What is the mars project?
The mars project is a non-profitable organization that has proposed to land the first humans on mars, essentially planning to have established a permanent human colony there by 2025. This private run space facillity was funded by a Dutch entrepreneur Bas Lansdorp, who announced the Mars One project in May 2012. Mars One's original plan was to launch a rover/robot and orbiter around 2020, followed by a human crew of four in 2024 and one in 2026. My grade five teacher first introduced the mars project to me, and not knowing the dangers, and hazards, I originally thought this was a great plan. However, after doing further research into the mars project, I noticed that there might be some set backs to this projects, and obstacles they will have to overcome in order for the Mars One project to be successful. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_One
Mars One Project Plans
2011 - The mars ones project was funded by Dutch entrepreneur Bas Lansdorp. The first step included holding discussion meetings with potential aerospace component suppliers in the United States, Canada, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Canada play a big part in the mars project as most Canadian Space travel technology was implemented into the Mars one project. Also, the mars one project took plenty of advice from Canada regarding crew selection.
2013- In April 2013, the Astronaut Selection Program (ASP) was launched at press conferences in New York and Shanghai. The selection program required an online application. This followed with video applications and personal interviews. When the conference ends, six teams of four individuals will have been chosen for training.
2017 - This year, the crews that have been chosen from the conference in 2013, will begin their training, and will continue to train together as a group, until 2031, the unconfirmed launch date. This training will test the groups ability to deal with very long periods of time while contained in a remote location will be the most important part of their training. Every group spends several months of each training year in the analog outpost to prepare for its mission to Mars. For example, training for the launch might happen in a desert location such as the Arctic Desert.
2022 - The demo test is planned to occur in 2022. A demonstration mission to Mars will be launched to provide proof of concept for some of the technologies that are crucial for Mars One’s human mission to Mars. The mission will also prove several important technologies for Mars One’s human mission. For example, A camera to enable a video stream from Mars to Earth. A water extraction experiment to confirm that water can be extracted from the Martian soil, one of the most critically important aspects of human life on Mars. A thin film solar panel experiment testing multiple brands and types of thin film solar panels for their suitability in providing enough renewable energy to maintain and grow the settlement. A payload selected from the entries of universities worldwide.
2024 - The mars one organization plans to send a communication satellite into space to communicate between Earth and Mars and relay images, videos, and other data from the Mars surface on a 24/7 basis, except when the sun is between the two planets. This actually solves one of the major obstacles the Mars One project will have to overcome. Communication is a major factor in this project because without communication between Mars and Earth, the astronauts on Mars will not be able to contact headquarters in case of an emergency.
2026 - This is when the planned launch of a Rover and a Communications Satellite will occur. A rover and a trailer will be launched to Mars. The rover will use the trailer to transport the landing modules (the place where the astronauts will live) to the selected outpost location. It will drive around the area to find the best location for human settlement and will prepare that area for arrival of the cargo missions which will contain the materials needed to make this mission possible.
2029 - This is when the actual cargo mission will begin. Six cargo missions will be launched to Mars, containing a second rover, two living units, two life support units, and a supply unit.
2030 - The rovers will begin to prepare the outpost before arrival of the human settlement. This includes the rover picking up all cargo units using the trailer, starting with the first life support unit. The rover will place it in the correct location, and deploy the thin-film solar panels to power the the life support unit. The rover will then be able to connect to the life support unit to recharge its batteries much faster than using only its own panels, allowing it to work more effectively. The rover will pick up all other cargo units and deploy the thin-film solar panel of the second life support unit and the inflatable sections of both living units. Once this happens, the rovers will connect living units by a hose that can transport water, air, and electricity.
2031 - The first wave of human settlers will begin to travel to mars. It is expected to take about 1 year for the crew to arrive to the destination.
2032 - Approximately twenty-four hours before landing, the crew will move from the transit habitat into the landing module, bringing some of the supplies from the transit habitat. The landing module will then detach from the transit habitat, which is too large to land on Mars. The transit habitat is discarded and stays in orbit around the sun. This crew will live here for the rest of their lives, and as more crews come onto mars, the human population will dramatically increase.
