How Will We Journey to Mars?
Mars, Mars, Mars… All everyone has been talking about recently.
Humans do always have a deep desire to explore and seek adventure… from our youngest to our eldest.
And when they set their minds to something, they become unstoppable.
Throughout history, we've traveled across continents, sailed ships, flown airplanes,
and even launched rockets to discover new lands and push the boundaries of what's
possible. And until now, no challenge has been too impossible to overcome.
But there's one adventure that we haven't fully tackled yet, and it's a big one: a journey from
Earth to Mars. Can you imagine being part of a crew that lands on the Red Planet and takes the
first steps on its surface? That would be wild! You might have heard of a show called The Expanse
and many more that have gained a massive following in recent years. It follows a crew of characters
in a futuristic world where humans have colonized parts of our Solar System, from Earth to Mars
to the asteroid belt. They explore new worlds, uncover conspiracies, and fight for survival in a
universe full of danger. And while we're not quite at the level of interplanetary travel just yet,
the thrilling glimpse into what the future of space exploration could look like gives us the
motivation to keep going. Can you imagine building territory and expanding to Mars?
It would be incredible to be part of that journey and make history! Who knows what we might discover
on our way to the fourth planet from the Sun. Let’s see together what this trip would
look like… (roll intro)
Previous Missions So what have we sent so far to Mars?
Mars is an interesting world that is covered in dust and has a very thin atmosphere. Despite
its harsh conditions, Mars is a dynamic planet that experiences seasons, has polar ice caps,
and features canyons and extinct volcanoes, all of which we are a little familiar with on Earth.
Scientists have even found evidence that Mars was even more active in the past,
which is exciting to explore, and actually makes it the most explored planet so far!
We have sent a few different types of robotic explorers to Mars in order to
learn more about it. The most advanced of these robots is called Perseverance,
which just landed on Mars in February of 2021. It's the largest rover ever sent to another
planet and has the ability to take samples of the alien soil and rocks. There's also a helicopter
named Ingenuity that came along with Perseverance. Perseverance isn't the only spacecraft currently
on Mars. In fact, there are quite a few! Recently, China even became the second
country ever to successfully land a rover on Mars. There are also orbiters that study
Mars by flying around it and taking images, like the Hope mission launched by the United
Arab Emirates and a few others. The Hope probe is actually helping us map Mars fully. Check it out!
All of this exploration has taught scientists a lot about Mars' past. They've found lots of
evidence that it used to be much warmer and wetter, with a thicker atmosphere.
Do you think studying Mars will help us better understand our own planet and how it fits into
the larger scheme of our solar system? How will we get there?
Artemis Missions To get to Mars,
we first need to set up a permanent station on the moon. Why? Well, going from the moon to Mars
is much easier than going straight from Earth to Mars. Earth's gravity and thick atmosphere make it
tough to launch things into space all at once. It sure is nice to live on Earth, but it makes space
travel tricky. On the moon, though, we don't have those problems. Living on the moon will be tough,
but if we can make it work, the moon would be the perfect place to launch missions to other planets.
NASA's Artemis program has a long-term goal to use the moon as a spaceport and gateway to the solar
system. Missions 4 through 10 of the Artemis program will focus on learning how to live on
the moon. We'll find ways to use the resources that are already there, like rocks and metals,
to build new infrastructure. We'll also try to find water and oxygen.
Meanwhile, NASA and its partners will keep exploring Mars with robots. They'll even
deploy a drone called Ingenuity to fly around Mars and take pictures. NASA's next big project is to
build a space station that orbits Mars. The space station won't just be a stopping point
for trips to Mars; it will also be a place where astronauts can live for longer periods of time.
One of the goals of exploring Mars is to bring back samples of Mars rock and soil.
This will mark the end of one-way trips to Mars and help us learn even more about the Red Planet.
NASA never fails to come up with the best of plans to realize humanity’s wildest dreams…
They're working on multiple missions and getting everything ready right now.
The first real step will be the Artemis 10 mission, which will bring cargo to the
moon in preparation for the Mars mission. Then, there will be the Artemis 11 mission which will
deploy more cargo to the moon. Both missions will include a trip to the lunar surface.
