MISSION TO MARS; NASA BRAINSTORMS TO PUT MEN ON RED PLANET.Byline: Seth Borenstein Knight Ridder
Knight Ridder (IPA: /ˈrɪdɚ/) was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. Newspapers Six years ago astronaut Andy Thomas Andrew "Andy" Sydney Withiel Thomas (born December 18 1951 in Adelaide, South Australia) is an Australian-born U.S. aerospace engineer and a NASA astronaut. He became a U.S. citizen in December 1986. [1] He is married to NASA astronaut Shannon Walker. thought the first person who would step on Mars probably hadn't been born yet. Sending people to Mars seemed technologically unattainable, unbelievably expensive and politically unpalatable. Now, Thomas thinks he just might hitch a ride to Mars, possibly landing July 4, 2014. Thanks to the fascination with John Glenn's space shuttle space shuttle, reusable U.S. space vehicle. Developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), it consists of a winged orbiter, two solid-rocket boosters, and an external tank. launch this fall and last year's Mars Pathfinder landing, progress in building the international space station in orbit and continuing improvements in technology, long-held dreams of exploring the Red Planet are moving onto the public agenda. It won't be easy or cheap - the cost is estimated at $20 billion or more. There are huge political and engineering hurdles. But planning for the first visit to Mars is well under way. At Johnson Space Center in Houston, engineers are slaving over the technical details of how to get to Mars, brainstorming in a conference room dominated by a three-dimensional photo of the planet from Mars Pathfinder. In Washington, top-level bureaucrats are wrestling with the why-go-to-Mars question and are preparing a plan of exploration for endorsement by the next president. And across the nation, the private Mars Society is spreading the gospel of a flight to Mars, with 70 chapters forming in just half a year. The urge to go is noticeable: ``Mars continues to be the biggest magnet out there pulling us. I think it's the great next destination,'' said Bret Drake, chief Mars mission designer for NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. . Andy Thomas hopes to be there. A different world ``Just imagine what it would be like to walk on another planet,'' Thomas said excitedly. ``Every sight that you see, the rocks, the sands, erosion - everything there would be from a completely different world. . . . That first moment, you are probably going to be completely overwhelmed. I think it would be very hard not to have some sense of awe that you are representing the human race at the very moment of making history.'' Already, NASA is building equipment expected to pave the way to Mars. In 26 months, a robotic spaceship will carry some experiments to the Red Planet that are designed as precursors to a human mission. In 2003, a second probe will make rocket fuel from Martian soil and atmosphere, which is crucial for a manned Mars mission. ``We are laying the groundwork for human exploration,'' said Cornell University Cornell University, mainly at Ithaca, N.Y.; with land-grant, state, and private support; coeducational; chartered 1865, opened 1868. It was named for Ezra Cornell, who donated $500,000 and a tract of land. With the help of state senator Andrew D. astronomer Steven Squyres, principal scientist for the Mars 2001 mission. ``Mars 2001 will carry very sophisticated experiments to pave the way for humans - propellants, hazards in soil, radiation environment. These are things we need to know before we send humans.'' NASA usually keeps its robotic and human missions separate; the only other time they were brought together was before Apollo's moon landings in the late 1960s. That's why NASA's approach to Mars is serious this time, said Hum Mandel, who was hired by the space agency in 1962 to plan a manned Mars mission and is part of the current team. Closer than ever ``We're closer than we've ever been,'' Mandel said. ``The thing that's different this time is we have real things happening.'' The current Mars plan involves using a series of spaceships that would make a six-month flight to Mars and use that planet's cold and unbreathable un·breath·a·ble adj. Not fit or suitable to be breathed: unbreathable exhaust fumes. atmosphere to break their runaway speed. The first ships would prepare the way, stockpiling stock·pile n. A supply stored for future use, usually carefully accrued and maintained. tr.v. stock·piled, stock·pil·ing, stock·piles To accumulate and maintain a supply of for future use. fuel and supplies on the Martian surface. The first manned mission A manned mission is usually in reference to launching a human into orbit or to astronomical destinations, such as planetary bodies or other star systems. Humans have so far only traveled to the moon under the United States' NASA, though the Soviet Union has launched first manned would consume two and a half years - six months traveling there, six months coming back and 500 days exploring Mars. When the first teardrop-shaped ship carrying humans lands feet down, the crew members will quickly step outside, even if they are space-sick, Drake predicted. ``There's going to be a very strong desire to get out and kick some Martian dust,'' he said. ``There's going to be a lot of reflection, a lot of thinking about the future. In my view it'll be some sort of international symbol.'' After the