What can NASA do to make the Mars Mission safer?

Question

Hey, I'm writing a persuasive essay on why NASA should send a team of astronauts to Mars, and I need to know what they can do to make it as safe as possible.

Additional Details

Can everyone please act more mature?

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

The mission should have more than 3 people. That's not enough if something happens to one individual - puts a lot of stress on the remaining 2 to cover all the activities required just to get them home safely.
5 or 7 (odd numbers are better) would be safer.

Instead of a single ship, if the mission was 2 or 3 ships (with 5-7 people on each), they would have basically "liferafts" in case of problems on the journey.
And they could leave one ship in orbit around Mars (polar orbits make it easier for ships leaving the surface to rendezvous with the orbiter) - this would be a relay to Earth for communication, a source of supplies if necessary, and moral support for the team on the ground.

A supply ship (unmanned) could be sent to Mars in advance, to go into orbit (they've done that before with the Orbiters) that the manned mission could capture. It could carry:
- oxygen
- power generators
- building materials - would need to be lightweight, but that's okay because Mars has a lower gravity than Earth
- plant seeds or seedlings and hydroponics equipment - this would provide food, oxygen, and a small piece of green home on a red world
- backup communications equipment, computers, etc.

For the team on the ground, some form of radiation shelter (to protect them from solar flares and cosmic rays) since Mars doesn't have a magnetic field to stop this radiation from reaching the surface. It could some kind of hut or "tent" of silvered aluminum or mylar - it wouldn't have to be very heavy or thick, but would need to cover a large enough area to protect the entire camp.

New space suits - with lining or outer material that is almost impossible to tear, more flexible and comfortable than current suits, with backup communications systems (and GPS units - but then they'd GPS satellites in orbit before that).

Probably other things I haven't thought of right off the top of my head. But I'm sure NASA has all kinds of engineers and survival experts working on all of this (and more).

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

thanks alot, I hope I get an "A"

Answer 2

magic

Answer 3

they should ask E.T to help them out
J/K

more testing and simulations

Answer 4

To mars! i guess they would need to perform flight checks and check the insulation tiles and perform tests and simulations to match the possible temperatures and surfaces they're likely to encounter, it takes about 260 days to get to mars so take plenty of food for the astronauts and some for the little green men..."we come with cheeseburgers"

Answer 5

just not do it.

Answer 6

Many of the scenarios I've read about for sending men to Mars involves sending an unmanned return to Earth module to land on the planet and only when it was verified that it was on the surface and functioning correctly would the manned landing vehicle be sent. Some mention dual return vehicles as a built in safety feature. The Mars society would like to see NASA send the machinery to the surface with the return vehicle to manufacture the return to Earth fuel directly from the Martian atmosphere (methane). Because of the three year round trip time any medical emergencies could prove fatal to the astronauts so there is talk of either sending a doctor along or having some sort of medical robot capable of performing surgery. A trip to Mars would be no picnic. It's extremely cold and there is no air to breath. You couldn't go outside without a space suit and because of the distance a short stay is out of the question. Recent discoveries point to the probability of Mars atmosphere containing arsenic which is highly poisonous to humans. A trip to Mars would stretch our current technology to the limits.
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Answer 7

Redundancy and back ups are the way to do that. Every vital system would have at least one back up independent of the primary system. It would also be a good idea to use two ships instead of one, and design each to support the whole expedition if necessary. Cross training the crew to do each others jobs in case one or more become incapacitated or die out there. Most importantly, work on a way to get them to Mars and back as quickly as possible. Space is dangerous, the effects of weightlessness and radiation exposure are harmful, even deadly. Solar flares and events such as super flares from magnetars can over time irradiate people until they get cancers, leukemia and radiation sickness. Therefore there would have to be a "safe room" for the crew in the event they are in the path of a coronal mass ejection or a blast of radiation from deep space.

Answer 8

1.more advances in low degree hibernation
2.multiple space stations along the way
3.space suit that can protect people from radiation, extreme heat, extreme coolness, duststorms...
4.a pre programed terrestrial space station (it can land and setup itself without any human assistance)
5.life support system (CO2 to oxygen, urine and feces to drinkable water and edible food, artificial sun)
6.artificial gravity (human centrifuge)
7. emergency orbiters or direct space air planes
8.long ranged radio

Answer 9

Not go at all, send robots.