material prepared
Darina Obukhova
Over the past two years, about 200,000 people from 107 countries have applied to participate in the project to colonize Mars in 2024. The Mars One non-return mission plans to send new members every 2 years. Of all those who wanted to, only 1,058 moved to the new qualifying stage. We talked with potential first settlers of Mars and found out why they want to fly to the Red Planet without the right to return.
Mars One
project founder: Bas Lansdorp
project start: 2011
mission: human colony on mars
The Mars One project was founded by the Dutchman Bas Lansdorp. After completing his Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, he worked for 5 years at the Delft University of Technology, then (in 2008) founded Ampyx Power, which was developing a new way to generate energy using wind. In 2011, he sold part of the shares to launch Mars One.
At the moment, Opportunity and Curiosity rovers are working on Mars, which deliver photographs of the relief and data on the planet's habitability to Earth. Every year, there is more and more data on Mars that makes it possible to colonize the planet: wind maps, the presence of perchlorates (salts of perchloric acid), soil containing nitrogen, alkali and other substances (approximating its composition to the earth's soil), an ancient cold lake in a crater, whose age is 3.6 billion years. The Mars One project aims to make human life on Mars a reality. The approximate cost of the first expedition - $ 6 billion, subsequent - $ 4 billion. The mission founders already have major contracts with Lockheed Martin, which designed the Phoenix in 2007, and Surrey Satellite Technology. In addition, funds are planned to be raised through an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign that offers selfies and a message into space as bonuses, as well as through the sale of rights to broadcast a reality show, which will begin at the stage of selection of participants.
Number of candidate applications
from around the world
according to the official website of Mars One
USA - 24%. In second place is India with 10% of the total number of requests, followed by: China (6%), Brazil (5%), UK (4%), Canada (4%), Russia (4%), Mexico (4% ),
Philippines (2%), Spain (2%), Colombia (2%), Argentina (2%), Australia (1%), France (1%), Turkey (1%), Chile (1%), Ukraine ( 1%), Peru (1%), Germany (1%), Italy (1%) and Poland (1%).
Project foundation
The beginning of the international selection of astronauts
Start of preparation and training of selected candidates
2018
Demo mission launch and communications satellite
Sending a research rover to Mars
Delivery to Mars of two residential blocks, two life support units and two power supply units
The rover sets up the outpost before people arrive, activates life support and power supply units
2024
Launch of the first manned spacecraft with four astronauts on board
Landing of the first group of people to create a settlement on Mars
Sending the next group of people (4 people), new modules, all-terrain vehicles
and other equipment
Criticism Mars One
Criticism of Mars one is mainly related to the technical and financial feasibility of the project. In 2012, Wired magazine rated the mission's plausibility as just 2 out of 10 as part of a story on the most daring private space exploration initiatives.
Rowne Joseph, who in 2010 simultaneously developed his own marketing campaign, as well as branding, a screening program and the financial side of a colony on Mars, calls Mars One nothing more than a fraud: “They have no spaceship, no space port, no launch complexes - this scam and deceit."
Chris Welch, director of master's programs at the International Space University, stated that "Even without taking into account the potential mismatch between the project's revenues and its cost and questions about its long-term viability, Mars One's plans do not show enough understanding of the problem to give us confidence that the project will be in able to meet its ambitious schedule."
Space tourist Richard Garriott said: “There are many projects with viable start plans. But it’s not enough just to raise money to be able to do it.”
Robert Zubrin, an advocate for manned Martian exploration and founder of the Mars Society, has also shown skepticism towards the mission's financial estimates, expecting that the proposed Mars One business plan would not cover its costs. Even based on the most optimistic calculations, this kind of program will cost not 6 or 10 billion, but several hundred billion dollars, and its development will take decades.
We met with potential participants in the Mars One program.
Mikhail Rumyantsev
24 years old, physicist,
works as a programmer, Minsk
Did you have an interest in Mars before the launch of the Mars One project? How did you find out about the project and did you immediately decide to apply?
My interest in Mars is based on my passion for new technologies.
Mars is the most tangible target for astronautics. This is a planet with resources that can be colonized.
The skepticism of some space agencies about the mission is known. There is an opinion that there are no technologies for the existence of the colony yet. What do you think about it?
