Considering how Elon Musk intends to send one hundred people to Mars, in a starship
for seven months without stopping halfway, for passengers to stretch their legs, and
get some fresh air outside the vessel.
Of course, it will be exhausting, and it will seem like living in an enclosed vessel without
getting a sense of nature, let alone living in it for good seven months, feeling the vibration
of the starship while traveling on a lengthy trip to Mars — a sort of crazy situation.
Not only that, but what if there is a fatality on the way that threaten human life, or if
any of the scientists are involved in an accident while carrying out research on Mars?
How would Elon Musk and SpaceX handle such scenarios in order to save lives?
Or does the company intend to build some chambers onboard the spacecraft and outfit them with
medical equipment to serve as the starship's health care center?
Lets find out all these in this video.
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First and foremost, what do we mean by a life support system?
Let us clarify: a life support system includes everything required for humanity to essentially
exist here on Earth.
The most basic requirement is the environment.
Life support systems must provide the proper gas combination for humans to breathe while
also removing carbon dioxide from the air before it accumulates to a harmful level.
Temperatures and air pressure must be kept within acceptable limits.
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, barely touched on the technologies required to keep people alive
and healthy aboard Starship – technologies that must be developed quickly if the starship
is to take humans to deep-space destinations, such as the Moon and Mars in the near future.
However, if SpaceX intends to keep humans on Starship for a lengthy period of time,
things will undoubtedly get more problematic.
The vehicle's weight and complexity are increased by life support equipment.
Astronauts require areas to exercise and sleep, as well as fresh air and water to drink.
And, if Starship is to establish a lunar outpost, as Musk has often proposed, the stronger radiation
environment on the Moon and Mars will necessitate sophisticated types of shielding.
All of these issues will be worsened if a crew is sent to Musk's ideal destination - Mars.
Because of the enormous distance, astronauts will not receive resupply flights for years,
and there will also be communication difficulties with Earth.
Radiation exposure will also worsen, and of course, this would damage the human body.
Someone like the deputy director for the Translational Research Institute for Space Health, James
Hury, somehow doesn’t believe in Musk when he expressed his doubts by saying that “It’s
extremely naive to think that we can send people to Mars within even the next decade,
Realistically, it’s going to be at least 10 years or more before we feel comfortable
doing that”
But he might be saying nothing but the truth anyways.
In a nutshell, what we're trying to convey here is that if SpaceX intends to build a
long-term human presence on the Moon, things will grow more horrific.
People will more likely get exposed to deep-space radiation, and galactic cosmic rays the longer
they dwell away from Earth.
These are very energetic particles emitted by the Sun or distant sources outside our
galaxy.
They have the ability to puncture skin and other materials, inflicting injury to biological
tissues.
Whereas, here on Earth, the vast of these radiations are shielded from humans by the
Earth's atmosphere and magnetic field, but that protection is absent in deep space and
even on the Moon.
As a result, astronauts are almost always required to wear hefty spacesuits to protect
their bodies from these dangerous radiations.
Donoviel attempted to demonstrate how damaging radiations in space may be to human health,
claiming that the Apollo astronauts only saw minor increases in exposure due to their brief
stay on the Moon.
Living on the Moon, will expose you to a whole different degree of radiation, and if the
Sun experiences a significant solar flare, it may send a massive dosage of radiation
toward the Moon.
Even Nasa, a big trustworthy company that has undertaken several space investigations,
believes that increased radiation exposure might cause harm to the central nervous system
and impair brain functioning.
In reality, some form of radiation shielding will be required, and the stainless-steel
exterior of the Starship may not be sufficient to protect humans for an extended period of
time on the surface.
Experts have recommended coating long-term lunar dwellings with water or ice to slow
down these particles, but some components in cosmic rays, known as heavy ions, may be
able to penetrate even that.
Perhaps the best alternative is to build dwellings coated with lunar dirt, which will need a
large amount of excavation and building equipment.
Musk implied in his most recent presentation that SpaceX would do the same.
But, if that's the case, judgments on that must be taken long in advance of the establishment
of any lunar metropolis.
Mining equipment is also required if this lunar settlement is to be self-sustaining.
Resupply trips to the Moon will be far more challenging than flights to the International
Space Station in Earth orbit, let alone Mars, because the Moon is days distant in transit
time.
Astronauts at a Moon base will have to rely on the resources available to them, such as
soil for building and maybe water ice for drinking and converting into fuel.
For the time being, specialists are unsure if people can survive and thrive in the Moon's
low gravity environment.
Our bones and muscles are habituated to Earth's gravity, but these tissues may degenerate
faster on the Moon, which has one-sixth the gravity of our beloved planet earth.
Exercise might help with that, but experts aren't sure if it'll be enough or what type
of gym equipment would be required.
Also, during the launch, design elements such as lighting and chair angle may have an influence
on how people feel and behave.
These issues are only the tip of an iceberg of what’s may happen, to begin a lunar outpost,
let alone transfer humans to Mars forever, a plethora of issues must be solved.
But Musk did something close to be good news when he addressed life support and human health
in his Starship talks before.
In his most recent presentation, when he was asked twice about the types of life support
systems that Starship would use.
His reply was; “I don’t think it’s actually super hard to do that, relative to the spacecraft
itself,” Musk said.
“The life support system is pretty straightforward.”
He expressed his confidence in resolving any dangers that may arise in space, and it appears
that he has everything figured out.
However, Spacex has already done something great with the life support system, when they
sent the new Crew Dragon capsule, which is designed to transport astronauts to the International
Space Station.
However, providing life support for a brief flight to orbit is very different than providing
life support for weeks or even months in deep space.
On a trip to orbit, it may be conceivable to deliver both water and oxygen in finite
containers – just enough to carry humans to their long-term objective.
On the International Space Station, where people reside for months at a time, a "regenerative"
system for things like oxygen and water is in place, which means they're recycled in
a closed-loop system.
Urine and sweat are recycled and reused as drinking water, while some of the water is
broken apart into oxygen and hydrogen (through electrolysis) so that humans may breathe in
outer space.
Musk did suggest that the Starship's life support systems will be regenerative.
However, life support systems are typically large and complicated, altering the vehicle's
operation.
It is also critical to understand how to keep people safe in emergency circumstances.
Musk promises that humans will be able to go to space aboard Starship as soon as possible,
so working out the life support system should be a top focus in the next months, since for,
the company is busy manufacturing more raptor engines and fabricating more starships.
Since the technology exists now, they may be able to meet their ambitious timeframe.
However, SpaceX has little recorded experience with regenerative life support systems.
Despite the fact that the Crew Dragon's life support system is not regenerative, no individuals
have flown on the vehicle as of yet.
Musk claims that just 5% of SpaceX's resources are now being utilized to create Starship,
which may explain why rocket construction is the company's main emphasis right now,
rather than even life support systems.
Human safety and life-sustaining mechanisms will be put in place with time.
What level of technology, in your opinion, will be ideal for protecting human life on
the starship while it travels to Mars?
Please do well to share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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