Man on Mars by 2035...???? Scientists working for the US space agency are hoping to send humans to Mars by the year 2035, as they deem the planet to be the “logical choice” for interplanetary travel. In a sense its our destiny to move beyond this planet and Mars is the logical choice, Dr. Ellen Stofan, a 53-year-old geologist working at NASA, told CNN. Its a place where humans could live and work -- not out in the open -- but with not too-radical modifications. Travelling to Mars would take a human around eight months, but staying alive through a journey like that isnt considered as an easy task. Astronauts would face high levels of radiation -- we still have to figure out how to adequately protect them, said Stofan. Another hazard remaining is the thin atmosphere of the Red Planet. This would make it difficult to land a heavy spacecraft filled with humans and equipment. If you think of the Apollo capsule coming into Earth with a parachute, the Mars atmosphere is just so thin youve got to find some way of slowing yourself down really rapidly, explained Stofan, the daughter of a NASA engineer who watched her first rocket launch as a four-year-old. The scientist also explained that travelling to other planets can unlock a trove of secrets about our own planet -- Earth. Being able to compare the Earth to Venus, to Mars, and studying these same processes all around the solar system -- all of a sudden you get smarter about your own planet, Stofan explained. The US space agency on Monday awarded Airbus a $488-million contract to build a service module for the future American human space capsule, Orion. NASA plans to use Orion to fly astronauts to an asteroid that has been robotically relocated into a high orbit around the moon. Eventually, NASA wants to fly a four-member crew to Mars. The Orion contract comes days after European scientists successfully landed a probe on the surface of a comet for the first time. AN/GJH CommentsAdd Comment Click Here Latest From United States NASA wants man on Mars by 2035 »Read more Nurses criticize US govt. over Ebola »Read more US super-rich and tales of selfishness »Read more Two people killed in Ohio shooting »Read more Internet giants to Senate: Limit US spying »Read more US has to be engaged in ME over ISIL »Read more »See more articles Poll Where do you think the Iran nuclear talks are headed? Iran and the P5+1 will strike a deal by the Nov. 24 deadline The two sides will fail to agree on key issues and talks will collapse The two sides will agree to extend the negotiations after failing to reach a deal by Nov. 24 TodayLast WeekLast Month Most ReadMost CommentedMost SharedMost Watched ‘Saudi prince paid for 9/11 attacks’ »Read more State of emergency declared in Missouri »Read more ISIL executes about 1,500 in Syria »Read more 9/11 was big ‘lie’ by US to wage wars »Read more Peter Kassig video might be set-up »Read more ISIL terrorists are currently on US soil »Read more presstv/detail/2014/11/18/386532/nasa-wants-man-on-mars-by-2035/
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 13:34:06 +0000
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