consequently, we cannot predict physical and biological effects of humans living on Mars."

He argues that "an awareness of the one-way journey and all possible dangers" cannot be simulated on the ISS, or even in Antarctica, one of the most remote places on Earth and a frequently cited zone in space analog studies. Szocik argues that people in Antarctica are not reliant on artificial life support to the degree that astronauts are. ...

http://www.seeker.com/colonizing-ma..._medium=social&utm_campaign=2016twitterdlvrit
 
Colonizing Mars will be no easy feat. It will require billions of dollars and years of specialized research led by some of the smartest scientists and engineers in the world. It will demand advanced technologies, yet to be invented — new kinds of spacecraft, for example, advanced rocket propulsion, deep-space life-support systems and high-speed communications.

But when humans arrive at the Red Planet, their best chances for success and survival will depend on simple materials, low-tech solutions and a broad set of problem-solving skills that will allow people to adapt.

"Here on the Earth, when we go to a remote location to do an engineering development project, we've learned that taking high-tech equipment isn't really the right approach. What you want is appropriate technology," said planetary scientist Phil Metzger, who is also a co-founder of NASA Kennedy Space Center's Swamp Works. "You want technology to be maintained using the local resources and local labor." [In Images: NASA's Vision of a Mars Base]

Metzger was speaking at the New Space Age Conference held Saturday (March 11) here at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School. He was part of the panel, "Sustainable Expansion: Reaching Mars and Beyond," which included Jeffrey Hoffman, former NASA astronaut and director of MIT's Man Vehicle lab; Keegan Kirkpatrick, founder and team lead of RedWorks; and Mark Jernigan, associate director of NASA JSC Human Health and Performance Directorate. ...

http://www.seeker.com/heres-how-colonizing-mars-will-depend-on-low-tech-know-how-2315451639.html
 
The 'easy' way to put a colony underground would be to inflate a dome then cover it in a layer of soil (regolith). This could be done by half a dozen astronauts with buckets and spades; because of low gravity this would be slightly easier on Mars than it would be on Earth, but of course people don't tend to shovel dirt on Earth wearing spacesuits.

 
With so many people loudly and continuously decrying the impact humans have had on Earth's environment, is it odd that there's nary a peep about plans to utterly destroy the environment on Mars? Yes, I know that no-one (or nothing) lives on Mars, at least so far as we know, but is that really the point? The Martian environment is just as unique as our own, and to completely obliterate it just because we can seems --ummm-- hubristic?
 
I'd have a complaint if there was life there, even the most optimistic astrobiologist is only expecting residual bacteria or simple lifeforms.
If it came to needing to Terra form Mars, I'd have few issues.
 
I'd have a complaint if there was life there, even the most optimistic astrobiologist is only expecting residual bacteria or simple lifeforms.
If it came to needing to Terra form Mars, I'd have few issues.


Agreed - the color of the place does does my head in for a start and everyone knows the best place to invest in property is beyond the Kuiper Belt people!!!

Mars is sooooo 2017.
 
Despite Trump's Request, NASA Not Aiming for Crewed Mars Mission by 2024
By Mike Wall, Space.com Senior Writer | May 12, 2017 05:24pm ET

Donald Trump won't be president when NASA launches its first crewed mission to Mars.

During a call with NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) last month, Trump said he'd like the space agency to get people to the Red Planet "during my first term or, at worst, during my second term."

Such a request would seriously accelerate NASA's "Journey to Mars" initiative, which is currently working to get astronauts to the vicinity of the Red Planet in the 2030s. But it now appears that Trump was just engaging in a playful back-and-forth with ISS astronauts Peggy Whitson and Jack Fischer, not stating a serious policy objective. [NASA and Trump: What Happened in Space in the 1st 100 Days (Video)]

White House officials have "asked us to look at the plan we have today, and see if we can keep going on that plan," NASA Acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot told reporters during a teleconference today (May 12). "They have not asked us to go to Mars by 2024."

Lightfoot's comments came during an update about the status of NASA's Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1), which will mark the first joint flight of the Orion capsule and huge Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. NASA is developing both Orion and the SLS to send astronauts to Mars and other deep-space destinations. ...

http://www.space.com/36826-nasa-ast..._medium=social&utm_campaign=2016twitterdlvrit
 
NASA won't be rushed into anything.
 