2033 - By 2033, the next crew will start it's departure to mars. It's planned that as human technology improves on earth, that we will be able to make Mars a place that humans can live on for many, many years. http://www.mars-one.com/mission/roadmap
Hazards and Costs of the Mars project
The are many hazards that the mars one project will have to overcome in order to be successful. Since the big bang theory, gravity has been present on earth. Especially on earth's, gravitational pull keeps everything from floating away into the atmosphere and space. Without gravity on Earth, we would be dead in space right now. One of the challenges we face in space is there is no gravity. Since everything in space is weightless, providing food, water and the essential is difficult to put into space. Food and water has to be packed into airtight packages to maintain perseverance when going into space. Since space has no gravity aswell, bones and muscles weaken, and other changes also take place within the body. This means the health of astronauts going into space for long periods of time is affected. For example, when Chris Hadfield came back from space after several years, he was very weak and had to undergo regular health checkups once back on earth. In fact, gravity has economic, social, and environmental impacts. For example, gravity has social impacts as it can affect the health of astronauts. It also has economic impacts as space travel is very costly, and air sealing almost all the resources is also very costly. Finally, This has environmental impacts as it is very hard to create life on other planets such as Mars. In geography, we were watching a movie called “The Core.” This movie was talking about sending a nuclear bomb to Mars's core to activate the Magnetic shield, therefore activating gravity on mars http://www.space.com/23017-weightlessness.html http://www.mars-one.com/mission/risks-and-challenges
here are many problems when regarding space crafts. The farther the space shuttle gets away from the earth, the less gravitational pull there is, therefore lowering the efficiency of how fast the space shuttle will move. Also, the space shuttle must be able to go to it’s destination and come back. Therefore, it will need a lot of fuel which is very costly. Space shuttles alone cost a lot of money to construct as well. Not only will the construction cost a lot, the amount of fuel needed to get to Mars will cost a lot.
Space travel can present extreme environments that affect the effectiveness of Space exploration devices and survival. Like humans, machines are impacted by gravity, propulsive forces, radiation, gases, toxins, chemically dangerous environment, static discharge, dust, extreme temperatures, frequent temperature changes and more. To accomplish the goal of exploring a wide range of targets across our solar system requires the ability to survive extreme environments.
Other disadvantages of space exploration and the mission to Mars would be how space exploration can affect the lives of astronauts by damaging their bones and muscles weaken, and other changes also take place within the body. This has social impacts as if an astronaut were to die, it can affect the lives of family and friends. Space exploration also causes pollution in space. Many people do not realize it, but space shuttles actually affect the space environment very much so. Finally, It can be very expensive for space exploration as training and educating astronauts, building rockets and space shuttles, developing new technology for space missions is very costly. For example, The total cost of the actual 30-year service life of the shuttle program through 2011, adjusted for inflation, was $196 billion (according to NASA) http://www.mars-one.com/mission/risks-and-challenges
Benefits of the mission to Mars
Space exploration allows us to investigate and learn more about what is in space, and how the universe works. For example, with space exploration, we were able to determine that the earth, revolves around the sun, not the other way around. Another benefit space exploration creates is job opportunities. Jobs for NASA pay very well and getting a job at NASA is basically an accomplishment. However, the more exploration NASA wishes to do, the more jobs they will need to fill in those job opportunities. Space exploration has also paved the way to develop better technology. Numerous space exploration devices have been created for space uses, but have been altered to benefit life on earth. For example, satellites were initially used for space exploration, but is also used for google maps and exploring earth.
The mission to mars will allow us to have an alternative to another place to live. In geography, we talked about how populations in developing countries are starting to increase, and populations and Canada are starting to decrease. If the Mars one project is successful, we would be able to balance out these increasing populations. With less people on earth, there will be less pollution which will help the environment from releasing harmful gasses into the air. The primary greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone which are hurting our planet the most. With less population on earth, more jobs would be available, allowing for the people living in poverty to have a chance to get back up on their feet. Although these positives impacts are great, with the decreasing population, markets around the world will decrease in value. However, if there are less people on earth, hopefully money increases in value dramatically.
The night skies
Mars is the fourth planet from the sun, and is the second smallest planet in our solar system. Like earth, Mars actually has two moons, phobos and deimos which are very small and irregularly shaped. Mars takes 686.971 earth days to orbit around the sun. In fact, scientists are trying to find way to make life sustainable on mars, since earth and mars are very similar to each other. In fact, scientists and NASA has discovered that there is water on mars, however it is frozen under layers and layers of land. Therefore, as technology improves, hopefully we can one day find a way to live on Mars, which will actually benefit us when it comes to increasing populations. This is where the Mars one project comes in. While the mars one project continues to investigate if it is possible for mars to maintain live crops, and if mars can produce water, they will actually launch several crews to mars to essentially colonize mars. Hopefully as technology increases, we will be able to thaw out the frozen water from beneath Mars' surface.
