Many scientists talk about the colonization of space as a settled matter. Sooner or later, technology will certainly reach a level at which the possibility of populating other planets will become real. This will help solve the problems associated with the lack of earth resources. Experts are already beginning to prepare for the mission: there are already projects for a ship and projects for houses for settlers.
Anthropologist Cameron Smith of Portland State University in Oregon believes that in order to establish a colony on another planet, it will take at least 40 thousand people, of which 23 thousand are of reproductive age. This number of potential colonists will help ensure genetic and demographic diversity. Moreover, the journey to the closest habitable planet outside the solar system will take at least 150 years.
This means that most of the participants in the space expedition will have to spend their entire life on the ship. If you send only a few hundred astronauts into space, as previously assumed, the chances of survival in the event of an unforeseen situation will be much less and the mission may simply fail … That is, to achieve this goal, it will be necessary to build a gigantic spacecraft the size of a city.
For a mission to Mars, 20 thousand people may be enough. Still, the more the better. Moreover, it is possible that such missions may be rare.
Of course, first of all, the success of the enterprise rests on the financial issue. Therefore, experts are looking for opportunities to reduce the cost of expeditions. One of the ways is to deliver future colonists to the Red Planet in a state of artificial suspended animation. This will allow temporarily (the journey to Mars will take about six months) to slow down metabolic processes in the astronauts' bodies.
A similar procedure is already widely used in medicine today. Anabiosis will save a number of resources such as food, drink, clothing, equipment, and various amenities. Aerospace engineer Mark Shaffer spoke about this at the International Astronomical Congress in Toronto.
The introduction to suspended animation will be carried out by inhalation of the refrigerant using the RhinoChill intranasal system. This will reduce the temperature of the human body to 31.6-33.8 degrees within six hours. After a certain time, the system will take people out of the "frozen" state. It will also provide for emergency "warming" and awakening in case of emergencies.
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But, most likely, the crew members will fall into suspended animation in shifts, and no more than 14 days at a time. The duty shift at this time will control the ship's systems and engage in scientific research.
NASA experts are racking their brains on more than how to get the colonists to their destination. The agency recently announced a competition with Makerbot for the best home design for future Martians. The winner is Noah Nornberger, who is involved in the design and construction of various 3D objects.
A model of the future Martian dwelling, called The Queen B ("Queen Bee"), Nornberger printed on a 3D printer. It is arranged according to the principle of a honeycomb. Each "honeycomb" is a hexagonal room. They are all the same size and are separated from each other by partitions. By removing the partitions, you can make the room more spacious.
In principle, you can add modules, thus expanding your living space, for example, when new "tenants" appear … The basic model is divided into 12 compartments, which include a kitchen, two bathrooms, two bedrooms, a recreation room, a garden, a laundry room and a laboratory.
Depleted uranium panels are designed to protect the house and its inhabitants from cosmic radiation, and the roof and walls are covered with durable material that will protect people from small meteorites constantly falling on Mars and sandstorms that are no less frequent on the planet … The building is also designed so that its walls kept warm as long as possible, because the atmosphere on Mars is much colder than in most of the Earth's regions …
By the way, the first real candidate for participation in the Mars mission has already appeared. This is 13-year-old schoolgirl Alyssa Carson from the American city of Baton Rouge (Louisiana). Today, the teenage girl speaks several foreign languages and has received initial training at three NASA camps located in different parts of the world. She even has a special call sign for space flight - "blueberry" ("blueberry").
Alyssa assures that traveling to Mars is the main goal of her life. Of course, at that age no one will send her there. But by the time the flight takes place, she will have reached a fairly mature age. And other "lucky ones" will surely join her …