pomp-and-ceremony of the first broadcast back to Earth (with a 20-minute delay for the broadcast signal to travel through the solar system solar system, the sun and the surrounding planets, natural satellites, dwarf planets, asteroids, meteoroids, and comets that are bound by its gravity. The sun is by far the most massive part of the solar system, containing almost 99.9% of the system's total mass. ), the crew would live in an inflatable shelter and spend its days searching for signs of life and the origins of the solar system. There have been a number of technological breakthroughs that seem likely to bring down the cost of that Mars undertaking, thus raising its likelihood. They range from developments as simple as smaller, cheaper and faster computers to something called ion propulsion Ion propulsion Vehicular propulsion caused by the high-speed discharge of a beam of electrically charged minute particles. These particles, usually positive ions, are generated and accelerated in an electrostatic field produced within an ion thruster attached taken right out of an old episode of ``Star Trek  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. .'' A version of ion propulsion, basically pushing a ship forward by shooting speedy atomic particles out the back, is being considered for part of the ride to Mars. It's cheaper than the traditional chemical rockets. This fall, NASA launched its first ion-propelled space probe and after a rocky start, it's working fine. NASA also is working on a space taxi Space Taxi is a computer game for the Commodore 64. It was written by John Kutcher and published by MUSE Software in 1984. Space Taxi is an action game, with an idea similar to Jumpman. , a crew-only ship, to be used to shuttle back and forth from Earth to the international space station. That too can be used in the NASA plan to Mars. A giant balloon at Johnson Space Center is a breakthrough, too. It's an inflatable three-story house called Transhab. It is bulletproof Refers to extremely stable hardware and/or software that cannot be brought down no matter what unusual conditions arise. See industrial strength. bulletproof - Used of an algorithm or implementation considered extremely robust; lossage-resistant; capable of correctly (NASA has fired guns into it to prove it) and cheap to transport because it folds into a space shuttle cargo bay. Inflated, it provides a large living space for the astronauts on Mars. The space agency is considering using it on the international space station as a testing ground Noun 1. testing ground - a region resembling a laboratory inasmuch as it offers opportunities for observation and practice and experimentation; "the new nation is a testing ground for socioeconomic theories"; "Pakistan is a laboratory for studying the use of American for a Mars mission. ``We're really in a good posture to begin to develop some of the technology,'' Drake said. Some are skeptical Not every expert thinks man will land on Mars soon. ``The enthusiasts . . . are not in the real world politically. Mars is a big, big apple to bite,'' said science fiction author Ben Bova Benjamin William Bova (born November 8, 1932) is an American science fiction author and editor. Biographical timeline
lecture, speech rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to the choir, they overlook the fact that only a small number of people are in the choir.'' Bova, who wants to see people sent to Mars but doubts it will happen in his lifetime, has seen the ebb and flow the alternate ebb and flood of the tide; often used figuratively. See also: Ebb of Mars mania. He believes there is no political will in Washington to send people there. Ray Bradbury Noun 1. Ray Bradbury - United States writer of science fiction (born 1920) Bradbury, Ray Douglas Bradbury , perhaps the most famed and evocative author of stories about man's exploration of Mars The exploration of Mars has been an important part of the space exploration programs of the Soviet Union (later Russia), the United States, Europe, and Japan. Dozens of robotic spacecraft, including orbiters, landers, and rovers, have been launched toward Mars since the 1960s. , said America needs an enemy to send people to the planet. ``What we need is competition; and there's no competition,'' Bradbury said. ``If Red China wanted to go to Mars, we'd be there immediately.'' Money will be an issue. There may be a federal budget surplus now, but there's also a lot of competition to spend it, said Emory University Emory University (ĕm`ərē), near Atlanta, Ga.; coeducational; United Methodist; chartered as Emory College 1836, opened 1837 at Oxford. It became Emory Univ. in 1915 and in 1919 moved to Atlanta. political science professor Gary McKissick. ``It's going to be a hard fight for NASA and the scientific community to make the push for Mars,'' he said. When NASA presents its case for Mars exploration, it won't put forth just one reason, such as beating the Russians, agency executives say. It will enlist a combination of inspiration, science, economic benefits and even entertainment, said Alan Ladwig, senior adviser to NASA Administrator Dan Goldin. In September, Goldin gave Ladwig the one-year mission of coming up with a rationale - political, popular and economic - to send people to Mars. ``There is a great appeal,'' Ladwig said. ``The question, though, becomes does the appeal remain once you put a dollar figure next to it.'' NASA knows