Importance Of the Sun
Believe it or not, the sun is actually the biggest star in our solar system, allowing it to fit about one million earths inside the sun. The sun is basically the heart of the solar system. All the planets orbit the sun, all the planets are affected by the sun, and other planets, like earth, depend on the sun. The sun is very important to earth as we get our sunlight from the sun, and without sun, it would mess up everything on earth, such as killing humans, or possibly causing all life on earth to become extinct. The sun holds up 99.8 the mass in our entire solar system, with temperatures reaching up to 15 million degrees Celsius. Many scientists think the sun and the rest of the solar system was formed from a giant, rotating cloud of gas and dust known as the solar nebula. As the nebula spun faster and faster, eventually, it flattened into a disk like flat shape. The sun is composed of mostly hydrogen and then followed by helium. The sun is composed of several ozone layers and the sun's interior is made of the radiate and convective zones. Therefore, most of the material was pulled towards the center of this, where the sun now lies. The sun also supports humans, and ecosystems on earth as well. For example, without the sun, many ecosystems would not exist. In fact, no ecosystems would exist as most ecosystems rely on water and the sun plays a huge role in the water cycle. In the water cycle, water from oceans, lakes, swamps, rivers, plants, and even you, can turn into water vapor. Water vapor condenses into millions of tiny droplets that form clouds. Clouds lose their water as rain or snow, which is called precipitation. Precipitation is either absorbed into the ground or runs off into rivers. Water that was absorbed into the ground is taken up by plants. Plants lose water from their surfaces as vapor back into the atmosphere. Water that runs off into rivers flows into ponds, lakes, or oceans where it evaporates back into the atmosphere. As the water cycle discribes, without the sun, we would have no crops such as vegetation. The sun also plays a major role on earth because without the earth, the amount of vitamin D human get is decreased. In humans, the most important compounds in this group are vitamin D₃ and vitamin D₂. http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/water.html
The sun may look like a perfect sphere but its equatorial diameter and its polar diameter differ by only 6.2 miles (10 km). The mean radius of the sun is 432,450 miles (696,000 kilometers), which makes its diameter about 864,938 miles (1.392 million km). You could line up 109 Earths across the face of the sun. The sun's circumference is about 2,713,406 miles (4,366,813 km). The total volume of the sun is 1.4 x 1027 cubic meters. About 1.3 million Earths could fit inside the sun. The mass of the sun is 1.989 x 1030 kilograms, about 333,000 times the mass of the Earth.
Mars used to be wet across the whole entire land, however, scientists have discovered that the sun acctually might have dried up all the water on mars, only levaving the froze ice underneath the surface of mars at it's polar caps. In fact, scientists think that eventually, th sun will thaw out the frozen ice underneath Mars surface, which will provide a water source for the Mars one project. For example, if the Sun melts the ice and the ice melts to become water, as long as the crew member find a way to preserve this water from vaporizing into gas, mars will essentially have a water source. Using water purifiers, we should be able to maintain this water. However, will this water dry up? Will we run out of water on mars?http://www.nbcnews.com/id/20410979/ns/technology_and_science-space/t/sun-dried-mars-scientists-say/#.WPPXItLyvIU
Another condition that might affect the mars one project is how hot the sun shines on Mars surface. In fact, high temperature on mars are relatively similar to mars. A high temperature on mars would be around 20 degrees Celsius. However, the sun might not be the problem, but the lack of sun is sure a problem. In winter, near the poles temperatures can get down to minus 125 degrees C, and in the summer around minus 70 degrees C. Humans are not able to withstand this temperature so if we were going to live on mars today, we would have to be wearing protective suits. Unless humans find a way to overcome this temperature barrier, humans will never be able to wear tank tops on mars. Therefore, it has negative economic, social, and environmental impacts. For example, if humans have to buy protective suits, only fairly rich people will be able to live on earth. Also, crops would die on mars in the winter and possibly in the summer. So crops would have to be grown indoors. Finally, I doubt that outdoor activities will occur on mars thanks to the temperatures.http://www.space.com/16907-what-is-the-temperature-of-mars.html
Gravity law/theory
According to https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gravity "the gravitational attraction of the earth's mass, the moon, or a planet for bodies at or near its surface (2) : a fundamental physical force that is responsible for interactions which occur because of mass between particles, between aggregations of matter (as stars and planets), and between particles (as photons) and aggregations of matter, that is 10-39 times the strength of the strong force, and that extends over infinite distances but is dominant over macroscopic distances especially between aggregations of matter —called also gravitation, gravitational force — compare."
