Experts estimate that at least 30-50 years could separate us from sending a manned mission to Mars. The obstacles to achieving this are primarily the astronomical costs and risks to the crew’s safety. Lack of adequate funding has already forced NASA to abandon a mission that was supposed to bring Mars samples back to Earth. Sending a human on a journey to Mars, which would take about half a year just to get there, would be considerably more expensive and logistically challenging.
“The feasible date for humans to reach the surface of Mars mainly depends on the budget someone is willing to allocate for this purpose. Most of the technical conditions needed have already come within our grasp. We have yet to build big rockets, large habitats that will allow us to survive there. If we were to invest as much money as during the Apollo program, I believe it could be done within 30-50 years, probably not earlier,” estimates Dr. Anna Łosiak, a planetary geologist from the Institute of Geological Sciences PAS and the European Space Foundation, in an interview with Newseria Innowacje agency.
Mars has been studied by humans for over half a century. It is the second object in the Solar System, after the Moon, to which we have sent research probes. The first attempt was made in 1960 by the Soviet Union, but it was the fourth probe, the American Mariner 4, that successfully reached Mars and sent back 21 images. Currently, seven orbiters are operating in Mars’ orbit, and two rovers, Curiosity and Perseverance, are moving across its surface.
“We are already able to observe Martian structures with excellent resolution, even up to 30 cm per pixel. So if there are Martian cyclists, we could easily spot them from the images. We see a lot of things from the satellite, not just in imaging as we see with our eyes, but also in multi-spectral imaging, for example in infrared. Half a century of regular expeditions allow us to map very precisely the distribution of certain minerals, resources, and even detect small amounts of water on the Martian surface. Rovers and landers provide us with detailed data about selected locations,” says Dr. Anna Łosiak.
Technologically, we are best prepared for Martian missions. A major stride in this respect was the development and sending of Mars rovers. The Mars Rover Challenge serves as a testing ground for these devices. Its tenth edition took place in early September. A couple-hundred-ton, nearly 900 sq. meters construction of red porphyry from the Zalas quarry, that occurs in the vicinity of Krakow and recreates Martian surface properties, was created in Krakow specifically for this event.
The biggest challenge in Mars exploration, however, will be sending a man there. This is still a distant vision, primarily due to the safety of such a mission. Scientists emphasize that Mars, although it is the closest planet to Earth, is about 56 to 401 million km away depending on their respective positions. It could be assumed that the journey would take about 6-9 months. For comparison, manned ships take about three days to reach the Moon. An expedition to Mars would be logistically very challenging. Another major hurdle is preparing the human body for such a long journey.
“First of all, you need to choose exemplary healthy human beings, because if something goes wrong, even a toothache, the astronaut doctor probably won’t be able to perform most surgeries or even just extract a tooth. So these people must be very healthy, and on the other hand, they must work hard to stay healthy. Lack of gravity has a detrimental effect on us, as we lose a lot of muscle mass because unused organs atrophy. All astronauts rigorously exercise in simulated gravity for several hours each day to protect against excessive muscle and bone density loss, but it doesn’t fully work. So we can do some things, but astronauts will pay with their health for this journey,” assesses Dr. Anna Łosiak.