this from 1989. That's when, on the 20th anniversary of Apollo 11's moon landing, President Bush unveiled a grand plan to go back to the moon and on to Mars. It was called the space exploration initiative. Then came the cost estimates: $400 billion to $500 billion. ``Once somebody tagged $400 billion on it, it was dead on arrival,'' Ladwig said. Robert Zubrin Robert Zubrin is an American aerospace engineer and author, best known for his advocacy of manned Mars exploration. He was the driving force behind Mars Direct—a proposal intended to produce significant reductions in the cost and complexity of such a mission. helped revive interest in a mission to Mars four years ago with his book ``The Case for Mars,'' which outlined a cheaper way to get to the planet. He proposed making rocket fuel from the Martian air and soil, thereby reducing the weight - and thus the cost - of materials. A team of three dozen engineers at Johnson Space Center appropriated the idea, with his permission, and used it to beginning planning for a human mission to Mars. Goldin told the engineers to get the cost down to $20 billion and he'd consider pitching it to the president. The latest proposal is in that ballpark, said exploration manager Doug Cooke. It's a plan that changes all the time, adopting new technologies and scrapping older ones. Accepting risk is the key to making Mars exploration affordable. If it is to be like Lewis and Clark's exploration of the West, an analogy Zubrin often uses, people have to realize that someone probably will get hurt. Maybe badly. Maybe they won't get home, said John Charles For the American football player of the same name see John Charles (American football). John Charles, CBE (27 December 1931 – 21 February 2004) was a Welsh football player. , the NASA life scientist attached to the Mars team. Studies of submarine and Antarctic missions show that in a 2-1/2-year exploration, there will be one emergency-room-type medical problem, he said. And 1 in 3 of these missions will have such a serious medical emergency that it would normally require treatment in an intensive care unit. ``We ought to expect that because it's a pioneering endeavor we are going to lose astronauts,'' Charles said. But astronauts such as Thomas say Thomas Say (June 27, 1787 – October 10, 1834) was an American naturalist, entomologist, malacologist and carcinologist. He was a taxonomist and is often considered to be the founder of descriptive entomology in the United States and one of the founding fathers of the they are willing to take the risk, if America is willing to send them: ``We know how to do it. We just need an economic and national, perhaps international, commitment to do it.'' THE FACTS THE TRIP: The 416 million mile voyage to Mars would take at least six months. THE TIMETABLE: NASA tentatively plans to have a human set foot on Mars on July 4, 2014. THE MISSION: Scientists are hoping to answer the ultimate question: Is there life beyond Earth? Plan for a MISSION to MARS NASA engineers are working out the technical details of how to get a human crew to Mars and back safely. This is the latest version of their plan: 2008: Earth return vehicle - No crew - Launched into orbit around Mars 2011: Cargo lander - No crew - Lands on Mars - Starts processing carbon dioxide carbon dioxide, chemical compound, CO2, a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that is about one and one-half times as dense as air under ordinary conditions of temperature and pressure. from atmosphere into rocket fuel (methane and liquid oxygen) 2014: Crew lander (1) Flight from Earth - About 4 to 6 months; crew of five or six. (2) Crew explores surface - Collects samples, drills into Mars crust, looks for signs of life. (3) Crew leaves in ascent vehicle, the top part of cargo lander, using fuel made from Martian atmosphere. (4) Crew meets return vehicle in Mars orbit, enters it. (5) Return to Earth - 4 to 6 month flight; soft landing. SOURCE: NASA KEY QUESTIONS ABOUT MARS Here are some of the questions scientists want to answer as new robotic spacecraft A robotic spacecraft is a spacecraft with no humans on board, that is usually under telerobotic control. A robotic spacecraft designed to make scientific research measurements is often called a space probe. swarm over Mars, likely to be followed by human explorers early in the next century: Did living organisms once exist on Mars? What kind of creatures were they? Do they still exist? Where is the most likely place to find them? Why did Mars, once warm and wet, turn dry and cold? Where did its once-ample water go? Can Mars be made warm again? Can simple life forms, such as algae algae (ăl`jē) [plural of Lat. alga=seaweed], a large and diverse group of primarily aquatic plantlike organisms. These organisms were previously classified as a primitive subkingdom of the plant kingdom, the thallophytes (plants that , be reintroduced to Mars? Could the planet be made fit for human occupation? If Mars lost the capacity to support life, could that happen to Earth, too? What does Mars tell us about the origin and development of the solar system? - Knight Ridder Newspapers CAPTION(S): Photo, 2 Boxes PHOTO (Color) A drawing depicts the Mars Surveyor Mars Surveyor can mean several things:
NASA BOX: (1) Plan for a Mission to Mars (see text) Knight Ridder Tribune (2) Key Questions about Mars (see text) |
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