In January 2016, a spacecraft with details of the first Martian base on board will take off from Earth. And in 2022, the first emigrants will step on board the same ship, ready to leave their home planet forever.
Hitherto little-known company from the Netherlands, Mars One, calls on citizens to vote for the conquest of Mars. If successful, Dutch entrepreneurs promise to lay the first stone of a future colony on Mars in 2016, and to settle the first emigrants in it in 2023.
We are talking specifically about emigration, because the return of the colonists to their home planet has not yet been provided for either by existing technologies or by the project budget. The costs are tentatively estimated at $ 6 billion, and it is planned to collect most of this amount with the help of television broadcasts of all stages of the project, both from Earth and from Mars.
It is difficult to understand what exactly Mars One is: whether the most ambitious private space venture in history, or the unprecedented audacity of PR of another reality show. The list of protagonists only thickens the fog. CEO Bas Lansdorp is a graduate engineer and creator of Ampyx Power, a company that promotes the technology of converting wind energy into electricity using a climbing and dive glider. Bass knows a lot about ventures, but his early projects are much less ambitious than the resettlement of mankind to Mars. Nevertheless, he has already enlisted the support of the largest aerospace companies in the world.
The guarantor of the scientific consistency of the Mars One plans is the Nobel laureate Gerard t'Hooft, who made a significant contribution to the theory of electroweak interactions. His approval and participation is the best evidence of the seriousness of the Dutch intentions. But the third hero of our play is primarily interested in making the project look good on TV. We are talking about Paul Roemer, one of the creators and the first producer of the insanely successful reality show "Big Brother" (the Russian analogue is "Behind the Glass"), which has been released since September 1999 until now. On the other hand, who, if not Römer, can be entrusted with collecting television money for a good cause.
We will be able to convince ourselves of the seriousness or frivolity of Mars One's plans in three years - the first unmanned flight to Mars is scheduled for 201 bth. In the meantime, we can carefully assess the chances, step by step analyzing the program for conquering the Red Planet.
2013 ASTRONAUT CANDIDATE RECRUITMENT AND CONSTRUCTION OF A MARSIAN BASE ON EARTH SIMULATOR Only four astronauts will be able to go to Mars in 2023. The smaller group will not be able to cope with the minimal tasks of survival on the Red Planet, the larger one will not be pulled by the Falcon Heavy launch vehicle. Recall that the development of the heaviest of modern rockets (monsters such as "Energy" and Saturn V have long been out of production) by SpaceX is in the final stage, the first demo launch is scheduled for the end of this year. And an agreement of intent between SpaceX and Mars One has already been signed.
Promotional video:
First, six groups will be recruited, then their number will grow to ten. The minimum age of a candidate is 18 years old, and preference will be given to young people: after all, by the time of the first launch they will already be 28. Of course, candidates must be healthy mentally and physically, intellectually developed, resourceful, and learnable.
But the organizers do not impose special requirements for qualifications and even knowledge of the English language. It is assumed that over ten years of training, astronauts will acquire all the necessary skills, Each group will have at least two qualified flight engineers and two general practitioners. At least one crew member must have an advanced knowledge of Martian geology. Another will receive an exotic specialty as an exobiologist - a specialist in extraterrestrial life. The preparations will be carried out at the sight of television cameras in an exact copy of the future Martian colony, which will be built in an area with extreme climatic conditions, presumably in the Arctic Circle. TV viewers will be able to watch training missions for the installation and repair of equipment, the use of space suits and rovers.
The main requirement for candidates is psychological compatibility with group mates. Four brave, ready to part with their home planet forever and close By 2022, a commission of experts will again select six groups technically ready to travel. Guess how the four heroes who will go down in history forever will be chosen? Of course, by popular vote of the audience. Obviously, the show will not be equal in the intensity of the passions. But what does Mars actually have to do with it?