The point is that Mars One is based on technology that already exists. Delivery of people will be little different from delivery of Curiosity. Long-standing NASA projects failed because at that time there were no technologies for their implementation. Now the attention of the organizers is focused on 2018 - then it is planned to send a drone that will choose a place to build a colony. It should be a place where there is water to reduce dependence on the Earth. The colonialists will have to develop and expand the built complex. The problem is to reduce the mass of the lander in order to reduce fuel consumption, and hence financial costs.
Soil research is actively conducted on Mars. The latter were connected to a lake in a crater near the Curiosity base site. How do you see the resource potential of Mars? How will the colony be provided?
the presence of life on Mars is an open question, to which the mission will provide an answer. Of course, the presence of water indicates that some form of life could exist. Water on Mars is the same as on Earth, only in solid form, there may be a different content of tritium ( superheavy hydrogen). I think that it can be used for technical purposes - for example, for taking a shower. As for food, at the initial stages you will need to bring it with you. Later - I see huge potential in 3D printing. This is the ability to create simple parts for equipment. I believe that someday there will be internet on Mars. Already at this stage, it will be possible to build a closed biosystem in which water reproduction will reach 95%. It is also important that the original settlement will be slightly deepened below the surface. It is important to provide protection from radiation, since Mars has a weak atmosphere.
Motivation and ability to work are the most important
in a group. I have enough motivation.
I believe that people are capable of anything for the sake of a goal.
What was included in the first test?
There was a huge questionnaire, which took me several hours to fill out. For example, the question: “How do you feel about the fact that you will never see your loved ones?”. The first selection weeded out those who were romantically related to the project. Also, technical education is a priority - not so much formal as a way of thinking. Now you will need to pass a medical examination.
In the listing of the necessary qualities of a mission participant on the project website - stability, creativity, adaptability, the ability to joke. Which of them are your forte?
The most important thing is the ability to work in a group and motivation. I have enough motivation. This is an opportunity to be part of a turning point in human history. The final four will be people who can exist without conflict. They will be trained in a Mars-like environment - in Antarctica, in the desert. I believe that people are capable of anything for a purpose. At Mars One, it's not the individual that counts, it's teamwork.
Photographer: Sergey Gudilin
How do you see your contribution to the mission?
This will be a research contribution - an analysis of the resources of Mars, its past. There will be unique conditions for the interaction of people - a new challenge. Space colonization is inevitable, someday the Sun will go out, this is a natural stage in the evolution of a star. It will not be easy for anyone, but it is worth overcoming. The idealistic goal is to create a society, although in the initial stages, the creation of a family will not be possible, for example, pregnancy in a gravity other than Earth has not been investigated.
Where do you see the main potential of Mars One? Is it more of a reality show, research, or really a future place to live?
The final stage is still far away, but I really hope that everything will work out. The main problem is funding, the mission will cost more than the announced 6 billion. The TV show model is good for monetization - the rights to broadcast the Olympics are worth 20 billion, for example. I heard that the reality Mars One will be handled by John de Mol - the creator of "Big Brother". Bas Lansdorp is a very competent manager: contracts have already been signed with serious sponsors.
Such missions will allow humanity to change priorities. For example, the project's campaign is not currently collecting the required amount on Indiegogo, but the new lotion for the iPhone is. People should think not only about how to buy a new device, but also how to make life better. Starting from not throwing garbage on the street and parking in the right places, and ending with solving global problems. The development of technology is ahead of the development of public consciousness. Mars One - this is the case when I put the public interest above my own, personal.
Artyom Goncharov
22 years old, engineer, Voronezh
“I read an article about the project back in 2011. I immediately wrote to the organizers, but they replied that everything was at the preparation stage and we should wait. I think that in the final four there will be people from different continents - two Americans or Russians will not be there. The main goal of the mission is to colonize other planets, create settlements. I think that Mars is habitable: the atmosphere protects people, there is a magnetic field. I think the equator will be chosen for the colony - during the day the temperature there is up to +30, at night up to -99. It will be possible to cope with technical means. I think that the initial research will focus on how best to get water, oxygen, equip the colony. Mars One succeeded in raising interest in space, as the government failed. If it doesn't exist, a similar project will appear. I think the final outcome depends on finances and the decision of some international organization. But sending people is inevitable. Even in the 70s, the USSR had a project for an interplanetary ship, which was planned to be sent to Mars together with people.”
