According to the prediction of the US space agency NASA, which is planning to use it, stepping on the surface of Mars will be possible from 2039. to the moon As a “testing ground” for innovative technology and research to help humans survive on the Red Planet.
A man's visit to Mars would be a “giant step” for humanity, but first it is necessary to return to the Moon, 50 years after the last Apollo mission, to sort out the technology, logistics and enabling operations. To expand space exploration, NASA engineer Carlos Garcia-Colon explains to EFE.
How to live on the moon, protect yourself, work and explore its surface is part of NASA's Artemis project, which has several phases: the first unmanned spacecraft was launched on November 16, 2022 and is scheduled to carry astronauts into space in 2026. Earth's natural satellite.
Malaga Congress
“This decade we will do what is necessary to return to the Moon. Next we will focus on infrastructure, surfacing and completing the Gateway Space Station,” he explained.
García Colón is the director of the Coordination Office of the Orion spacecraft's European Service Module at NASA's Glenn Research Center and is participating these days in the 'Small Satellites and Services International Forum (SSSSIF)' conference in Malaga.
Work on computers begins in the late 1930s Marte. The Málaga-based engineer believes that by the end of that decade “or early 40s” they will be “too advanced” to take that step: “I haven't worked on it anyway, but I sure hope so,” he says.
To “accelerate” this process, it aims to combine the work of government agencies with the innovations of private companies. “Who would have thought that today there would be tourists accompanying ships to Earth orbit and the space station?” He's referring to SpaceX or Blue Origin planes.
On Mars, “Houston, we have a problem” is invalid
While it might take three or four days to reach the Moon, and “communications are already delayed by a few seconds,” a trip to Mars could be a six- to nine-month journey, and once there, communication delays are 20 minutes one way. , says Garcia-Galan.
At that distance, “if you forget something or break something, if the crew has a health problem, you can't buy it. You can't react immediately, you have to have what you need there,” emphasizes the engineer, for example, the legendary phrase “Houston, we have a problem.” It takes 20 minutes to reach the ground and 20 minutes to find out what it is.
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For this reason, he says, “we need to develop new technologies to be completely independent,” using the information provided by nanosatellites that allow us to create maps of the lunar surface or build a communications network.
to the moon It will be used as a “testing ground” to establish human settlements and test technology, NASA's Independent Earth Operations Program administrator Andres Martinez told EFE, including pioneering work in robotics and communications. and navigation.
Martinez is immersed in organizing experts, scientists and engineers to design a system that will automatically solve any problem that might arise on Mars, so that an alarm is activated before it happens.
Sensors for survival, agriculture and biology
The goal is to set foot on Mars in 2039, the last year of the 1930s, but “this is a challenge and depends on joint work with industry and coordination with other international partners, so as to be able to “expand” the horizon. “, he admits.
The research required for the long-awaited mission includes both the testing of technical equipment and the development of space agriculture and biological probes. It guarantees survival and avoids damage to people's DNA from deep space radiation.
Many experiments have been carried out on the International Space Station and lessons have been learned from them. “Plants use gravity as a compass to determine where the roots go,” and this means knowing how much gravity plants need to germinate and grow far from Earth, he points out.
Because its purpose is to create an ecosystem that allows survival in space. On a trip to Mars, the astronauts will have to “learn to survive those 80 days” and the first mission concept aims to “get there and stay for a while” so they can learn “how to make water”.
Satellites in lunar orbit
To understand the effects of being in space on living things and to protect humans, some biological experiments are being carried out on the BioSentinel satellite, in which NASA uses yeast because “its DNA behaves the same way when exposed to high levels of radiation,” Martinez explains.
By placing small satellites in lunar orbit, data can be extracted that can be used in other space missions in the future. “Humans are going to be interplanetary because, by nature, we are explorers,” he asserts.
The conquest of space was achieved much earlier in cinema, although in many cases the common visions of science fiction rather than reality. Andrés Martínez stayed with 'Interestellar' and admitted that 'Gravity' “made them laugh” because it was intended to “excite the general public” but was further removed from scientific basis.
(with information from EFE)
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