January 2016 SENDING 2.5 T SPARE PARTS AND PRODUCTS TO MARS. LANDING IN THE AREA OF THE FUTURE BASE IS PLANNED FOR OCTOBER 2016 With the first shipment to Mars, spare solar panels, a set of all kinds of spare parts and food will be sent. The cargo will not contain complex, fragile and expensive equipment such as a rover or life support equipment, so the cost of a possible mistake the first time will be minimal. Also, the first spacecraft should launch into an areostationary (Ares - Mars) orbit a specially developed communication satellite by that time, which will provide the broadcast of the Martian show to Earth.
The SpaceX Dragon, which has already proven its efficiency, is supposed to be used as a cargo ship and a landing module. SpaceX's immediate plans fit well with the Mars One concept. The company is now completing the development of a seven-seater manned spacecraft DragonRider. Recognized experts in the field of life support systems Paragon Space Development are involved in the development. The manned "Dragon" is intended to operate on the ISS for 210 days or more, so the Martian journey is quite within its reach. DragonRider's first launch is slated for 2015.
Not only that, SpaceX is working with NASA on a Mars lander for a low-budget exploration mission. In 2018, a device called Red Dragon is to drill a meter-long borehole on Mars in order to get to the water ice.
The catch is that for the needs of Mars One, the usual "Dragon" 3.7 meters in diameter is too small. The Dutch propose to use a special five-meter Dragon, the development of which is still known only by hearsay. The big ship can be called the cornerstone of the entire mission. After all, residential modules, life support modules, and transport for large rovers will be nothing more than a Dragon landing module with some modifications.
Still, in case the Big Dragon isn't ready by 2016, Mars One has a Plan B: send a regular 3.7-meter Dragon to Mars and hope that by 2018 its big brother will arrive.
Recall that the planetary trajectories of the Earth and Mars form a 1-5-year cycle, during which the distance between the planets is constantly changing. Favorable conditions for a flight to the Red Planet, or the so-called launch windows, are formed approximately once every 26 months.
2018 ARRIVAL OF MARS0H0D, SEARCH AND PREPARATION OF A SUITABLE SITE FOR THE FUTURE COLONY With scientific rovers, now plying the vastness of the Red Planet, the Mars One machine is united only by its name. The large vehicle will be an electric off-road tractor capable of performing the functions of a tractor, excavator, research laboratory and high-precision manipulator at the same time.
The first thing the rover will have to do is find a suitable site to build a base. He will have to solve this problem almost independently. Indeed, depending on the relative position of the planets, the transit time of the radio signal between the Earth and Mars varies between 3 and 20 minutes. Multiply this number by 2, and you realize that the rover should be more of an autonomous robot than a radio-controlled car.
The presence of water ice in the ground in the immediate vicinity of the base is critically important for an inhabited colony. Therefore, the rover will not only look for a flat area, but also constantly take rock samples. By the way, the presence of sufficient reserves of ice on Mars is still only an assumption. The Curiosity rover could partly clarify this issue.
In the future, as new modules arrive on the planet, the rover will have to search for them and tow them to the base. He will also remove the protective shell from them, deploy solar panels, connect the power grid and air ducts. After the construction of the base and the arrival of the first colonists, the machine will develop and deliver to the base the Martian soil for the needs of construction, water extraction, and from it - oxygen and hydrogen.
Sending power equipment to Mars, all the more so advanced, is a task that humanity has never had to face before. This raises doubts once again whether the existing technology is really enough to make Mars One's plans a reality.
2021 ARRIVAL OF SIX LANDING MODULES AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE MARSIAN BASE
It is believed that within one window it is possible to make from three to six successful launches of ships to Mars. The creators of Mars One plan to use six chances out of six and send six landing modules to the planet. Among them there will be two life support modules, two living modules, one truck with an additional portion of spare parts and provisions, and another rover.
Paragon Space Development, which participated in the development of equipment for the ISS and the Mir station, promised support in the creation of life support modules. There is practically no intrigue here - all technologies have long been worked out and are used.