Alexey Kozhukhovsky
20 years old, Krasnoyarsk
“I became interested in Mars after reading the novel War of the Worlds.
I like that this is a mission of no return: not just fly back and forth, but colonize another planet. The most rational way out is not to wait for terraforming, but to organize a colony on Mars in the near future and develop it. Gradually increase the population, it will be possible to place production facilities that will emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, then plant microorganisms: some are able not only to survive, but also to reproduce in the Martian atmosphere. The primary purpose of the mission is research."
Alexey Isaiko
35 years old, television technology consultant, Moscow
“The beauty of the project is that all the technologies for its implementation are already available today. The only thing that can happen is their reduction in price or improvement. There was life on Mars, here I agree with Robert Zubrin: the ocean has existed for a billion years. My goal in the project is knowledge, the opportunity to be realized. The main potential is to create a future place to live. I have children, but at the time of the mission they will be 20 years old. I hope that Mars One will allow you to communicate with them, despite the physical distances.
Julia Yaglova
37 years old, sales manager,
Yekaterinburg
"My favorite childhood book is 'I'll be back in 1000 years'. Soviet fiction about a camp in which people of different professions from all over the world are preparing to become colonists on a distant planet. Mars One is a chance to make a dream come true. My most important skill is to work in a team. The colonists will live in a narrow world and it is necessary that they do not kill each other, but work effectively. I have experience in managing people of different ages and effectively building work.
Next year there will be a simulation of isolation - 50-60 people will be sent to a limited space for three months. 24 of them will complete 10 years of training. For me, an expedition is a chance to live two different lives in one physical life. With 10 years of preparation, I will be able to live my earthly life at an accelerated pace. In Martian life, I set research tasks: I wonder how the work of the brain will change. In my free time, I want to do music writing, programming, algorithms there - things that there is not enough time for on Earth. ”
Objective of the project
Mars One is a private project led by Bas Lansdorp, whose goal is to fly to Mars and establish a colony on its surface. A feature of the project should be the broadcast of the entire mission on television.
According to the organizers of the project, Mars One is not an aerospace company, so the development, production and launch of spacecraft will be carried out by subcontractors. The company employs only 8 people.
Project plan
Official website of the Mars 1 project contains a description of the stages to be implemented during 2011 - 2029. Each of the planned stages, starting with the fourth, was twice postponed for two years.
Implemented stages
- 2011 - the beginning of the project, the search for potential suppliers of aerospace components in the US, Canada, Italy and the UK;
- 2013 - the start of the international selection of applicants for the flight.
- 2015 - the beginning of the training among the selected 24 applicants, the development of life skills in isolation and in conditions similar to Martian ones.
Current and upcoming milestones
- 2020 (previously 2016/2018) - start of a demonstration mission, including sending a lander to test solar panels and methods for extracting water from the Martian soil. A communications satellite should also be launched, the task of which will be the constant transmission of data from the surface of Mars. It is also planned to carry out an experiment on growing on the Martian surface, in special protective containers, Tal's clover;
- 2022 (previously 2018/2020) - the second communications satellite should be launched into orbit around the Sun (to point L5 to ensure an uninterrupted data flow), equipment for building a colony and an unmanned rover with a trailer should arrive on Mars, which will determine the most suitable place for colonies and prepare a surface area for the arrival of the cargo and the placement of solar panels;
- 2024 (previously 2020/2022) - launch of 6 cargoes is planned: two residential blocks, two blocks with life support systems, two cargo/storage blocks;
- 2025 (previously 2021/2023) - cargo should be landed on Mars next to the rover, after which it will begin to prepare the base for the arrival of people: it will deliver the blocks to a predetermined location, launch the power supply and life support systems to create 3000 liters of water and 120 kg of oxygen ;
- 2026 (previously 2022/2024) - it is planned to send a transit module, a MarsLander spacecraft (lander) with a crew of four people, to earth orbit. whose task will be to assemble the complex, and two upper stages. Then they will be replaced by the first four missions, which will go to Mars in a manned spacecraft. At the same time, a cargo for the life support of the second crew will be sent;
- 2027 (previously 2023/2025) - lander with first crew lands on Mars (transit module will remain in heliocentric orbit). After recovery and acclimatization, the colonists will have to install additional solar panels and assemble all the modules, including two living quarters and two life support systems for the second crew, into a single complex;
- 2028 (previously 2024/2026) = second crew of 4 scheduled to launch;
- 2029 (formerly 2025/2027) - landing on Mars of the second crew of 4 people, new modules, all-terrain vehicles and equipment. This cycle should be repeated every two years.