Proof of gravity is all around us. Object essentially gain weight thanks to gravity. For example, lifting a laptop in space compared to earth, the laptop in space would be much lighter. On Earth if we hold something and then release it, that thing will always fall down toward Earth. However if do it on space (ISS for example), that thing will just float around because the Earth’s gravity force is very very small (if not zero) to affect it. This is why the earth and moon have such a strong correlation. The gravitational bond between moon and Earth has resulted in the one influencing life. Earth's gravitational pull is very strong and is actually measured to be 9.807 m/s². The unit used to measure gravity is in SI units. This acceleration is measured in meters per second squared (in symbols, m/s2 or m. s−2) or equivalently in newtons per kilogram (N/kg or N. kg−1). Mars on the other hand has a low gravitational pull of 3.711 m/s². Therefore objects under 100 pound would float away. This could have Negative social, environmental, and economic problems. If we were to build objects on earth, each individual object would have to be over 100lb. Therefore, it would take a very strong person, or heavy machinery to build buildings or facilities on Mars. Therefore, we would have to spend more money toward this heavy machinery. Also, household pets and plants wouldn't be able to withstand the lack of gravity. For example, if you wanted to take your dog for a walk on mars,the dog would just float into space. Unless you have a really heavy dog.
Connection to Canada
Canada has contributed to space exploration in many ways. One major way is in technology. For example, The Canadarm also known as the shuttle remote manipulator system, is a well known Canadian invention. It is used to grab and support large objects in space. The Canadarm has special sensors and cameras to find damaged parts. This tool has contributed to Space exploration very much as the Canadarm has been used in many occasions and space missions. The mars one mission also wishes to use the canadarm in their mission as discussed in the conference in 2013, including other countries around the world. Mars one most likely also incorporated many other technology from places around the world such as the USA, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Other ways Canada has contributed to space exploration include Canada becoming the first country in the world to have a commercial geostationary communications satellite. This started when Canada launched the Anik A1 in 1972. Four Canadians also simulated a space mission which led to them having 22 scientific experiments done on them which improved space exploration technology internationally.
Canada has also have many positive impacts to space exploration. A positive social impact is Chris Hadfield had basically advertised becoming an astronaut, and many people living in Canada might see this job as a dream job. Well with the Mars one project, they can make their dreams become reality. Canada also had created positive economic affects as space organizations sch as NASA and the ISS incorporates many of Canada's technological designs. This allows Canada to get paid for their technological enhancements, and tax payers won't have to spend as much money towards Canada's space exploration. Finally, Canada has created positive environmental affects as Canada does not have it's how Space Station. As space shuttles are a major factor in pollution, the fact that Canada does not have any space station shows how environmentally aware Canada is.
However, Canada also has some negative social, economic and environmental affects regarding space exploration. For example, space exploration takes up a lot of valuable and costly resources that could be better used in a needy world. For example, space travel uses a lot of fuel where this fuel (coal) can be used for other sources of energy and would be used efficiently. It is also quite possible that there are diseases in the other atmospheres that could be a detriment into Canada if it were to ever come into the earth’s atmosphere. Possibly risking the health of those in Canada. Another impact space exploration has had on Canada is the government has committed up to $379 million over the next 8 years starting in 2017. This money raised will be put towards supporting the ISS. Most likely, the government hasn't been saving up this money, and it is very likely that almost all of this money has come from tax payers money.The more Canada wishes to invest in space exploration, the more money tax payers will have to pay.
There is also a lot of technology that can be used to address environmental, social, economical and/or practical challenges on earth, that might not necessarily been created by Canadians. For example, many satellites have been launched by the CSA and NASA which helps us get photographic and video image of earth. For instance, when the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire occurred, scientists used these satellites to find out where the epicenter of the fire was, which helped fire crews put out this fire. This has essentially helped earth environmentally. Another instance where space technology has helped earth is the LED technology used in NASA space shuttle plant growth experiments has contributed to the development of medical devices such a the WARP 10, a hand-held, high-intensity, LED unit developed by Quantum Devices. The WARP 10 is intended for the temporary relief of minor muscle and joint pain, arthritis, stiffness, and muscle spasms, and also promotes muscle relaxation and increases local blood circulation. This essentially has helped earth socially. NASA has also contributed socially to earth by enhancing artificial limbs. This technology has also had custom-moldable materials enhanced and improved, offering the natural look and feel of flesh, as well as preventing friction between the skin, as well has preventing heat/moisture buildup.