The life support module will extract water by evaporation and subsequent condensation of water ice contained in the Martian soil. The rover will be able to load up to 60 kg of rock at a time into the module. Some of the water will be used to produce oxygen. One life support module can collect 1,500 liters of water and 1 20 kg of oxygen in 500 days.
On Earth, we breathe not only oxygen - the air contains almost 80% nitrogen, as well as inert gases. The life support module will extract nitrogen and argon for breathing from the Martian atmosphere. Upon the arrival of the astronauts, he will also have to deal with the treatment of liquid waste and the removal of carbon dioxide.
The living module will also be based on a spacecraft equipped with an airlock for astronauts to exit to the planet's surface. However, the ship itself will contain "wet zones" - a shower room and a kitchen. The astronauts will live in inflatable rooms deployed after landing. The viability of this concept was proved by the Genesis I and Genesis II spacecraft (so far unmanned), launched into orbit by Bigelow Airspace. This company is not yet on the list of Mars One contractors. The Dutch intend to use flexible tissue technologies used on spacesuits and landing cushions on existing rovers.
The second rover will help the previously arrived to line up all six modules in a line, connect them with corridors and air ducts, deploy solar panels and an electrical network. By 2022, all life support systems are to be launched, and it is assumed that fresh air and clean water will await the first guests of the Red Planet in the residential modules.
2022 START
To send the first delegation of earthlings to Mars, a large spacecraft will be assembled in low-Earth orbit, comparable in scale to the ISS. It will consist of a lander, two booster blocks and a large living module in which astronauts will sleep, train and rest during their almost six months journey to the Red Planet.
In 2023, the heroes will set foot on the Martian soil - and immediately get down to business. They will have to complete all the delicate work of assembling the base, start up food production systems, equip inflatable living modules. In a few weeks, five more cargo modules with spare parts and provisions will arrive (and again six chances out of six).
In the future, new colonists will arrive on Mars at each launch window (approximately once every two years): each time four bold and five cargo modules. The newly-made Martians will have no time to get bored: they will not only have to improve their life, but also work out and implement the technology of building houses directly from the local soil.
The task of mastering Martian building materials is much more important than it seems at first glance. The planet's magnetic field is extremely unstable, the magnetic poles do not coincide with the physical ones. The absence of a stable magnetic field and a rarefied atmosphere make the surface of the planet practically defenseless against radiation. To date, there is no technology that can protect astronauts from lethal radiation for a long time. Underground dwellings could provide shelter from this danger.
WE MAKE BETS
Funding is considered to be the main intrigue in the Mars One project. Whether it will be possible to collect the coveted $ 6 billion with the help of TV broadcasts - this question lies on the surface, and it is on it that the attention of the media is concentrated.
We would venture to suggest that in this case, money is not the main problem. If everything goes well, corporate sponsors and even governments can catch up with the project. Nowadays, there are many powerful people for whom space exploration is gradually moving from the sphere of financial interests to the sphere of personal ambition. This is the founder of SpaceX Elon Maek, and the creator of Virgin Galactic Richard Branson, and the first space tourist Dennis Tito, who, by the way, intends to send a married couple on a non-stop Mars expedition in 2018.
Alas, it is not so easy to bring up technologies. To date, there is no five-meter Dragon, no cargo rover, no proven protection against radiation (both for Martian dwellings, and just for long interplanetary flights), or even reliable information about the amount of ice in the ground. At the same time, the creators of the project are seriously counting on six successful launches in a row and on flawlessly accurate landings of at least 14 modules. As you know, there are no miracles.
On the other hand, I really want the fairy tale to come true. This would overturn the idea of both human capabilities and miracles. During the space race, the superpowers could not afford to make mistakes. Today, private space explorers can put any level of risk into their project - this is their money and their lives. Let's cross our fingers for them and wait ten years.
Popular Mechanics March 2013