- 2035 (previously 2031/2033) - by this year the number of colonists should reach 20 people.
Flight to Mars
The launch windows are determined by the relative position of the Earth and Mars, the flight will be carried out according to the so-called Hohmann trajectory(Goman-Vetchinkin orbit). The launch window will open every 2 years. The flight time to Mars will be about 7 months, this will reduce the effect of cosmic radiation on the crew members. In order to save fuel, cargo missions may take longer.
lander
The preparation of the landing module for sending to Mars as part of the first stage of the mission began in 2014. The first prototype lander, which will be sent to Mars in 2020, is being developed with the participation of Lockheed Martin. The development will be based on the Phoenix lander, which landed on the red planet in 2008. The Mars One module will require more power, for this reason the module's solar arrays will have a larger area and a slightly different shape than those of the Phoenix module.
Connection
Communication should be provided by satellites located in orbit around the Sun, Mars and Earth. With a communication signal speed equal to the speed of light, the minimum signal arrival time will be three minutes, the maximum - 22 minutes. When the Sun hides Mars from the Earth, communication becomes impossible without the use of intermediate relay satellites. The ability to use the Internet is limited due to significant signal delay, but the colonists must be assisted by a server with pre-loaded data available at any time, which will periodically be synchronized with the Earth. The broadcast of the life of the colonists will be shown on Earth around the clock.
Radiation and exposure of colonists
The data obtained during the flight of the transit capsule with the Curiosity rover showed that the amount of radiation exposure for a mission with a permanent settlement will not exceed the limits adopted by space agencies.
Radiation on the way to Mars
Data published in the journal Science in May 2013 show that the amount of radiation exposure for a 360-day round trip is 662 ± 108 millisieverts (mSv). 95% of the radiation recorded by the RAD instrument is cosmic rays from the depths of the galaxy, which is difficult to shield from without using too much shielding mass. During the 210-day journey, the Mars One crew will receive a radiation dose of 386 ± 63 milliSieverts. The amount of exposure will not exceed the upper limit of the accepted standards:
The European, Russian and Canadian space agencies take 1000 mSv as the limit, NASA ranges from 600 to 1200 mSv, depending on gender and age.
Radiation shelter in the Martian transit capsule
On the way to the red planet, the ship structure will protect the team from the solar wind, the total shielding protection throughout the flight will be 10-15 g/cm². During solar flares or bursts of solar radiation, there will be little such shielding, and the astronauts will move to a special radiation shelter surrounded by a reservoir of water, which will raise the level of protection to the level of 40 g / cm². Bursts of solar radiation occur on average once every two months, only 3 or 4 times during the flight, while each burst does not last more than a couple of days.
Radiation on Mars
Although the surface of Mars gets more radiation than the earth, but even there a significant part of the radiation is blocked. The level of radiation exposure on the surface of Mars is 30 microsieverts per hour during solar minimum, during the period of solar maximum the dose of equivalent radiation is reduced by a factor of two. Provided that the colonists will spend on the surface of the planet about three hours out of 3 days, the level of their own exposure will be 11 mSv per year. Reliable radiation protection will be received by Mars One residential modules, as they will be covered by several meters of soil, 5 meters of soil provide protection similar to the earth's atmosphere and shielding of 1000 g / cm².
Total exposure
During the 210-day flight, the crew will receive a radiation dose of 386 ± 63 mSv, on the surface of the planet, the colonists will receive a radiation dose of 11 mSv per year. This means that the safe period for colonists to stay on Mars will be about 60 years.