Faster to Mars by Nuclear Rocket! This feels a bit retro though, its been suggested before but this times theres an actual development contract.

Nuclear reactors on rockets may fuel future crewed trips to Mars

NASA is working on a nuclear rocket. The space agency has signed an $18.8 million contract with BWX Technologies, based in Lynchburg, Virginia, to start developing a nuclear reactor that could power the rockets that some day shuttle people to Mars.

Nuclear thermal propulsion uses a nuclear reaction to heat fuel, generally liquid hydrogen, which expands and shoots out of a rocket nozzle to create thrust. The technology can enable rockets to attain more thrust per unit of fuel than standard rocket engines can. This means only about half as much fuel is required as used in the main engines for the space shuttle programme – the gold standard of rocket engines for the past 40 years.

This high level of efficiency is particularly useful for long flights that would otherwise require lots of heavy fuel – and cutting out some of that fuel on a spacecraft to Mars would allow for more cargo. The high speed allowed by this nuclear technology would also reduce the journey time to the Red Planet from six months to four. ...

https://www.newscientist.com/articl...ocial&utm_source=Twitter#link_time=1502270319
 
That sounds like the NERVA project.
Glad it's not Project Orion.
 
That sounds like the NERVA project.
Glad it's not Project Orion.
Also, more electricity, once you've a reactor. Solar panels are useful but that opens the door to more and better systems on board with the 'back-up' being the solar powered systems we have now.
 
Bud on Mars.

Last spring, Budweiser declared its intention to be the beer of choice for future Martian colonists seeking a cold one in space. The company is due to take one giant step for beerkind on 12 December, when a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to take Budweiser’s barley seeds from Cape Canaveral in Florida up to the International Space Station.

The seeds, a small part of a big cargo resupply mission to the ISS, are part of plans by Anheuser-Busch (Budweiser’s parent company) to conduct two new experiments aboard the space station in order to examine how its barley seeds will behave in a microgravity environment as well as whether those seeds could actually germinate in space. The month-long experiments, run in partnership with the non-profit Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, are the first part of Anheuser-Busch’s overall efforts to better understand what extraterrestrial environments do to the ingredients needed to brew beer.

What will brewing look like in space? Martian gravity, which is one-third as strong as Earth’s, will do a number on the process as well as the ingredients necessary to the brewing – water, rice, barley, yeast and hops. The new pair of experiments is a good start to understanding how space will affect barley. NASA is already well on its way in investigating the effects of weightlessness on yeast growth. Yeast can only survive a very narrow temperature range, but assuming that issue can be taken care of, microgravity so far doesn’t seem to pose much of a problem for yeast (no real surprise there, given how small the single-cell microorganisms are).

https://www.newscientist.com/articl...mportant-than-you-think/?utm_campaign=Echobox
 
Agreed - the color of the place does does my head in for a start and everyone knows the best place to invest in property is beyond the Kuiper Belt people!!!

Mars is sooooo 2017.
Beltalowda beratna!
 
3424a.jpg

Hubble images of Mars show the effects of global-scale dust storms on Mars. (credit: NASA, J. Bell (Cornell), M. Wolff (SSI), and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA))
Mars atmospheric dust and human exploration
by Joel S. Levine, D. Winterhalter, R. Kerschmann, D. W. Beaty, B. L. Carrier, and J. W. Ashley

A major surprise of the Apollo Moon missions was the deleterious impact of lunar dust on the astronauts, their spacesuits ,and other equipment, and even inside the Command/Service Module during their return to Earth. Lunar dust permeated everything and impacted mechanical systems. The dust on the Moon’s surface was disturbed by the routine actions of the astronauts as they walked and performed their exploration of the lunar surface. Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan, who along with Harrison Schmitt, were the last humans to walk on the Moon, had some very illuminating observations about lunar dust during his post-flight technical debrief:

I think dust is probably one of our greatest inhibitors to a nominal operation on the Moon. I think we can overcome other physiological or physical or mechanical problems except dust.

One of the most aggravating, restricting facets of lunar surface exploration is the dust and its adherence to everything no matter what kind of material, whether it be skin, suit material, metal, no matter what it be and its restrictive friction-like action to everything it gets on.