Safety grooving, the cutting of grooves in concrete to increase traction and prevent injury, was first developed to reduce aircraft accidents on wet runways. However, this idea and method of cutting grooves in concrete has been implemented into many new highways. Skidding was reduced, stopping distance decreased, and a vehicle’s cornering ability on curves was increased. Cutting groves also has also been used in many other places such as, animal holding pens, steps, parking lots, and other potentially slippery surfaces.
Scientists who played a major role in the Mars One project
Arno Wielders received his Master of Science in Physics from the Free University of Amsterdam in 1997. He was soon hired by the Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, to work at Dutch Space in the Very Large Telescope Interferometer Delay Line project. In 2002 he received his TWAIO (two years, advanced graduate research) certificate and started as a research scientist at the Space Department of TNO TPD in Delft. At TNO TPD he was involved in the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) project launched by NASA. He currently divides his time between Mars One and working at the European Space Technology and Research Centre (ESTEC) of the European Space Agency as a payload study manager for new planetary mission studies and as a payload systems engineer for the Jupiter Icy Moons exploration mission.
Bryan Versteeg has worked for over 20 years in the graphics industry, specifically 15 years as an artist of conceptions in the architectural and engineering fields. He works with Mars One not really as a scientist, but illustrated all the concepts and designs showed on the Mars One website. He is also a Canadian engineer which also proves how Canadian have contributed to space exploration.
Norbert Kraft, MD, received "The NASA Group Achievement Award 2013", it is one of the most prestigious awards a group can receive, and is presented to selected groups who have distinguished themselves by making outstanding contributions to the NASA mission. In 2010 Kraft received the 2010 Award for “Outstanding Accomplishments in the Psychological and Psychiatric Aspects of Aerospace Medicine”. He has over 20 years of experience in plane/space research and development. His primary area of expertise is developing physiological and psychological measures to combat the negative effects of long-duration spaceflight. Dr. Kraft’s experiences span Europe, Asia, and the United States, where he has worked for several international space agencies, including the Russian Space Agency and the Japanese Space Agency. Dr. Kraft completed a 110 day isolation chamber project as commander of an international mixed gender crew and a spaceflight simulation experiment in Moscow, Russia.
Bas Lansdorp has never been one to let bold ventures intimidate him. A born entrepreneur, he sees potential and opportunity where others shy away. Gifted with an articulate vision and genuine enthusiasm, he moves people with his passion for science and the human mission to Mars. Lansdorp received his Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Twente University in 2003. For five years Lansdorp worked at Delft University of Technology and in 2008 founded Ampyx Power in order to develop a new, viable method of generating wind energy. Lansdorp sold the majority of his shares in Ampyx in 2011 in order to launch Mars One, Lansdorp's dream for many years.
Issues with the mars one project
One of the major issues the mars one project faces is the lack of gravity. Of course there are many other problems such as finances and paperwork, however one scientific set back would be gravity. Mars has a gravity pull of 3.711 m/s² which is very low compared to earth. Knowing this, many of the materials the mars one project will use must be heavy in order to stay in put on mars. However, there are some negative social, environment, and economic impacts to this. This has negative environmental impacts because more fuel is used to transport these heavy materials, which means that that more air pollution is put into the atmosphere which is a major factor in global warming. This also negative economic affects as a lot of money must be put towards a lot of fuel, and materials that are able to withstand the lack of gravity on mars. Finally, the lack of gravity can have social impacts as more essential materials would be used towards the Mars One project, which could be used for more important and crucial aspects on earth such as maintaining renewable energy sources, and trying to make renewable energy sources such as hydroelectricity and wind energy more efficient.
However, there is a solution to the lack of gravity on mars and it is called "artificial gravity." Artificial gravity is an acceleration resulting from the amount of force applied. However, artificial gravity may have a lot of health affects on humans who has experienced artificial gravity such as prolonged weightlessness. However, as technology improves, hopefully scientists find a way to improve artificial gravity, and possibly apply this to the Mar One mission.