Criticism
The technical feasibility of the project and its financial organization are subject to numerous doubts.
One of the 100 finalists, Irish physicist Joseph Roche, was interviewed in mid-March 2015 exposing the financial and organizational failure of the project. According to him, according to the organizers, the funding for the project, according to the organizers, should be provided by the candidates for future colonists themselves: “When you go through the selection procedure, you get points, but you can score them only by buying goods under the Mars One brand or by donating money to the fund ... In February, the finalists were given a list of tips and advice on contacts with the press. It says, “If you are offered an interview reward, donate 75 percent of it to the Mars One project.” But much more alarming for the scientist was the superficial procedure for selecting and testing the colonists. Hours of face-to-face interviews and psychological and psychometric tests were turned by the project's chief medical officer into ten minutes of Skype conversation.
The material was prepared by the editors of InoSMI specifically for the RIA Science section >>
Peter Guest
long goodbye
Fragile, with a wild mop of hair, Timothy Gatenby (Timothy Gatenby) bears little resemblance to an astronaut. Gatenby was cozying up with a pint of beer in the courtyard of the Hope Pub in Wandsworth, west London. He refused to meet and talk in his studio around the corner of his grandmother's house, having warned me in advance that he would be uncomfortable talking about the proposed topic when it loomed in the background. Gatenby is a talented watercolor artist, and at 26 he has already exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery, the Royal Academy of Arts and China's Today Art Museum of Contemporary Art.
The Mars One project is the brainchild of Dutch entrepreneur Bas Lansdorp. His earlier project Ampyx was aimed at developing a technology for converting wind energy into electricity using a climbing and diving glider tied to the ground by cables. Landdorp sold his stake in Ampyx to launch the Mars program, along with numerous advisors and "ambassadors" including Big Brother reality show creator Paul Romer. Lansdorp's company believes that the general interest in a mission to Mars could generate enough money to fund a launch, and that the technology available today is sufficient to make the mission possible and the colony viable. Many space industry analysts are skeptical about his idea: how can a small private company succeed where powerful states have so far failed? NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory chief engineer Brian Muirhead told a conference this year that such a flight is "far beyond our capabilities today."
However, private companies are advancing by leaps and bounds in the field of space research and space tourism. There are many of them - from SpaceX to Virgin Galactic. Billionaire Dennis Tito intends to send a married couple into the orbit of the Red Planet as part of his Inspiration Mars project in order to “save America” during the flight.
Such projects cost billions of dollars, and ordinary patrons cannot afford them. However, Mars One has a real business model, and this project is supported by the inventor of such a format that it will allow its authors to row money around the world. Fascinating prospects are emerging: whether a civilian can become a pioneer on Mars; and, unlike the grainy images of Armstrong and Aldrin 50 years ago, could the broadcast of this event be turned into a high-quality media event with a message from its sponsors?
Return to the Red Planet
The Mars One project is just one example of a clear resurgence of interest in the Red Planet, which fell out of the public eye after the end of the space race. The history of missions to Mars is a mixture of spectacular successes and undeniable failures.
Soviet probes "Mars 1M" - the first and second - could not overcome the earth's gravity. The first exploded on the launch pad on October 10, 1960. And four days later, the second one, not having time to go beyond the atmosphere, turned around and burned out on the way back. Over the next ten years, the Soviets tried to launch again and again, but most of the ships burned up at the start, and two disappeared during the flight. Americans are more fortunate. Mariner 1 and Mariner 2 were launched towards Venus, and starting from the third ship they began to fly towards Mars. Mariner 3 failed, but the fourth ship, launched in November 1964, made it all the way to the Red Planet.
The fact that Mariner 4 sent back to Earth in 20 grainy photographs plunged earthlings into dismay. The almost complete absence of an atmosphere, polar temperatures during the daytime - and very little chance of life. Mariner 6 and Mariner 7, which flew to Mars in 1969, added new details to this grim picture: giant dust storms and the largest volcano in the solar system.
In 1971, the first man-made object landed on Mars. It turned out to be the Soviet descent vehicle Mars-2. But he crashed. However, a few days later, launched at about the same time, Mars-3 made a softer landing. It transmitted information for about 20 seconds, and then stopped working.