On Mars, surface and atmospheric dust may be even more detrimental to the human health and exploration than on the Moon if only because much longer expected exposures. The Apollo 17 astronauts spent a total of 75 hours on the Moon with their three extravehicular activities (EVAs) lasting a total of 22 hours and 4 minutes. By comparison, astronauts on Mars may spend up to 500 days on the surface of the Red Planet with EVAs of much greater duration than the Apollo astronauts, thus greatly extending the exposure time to atmospheric dust on Mars. In addition, the atmosphere of Mars includes a myriad of trace chemically active atmospheric gases that can lead to the production of toxic species. These may be deposited to the surface of Mars and directly on atmospheric dust particles.

Mars atmospheric and surface dust must be assessed for its impact on human health, the operation of Mars surface systems and surface operations and exploration.
A major finding of the Viking mission was the discovery of a persistent atmospheric background of dust ranging in diameter from less than 1 to more than 10 micrometers, resulting in an atmospheric dust opacity (tau) ranging from a few tenths to more than one at visible wavelengths. This persistent background of fine dust is responsible for the pinkish-reddish color of the atmosphere of Mars. During dust storms, the opacity of atmospheric dust can increase to a tau of more than three.

The surface of Mars is very dusty, covered with unconsolidated soil and dust that is readily transported into the atmosphere by horizontal and vertical winds. Mars is well known for its localized, regional, and planetary-scale dust storms. An an example, see the two photographs of Mars taken by the Hubble Space Telescope shown above: the left photograph taken on June 26, 2001 shows a “clear” Mars and the right photograph taken on September 4, 2001 shows Mars almost obscured by airborne dust. Localized, small-scale dust devils are also a regular feature of the Mars atmosphere, as shown below. Measurements of a regional dust storm in 1977 obtained by the Viking Orbiters led to an estimate of the mass of dust associated with this regional storm of about 430 million metric tons (see Martin, T. Z., 1995: J. Geophys. Res., 100, pp. 7509–7512). Viking Orbiter measurements were also used to deduce the mass of atmospheric dust associated with a localized dust storm near Solis Planum as about 13 million metric tons of dust lofted into the atmosphere (Martin, 1995).

3424b.jpg


Mars atmospheric and surface dust must be assessed for its impact on human health, the operation of Mars surface systems (e.g., spacesuits, habitats, ascent rockets, etc.) and surface operations and exploration (e.g., reduced atmospheric visibility, limited EVAs, hampering of regular habitat maintenance, etc.). Two earlier studies have considered the impact of Mars atmospheric dust on human exploration: Safe on Mars: Precursor Measurements Necessary to Support Human Operations on the Martian Surface published by the National Research Council (NRC) in 2002 and An Analysis of the Precursor Measurements of Mars Needed to Reduce the Risk of the First Human Mission to Mars published by the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG) in 2005.

The NRC and MEPAG reports discussed the impact of Mars atmospheric dust on human health, including astronauts inhaling airborne particulate matter, toxic metals (e.g., hexavalent chromium, a highly toxic form of chromium in Mars soil and airborne dust), and potentially toxic atmospheric gases. In 2008, after the publication of the NRC and MEPAG Mars reports, the Phoenix Mars lander discovered compounds of perchlorate in the soil of Mars. The presence of perchlorate in the soil of Mars has now also been confirmed by soil measurements obtained by the Curiosity Mars rover. Perchlorate has been shown to interfere with the normal iodide uptake by the thyroid gland, and thus has been added to the list of potential toxic compounds in the soil of Mars.

Workshop participants identified a number of gaps in our knowledge of dust in the atmosphere of Mars and its impact on human health and on human surface operations
Due to concern of the possible negative impacts of Mars dust on human health and the human exploration and surface operations on the Red Planet, the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) organized and held a workshop titled “Dust in the Atmosphere of Mars and Its Impact on Human Exploration” at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston on June 13–15, 2017. Approximately 100 participants, including Mars scientists, mission engineers, mission architects and mission planners, medical researchers, and students attended the workshop. In a series of invited plenary papers, specialists reviewed the chemical, physical, and electrical properties of Mars atmospheric dust, the evolution, nature and occurrence of localized, regional and planetary-scale dust storms, the human health effects of Mars atmospheric dust, including inhalation of and potential toxicity of dust particles and the impact of Mars atmospheric dust on surface systems and on surface operations. Abstracts of the eight invited plenary papers and two dozen contributed papers are available on the conference website.