But the real excitement begins with Artemis 12! This mission will bring the Mars one human
Lander to the Gateway station near the moon, which will have a crew of four people staying
there for 134 days. NASA plans to use Gateway as the starting point to send humans to Mars!
The astronauts will take off on a special ship with the Mars one human Lander and travel to
Mars. They'll stay in a pressurized vehicle that will be their home for 30 days on Mars.
This vehicle will also be their Rover, so they can explore the planet. It's important that
the vehicle does double duty because even in the reduced gravity of Mars, it takes time to adjust
from space travel especially from spending a long time in zero gravity environments.
Who knows what amazing discoveries the astronauts will make on their mission to Mars.
We can't wait to find out!
Space Travel
So how do you think we would be getting people from Earth to Mars?
To be able to do this, they're developing something called a Transit Habitat which will
use a mix of chemical and electric propulsion stages to power the journey. This habitat will
be able to support a crew of four people and take them all the way to Mars and back again.
Once they get to Mars, landing is a bit of a tricky process. The most recent perseverance
Rover actually landed using a special capsule that's similar to how people return to Earth
from space. The capsule had a huge parachute to slow its descent, but since the atmosphere on
Mars is too thin for the parachute alone to provide a soft landing, the Rover had
to use a jet pack to slow down via rockets. Fun fact: two of the crew members will stay
in orbit during the entire mission while the other two go down to the surface.
Did you know that there are two ways you can go to Mars? One way is a short stay mission, which lasts
30 days on Mars, but involves a long and grueling 403 day return trip through deep space. During the
trip to Mars, the spacecraft uses a gravitational boost around Venus to get there in only 217 days.
The other way to go to Mars is a long stay mission. This involves a direct course to
Mars that takes 210 days to reach the red planet. Once there, the mission lasts a whopping 496 days,
requiring extensive planning and preparation before deployment.
The return trip is then only 210 days, which is shortened thanks to an ideal transfer window.
Of course, the current technology we have limits our abilities to make these journeys
faster and smoother. However, NASA is always working on improving propulsion systems and
technology, so we may see faster and more comfortable trips to Mars in the future!
Future Spacecrafts NASA and DARPA are teaming
up to create a super cool spacecraft that will be powered by a nuclear thermal rocket
engine! It's called the demonstration rocket for Agile CIS Lunar Operations, or Draco for short.
This spacecraft will be able to travel faster, carry more stuff, go further distances,
and maneuver through space much more easily than any other vehicle we've ever used before!
One major benefit of this new engine is that it will increase science payload capacity and
provide higher power for instrumentation and communication. The engine works by using a
fission reactor to generate high temperatures, which heats up a liquid propellant that is
then used to propel the spacecraft.. This new nuclear engine is going to be three to
five times more efficient than traditional rocket engines, meaning it will take a lot
less time to get to places like Mars. Instead of 8 months, it could take as little as 45 days!
The Draco project is set to come online in less than five years, expected to be integrated with
an experimental spacecraft by 2027 and will help establish a space transportation capability for an
Earth-Moon economy. And who knows, maybe within the next decade, astronauts could travel to
Mars on a ship powered by the nuclear engine! Of course, there could be some delays along the way,
but we humans are optimistic and love a good challenge. We refuse to stay in one
place for too long and going to Mars is just the next step in our interstellar journey.
Recap-Outro To recap,
our journey to Mars is a daunting task, but humanity has never backed down from a challenge.
NASA's Artemis program is working hard to establish a permanent station on the moon,
which will serve as a gateway to the rest of the solar system. The journey to Mars will involve a
Transit Habitat, a special spacecraft that will use a mix of chemical and electric propulsion
stages to power the journey. Landing on Mars is a tricky process, but NASA
has shown that it's possible with the recent successful landing of the Perseverance Rover.
The future of space exploration looks bright, with the development of the nuclear thermal
rocket engine and the demonstration rocket for Agile CIS Lunar Operations. We're excited to
see what discoveries await us on our journey to the red planet, and we hope you are too!
So, stay tuned for updates on this exciting project and don't forget to give our video
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