That was the era of the space race, and no one wanted to retreat. The heavy satellites Mariner 8 and Mariner 9, designed to orbit the Red Planet, crashed on launch. It wasn't until 1976 that the Viking landers reached the surface of Mars and confirmed what Mariner 4 had shown them before: a lifeless planet.
“That was enough to dampen enthusiasm for Mars until the mid-1980s, when the Mars Observer interplanetary station was approved for a new flight,” says space flight historian David Portree (David Portree). “But it also exploded while trying to enter Martian orbit in 1993.”
And then leaving footprints on the dusty paths of distant planets became out of fashion. “NASA in the 1960s and 1970s had the funds for pre-planning, but then, when the shuttle program began to be developed on a modest budget, talk of sending a man to Mars turned into heresy,” says Portree. - As soon as the shuttles began to fly, people started talking about using them to launch rocket fuel and ship components into space in order to fly to Mars. It all started outside of NASA. Then the Challenger crash changed the dynamic, and pre-planning for human missions to the Moon and Mars became a symbol of American resolve.”
“My friends at NASA Space Center Research in the mid-1990s really believed that their design studies would lead to a manned flight to Mars in 2009-2012. At that time, work was underway on an unmanned flight program, the culmination of which was to be the return of a probe with samples of Martian soil in 2003-2005. A manned mission to Mars should have been a natural extension of this program."
It is clear that this did not happen. Mankind has learned much better to break their devices on the Martian surface, each time making it softer. The statistics still show that success is unlikely. Of the 40 vehicles sent to Mars, only a third made it there intact. Most of the flights were to find out if there was life on Mars, and none were designed to bring it there.
But landing is only the first step. The landscape of the Red Planet is a cold-blooded killer. The surface has such names as Elysium and Utopia, but the Martian mountains and valleys are a desert land, where during the daytime the temperature is forty degrees below zero. There is a high level of radiation, comparable to what astronauts experience in orbit. This is confirmed by data from the Curiosity rover, which has become an undeniable triumph in the study of this planet - one of the few. There is underground water, which means that some form of sustainable life is possible on Mars, although this is highly doubtful.
In the far loneliness
After all these technical efforts in the Mars project, there may be other problems that are not related to technology and funding. The greatest risk to the colonization of Mars may come from the astronauts themselves. If all goes well, they will face unprecedented isolation and will be completely cut off from the world. And this, in turn, can cause depression and severe psychological stress. Future astronauts like Gatenby might feel like looking down on the Earth would make them ready for a long journey (science fiction literature suggests that seeing the Earth from the outside is one of the principal psychological benefits that astronauts gain). But there are also negative sides, which are very dangerous.
University researchers Michel Nicolas, Gro Mjeldheim Sandal, Karine Weiss and Anna Yusupova from France, Norway and Russia studied a 105-day experiment to simulate a manned flight to Mars "Mars-500" and noticed that during the "journey" the emotional state of the participants deteriorated significantly.
Professor Nick Kanas, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California, noted in a 2010 paper that astronauts during long orbital flights show some signs of psychological distress, including depression, which may be the result of feelings of disruption of the normal rhythm, disorientation, and isolation. Candidates are carefully screened by psychiatrists, studying their emotional stability. The same will happen with candidates for the Mars One program, but problems will still make themselves felt. So, in his study, Kanas notes the emergence of psychosomatic reactions - physical symptoms, which, according to scientists, have psychological roots.
“For example, one astronaut in orbit wrote in his diary that he developed a toothache after a restless sleep in which he dreamed that he had a tooth infection, and he thought that if this happened in space, he could not do anything Kanas writes. - After the flight, character traits change, and space travelers who return to Earth have psychiatric problems, including depression, fear, alcohol abuse, and difficulties in re-adaptation in the family. All this causes the need for psychotherapeutic treatment and the use of psychotropic drugs.
But these problems arise in the immediate vicinity of the Earth, when you can communicate with it in real time. And during the flight to Mars, the house will turn into a receding and disappearing point, and communication will be with a 45-minute delay. In practice, astronauts will by necessity be autonomous.