Workshop participants identified a number of gaps in our knowledge of dust in the atmosphere of Mars and its impact on human health and on human surface operations. Some of these knowledge gaps include:

  1. The particle size distribution and density of atmospheric dust in “clear” and dust storm conditions;
  2. The chemical composition of atmospheric dust, including the identification of possible toxic compounds;
  3. The electrical nature of Mars atmospheric dust particles and how potential electrical charges on dust particles may be dissipated;
  4. How to better predict the occurrence, location, severity, and duration of dust storms on Mars;
  5. To understand the impact of Mars dust in human respiration in a reduced gravity environment over the extended periods of time that the astronauts will spend on the surface of Mars; and
  6. To better understand the role of the omnipresent atmospheric dust in the potential transport of Earth microorganisms around Mars (forward contamination) and the role of atmospheric dust in transporting possible Mars microorganisms back to Earth with the astronauts and their equipment (back contamination).
In the report to the NESC, the workshop organizers recommended how these gaps in our understanding may be addressed prior to humans setting foot on Mars using future robotic missions presently being planned and by laboratory experimentation and computer modeling simulations.


Source: http://www.thespacereview.com/article/3424/1
 
Completely convincing article on Mars One being a scam:
https://www.inverse.com/article/42965-mars-one-is-a-money-grab-where-everyone-loses

Basically, they've scammed a bunch of people out of a few million dollars as applicants, but are nowhere near the 6 billion dollars they need to even start planning. Which they haven't done. Plan, that is. Oh, and most of the applicants are depressed and need to get away from their lives on Earth. I don't think this will do them any good.
 
Aha! I knew it!
 
What will the future Martians look like?

IN MAY OF 1969, Apollo 10 flew at 25,000 miles per hour. Two months later, the crew of Apollo 11 walked on the moon. Since then, no one has flown so fast nor walked so high. NASA is now preparing for a human mission to Mars, but if our descendants ever shrug off their terrestrial bonds, it won’t be Homo sapiens who leaves, but another, more intelligently designed species. We’re not fit.

For evolutionary biologists, “fitness” is a measure of natural selection: the average propensity of individuals of a species to survive and reproduce. Anatomically modern humans evolved with their microbial symbionts in Africa around 300,000 to 200,000 years ago and quickly spread all over the globe. We are wonderfully fit for Earth, but space is inimical to our species. It is cold, empty, and airless—and that’s the least of it. The real problem is myriad stressors, especially radiation, for which space suits and ships provide little protection.

Earth’s magnetic fields and atmosphere shelter us from the ionizing radiation that streams through space like a fatal wind. On the surface of Mars (which lacks a magnetic field or much atmosphere) or aboard a spaceship, long-term exposure to the highly charged energies of galactic cosmic radiation or the sudden flares of solar particle events would kill cells and make them malfunction, or break strands in our DNA and knock out base pairs. Dead or poorly functioning cells cause heart disease or cognitive decline. DNA damage is worse: Cells attempt to repair their own wreckage, but mis-repairs accumulate, leading to mutations that cause cancer and heritable diseases.

https://www.wired.com/story/ideas-j...?CNDID=38161694&mbid=nl_080818_daily_list3_p3
 
Keeping you fingers warm and dexterous on Mars.

The Gloves We’ll Wear On Mars
The design challenge that’ll make or break survival on the Red Planet

... We’ve built one world by hand, we can probably build another — even in harsh UV light, subzero temperatures, and a lethally low-pressure atmosphere. But if opposable thumbs were key to the evolution of human civilization, and humanity can’t be naked against the Martian elements, then it’s an unexpected and unglamorous factor that will determine whether or not we succeed: gloves.