“No one has yet observed the Earth as a tiny dot in the vast universe ... Close observation of the Earth is considered one of the main positive factors while being in space. And if the Earth is out of sight, it can have a psychological impact on crew members, lead to increased feelings of isolation, loneliness, homesickness, can cause depressed mood and even psychopathic suicidal thoughts.
There are two extremely important factors in Kanas' study that will not be present during the Mars One mission. Firstly, he is talking about professional astronauts, and secondly, he means that any flight has a return.
Mars One will carefully vet and screen candidates, says its chief medical adviser, Dr. Norbert Kraft, a long-time associate of NASA and the Russian and Japanese space agencies on work and crew conditions in extreme environments.
“One of the key things is that they can work as a team,” he says. - There will be four people, and they will all depend on each other. If one person does not work, the whole team will not work. The second point is that they must have the wit, skill and intelligence to carry out the program.”
Asked why Mars One is proposing to send ordinary people into flight despite the enormous difficulties involved in recruiting a crew and getting them to Mars, Kraft offers the same arguments that drive many candidates. This is the idea that due to circumstances they may miss their chance and not get to Mars.
“NASA says that a degree is needed ... And in my opinion, if someone for some reason - family, economic, due to lack of money - does not have the opportunity to study in his own country - but this person is smart and smart enough why can't he fly? Craft says. “Why should we deprive him of such a chance?”
“In my opinion, isolation in itself does not matter. I don't get bored. But I was surprised to learn how many people are bored. I then said: "You selected the wrong people." I didn't get bored for a single second. It all depends on what you do with your time,” Kraft says.
“The problem that we had, which made us very demanding and selective approach to the selection, is connected with the difficulties of interpersonal communication. Gender problems, problems of culture. Therefore, it seems to me, in order to avoid this problem, the Russians chose only men, only Europeans, and only Russians. And we prioritized gender diversity, age diversity, and cultural diversity because it's just more rewarding. People with different backgrounds, backgrounds, and experiences come up with different ideas in different situations they face.”
When asked about what makes would-be colonists embark on a journey that will inevitably end in their death, even if successful, Kraft replies that reporters go to Syria, although many die there. He jokes that he's seriously considering retiring on Mars because there's little gravity there that will ease the strain on his aging organs and cardiovascular system.
“I had a patient who said he wanted to take a cruise ship to the Arctic. As a cardiologist, I told him that it was very dangerous that he could die while swimming. And he said, “Damn, I'll tell you what. I constantly sit in my garden, staring into space. I do nothing. I want to do one thing in my life that I really enjoy. If I don't come back, no big deal. But I want to go on this cruise.” So if you signed up for this flight, you should love it from the very beginning.”
But risk assessment provides a choice, in contrast to a different reality. If you decide to fly to Mars, then death is guaranteed to you - on the launch pad, beyond the earthly limits or on the Red Planet.
“It’s still a choice,” Kraft insists when I start pushing him. “They know very well what they are getting into.”
Interplanetary pioneers
Perhaps the most striking thing about the Mars One mission volunteers that I have been able to talk to is that they are all ordinary and normal people. They are not adventurers, not adventurers, and mostly not even scientists. Nevertheless, almost all of them, without exception, speak of high ideals, of the desire to set an example for humanity, of their desire - no, not for reward, but for the understanding that their life will not be in vain, that it will have some meaning. If the flight takes place, then all of them will die one way or another on Mars. But each of them, at least outwardly, is trying to give a logical explanation for their inevitable death on a distant planet. “I don’t really mind dying there,” Gatenby says bluntly.
Others are also optimistic about what they will have to give up. And this is not only connections and relationships, things and values, habits and the environment, but also the opportunities that they have on Earth.
“No one in their life is able to do everything they want, or everything they can,” says 20-year-old student Ryan McDonald from Derby, England, who applied for the flight. - But at the same time, no one in the history of mankind had the opportunity to fly to Mars. Yes, I will miss a lot, I will miss a lot of what is on Earth. But in return, I will have the opportunity to do what no one on Earth can do. I think that kind of justifies the sacrifice."
McDonald at least has an enduring interest in space exploration. This thoughtful and articulate young man is currently studying physics at Oxford University and admits that on Earth, the chances of making a colossal contribution to human understanding of the world around us are negligible.