“Hands are the essence of the human being and the way we manifest change in the world.”
What kind of gloves? That we don’t know yet. Because human hands are so complex, designing a glove is almost as complicated as creating an entire Mars suit. Dr. Sheyna Gifford, a physician at Washington University, spent a year in a Mars-analog mission, HI-SEAS IV, atop Hawaii’s Mauna Kea, during which she wore a suit and gloves each time she went outside her domed home. To her, the ideal glove would need to be completely protective, and yet not restrict movement or flexibility. “It assists you in grasping and manipulating objects,” she says. “It interacts seamlessly with touchscreens. It provides feedback on pressure, temperature, and texture as exquisitely as your own fingers, while completely protecting you from the elements.” ...

https://medium.com/s/futurehuman/the-gloves-well-wear-on-mars-b5cb0f637e44
 
Getting high on Mars.

Could marijuana help the first Martians with anxiety?

  • The first human colonists on Mars are expected to endure intense amounts of stress while adapting to the planet.
  • Their maintaining mental wellbeing is critical for successful colonization efforts.
  • In a 2018 study, participants perceived a 58 percent reduction in anxiety and stress following cannabis use.
Atop a plume of smoke, Yuri Gagarin blasted out of Earth's atmosphere on April 12, 1961. In doing so, the Russian cosmonaut became the first human to venture into that vast, cold realm that we dub "outer space."

Since then, trails of hot exhaust, slowly dissipating in the ether, have become emblematic of space travel. Nowadays, though, a different sort of smoke — or source of it, rather — has caught the attention of modern astronomers.

As Big Think reported in September of 2018, traveling to Mars will, indeed, be a technical feat, but keeping humans sane while dwelling there is poised to be an even greater one. Between the stressors of living beyond the view of Earth — far from family and friends — and prolonged cabin fever, among other things, the first Martians are liable to go "completely bonkers."

Indeed, in simulations here on Earth designed to mimic a Martian existence, crewmembers — people in various missions — grew incensed with one another. If this played out on the Red Planet, it could lead to a breakdown in teamwork, compromising colonization goals. Not to mention the safety of the first Martians.

https://bigthink.com/could-marijuana-help-the-first-martians-with-anxiety
 
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A couple of problems with this:
(1) Smoking uses up precious oxygen.
(2) In a low-pressure, low oxygen environment, the effects of the marijuana might become magnified.
 
A couple of problems with this:
(1) Smoking uses up precious oxygen.
(2) In a low-pressure, low oxygen environment, the effects of the marijuana might become magnified.

(3) They end up eating all of their food supplies in one go, then put Dark Side of the Moon on the stereo and laugh their tits off for 8 hours straight.
 
(3) They end up eating all of their food supplies in one go, then put Dark Side of the Moon on the stereo and laugh their tits off for 8 hours straight.
Based on # (2) hey lets push for it, they might be on to something. Now how about on the effects on cocktails, he, he.
 
Could marijuana help the first Martians with anxiety?
  • The first human colonists on Mars are expected to endure intense amounts of stress while adapting to the planet.
  • Their maintaining mental wellbeing is critical for successful colonization efforts.
  • In a 2018 study, participants perceived a 58 percent reduction in anxiety and stress following cannabis use.
This would be a very foolish approach for a highly technical environment. It is utterly inappropriate to smoke in a space capsule as it fouls the air filters and burns more oxygen. This of course could be circumvented by putting it in brownies and cookies of course. Then there are all the negative side effects of marijuana use. First there is the issue that it may make the user temporarily paranoid. Then there is the demotivational issue. Then there is the usual problem that if there is an emergency and you are inebriated, you are at serious penalties in terms of your ability to cope with complex Left Brain tasks. I would suggest that if we have to feed martians drugs, that a steady supply of ecstasy tablets would be far superior, as it would create a situation of empathetic bonding and community, as well as relieving stress.
 
Mars is a bastard of a place for a psychotic episode.

As an old Head who saw the occasional friend in a full blown psychosis attack, I agree with INT21.

Leave it on Earth.

Considering a large percentage of those applying to live on Mars for the rest of their lives are suffering poor mental health, a lot of psychosis among them doesn't seem probable, it seems inevitable. Just as well the whole thing is a sham, I suppose.
 
GNC,

So maybe you could explain what you mean by 'sham'.

All in the interests of science, naturally.

INT21.
 
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