“What are my optimal chances on Earth?” he says by phone from Derby. - I can become a member of some scientific team, perhaps I will make several discoveries. I, of course, hope that I will be able to make some contribution to scientific research. But this is nothing compared to what you can do, being in a place where no one has been before you. In the first few months, we learn so much about ourselves and the universe that from a purely utilitarian point of view, I can do much, much more on Mars than on Earth, being only one of its seven billion inhabitants.
And some just want to be astronauts
By any conventional measure, Paul Leeming has had a rather unusual life. He started his career as an officer in the Australian Navy, but in the mid-1990s he decided to switch to another branch of the armed forces and became an Air Force pilot. Then Leeming began flying on passenger planes of the national airline of Papua New Guinea, but due to the decline in passenger traffic after the events of September 11, he was left without work. After a short break, he began studying at the film school, moved to Tokyo and began making documentaries and short films. Leeming is 40 years old.
Talking to me via Skype from Tokyo, he flavors his statements about the frailty of human life with infectious laughter. “I look at it this way. If you want to be remembered for something, then why not do it? he says. - What is the difficulty? That this is a bad idea, that I'm afraid of this? Disagree. That we take off, and in six months we crash into the planet, and we will be finished? But even so, I will die a happy man, knowing that I flew the farthest.
While acknowledging the physical and emotional difficulties of flying, Leeming takes them philosophically. “On a warship, you share a cabin with three co-workers. When I read the specifications for the living quarters of Mars One, it said: "You will only have 50 square meters per person." For most people, it's nothing, he says. - And I live in Japan on 26 square meters. This is half as much. So, I will double my living conditions? I like that prospect."
Leeming becomes more eloquent when he talks about the lofty ideals that drove him to apply.
“We will fly there and become a kind of psychological launching pad for all of humanity, which will begin to think that it does not need to hang around on this planet, that it is possible to move on,” he says. “It’s such a driving force that makes you do more important things than yourself.”
For an hour and a half, he convincingly talks about the fact that when people reach the second planet and settle there, earthly squabbles and border disputes will seem absurd. This is a classic argument, reminiscent of the utopian ideas of mid-20th century science fiction: the idea that collective human effort will eventually bring peace. That didn't happen, but Leeming seems to be a firm believer that the Mars One project has the potential to change the world.
“Of course, there is an element of vanity here, I want to be famous, I want to be remembered. But I think broader ... I have seen a lot in this world. I am not 20 years old, but 40. By the time of the flight I will be 50. It cannot be said that I have not lived. And then, this is not the end of my life. This will be the end of the earthly phase of my life.”
But he will never know the benefits and advantages from his flight for earthlings. This world will become distant and inaccessible to him.
“Exactly,” he laughs. - But on the other hand, think about those people who have changed our world. How many names can you remember? They say there are two constants in life - death and taxes. Having departed from the Earth, I will get rid of one constant. Further, people say: "You will die on Mars." But on Earth, I will also die. What is the difference? If you die, then so that you are remembered.
Then he says: “I remember all the astronauts who died during the Apollo and shuttle flights. Does anyone think that they had a tragic life?
Looking in the face of "reality"
Despite a long list of advisors, it's hard to find a spaceflight expert outside of Mars One's orbit who thinks the mission is viable. The company turned down my request to interview Bas Lansdorp himself, but it's hard to shake the feeling that the whole idea is simply too sensational to be real. Mars One carries the features of an intricate draw, or at least a “point to the sky” bet. There seems to be a calculation here that people's fascination with space and reality TV will create the moment of power that turned Big Brother into a multi-billion dollar franchise. It's a bit like the world's largest fundraising campaign - all the hype, flashing lights, but very few concrete details about how it will all be carried out in practice. And this is worrisome.
If space agencies are think tanks where engineers and physicists work, then the structure of Mars One is more like a start-up from the Internet sphere. This company has more advisors and board members than employees. While SpaceX and Virgin Galactic started out developing technologies to build cost-effective commercial spacecraft, Mars One is working on its media rights through its subsidiary Interplanetary Media Group. This “media first” approach may indicate that, with public investment in science declining and media presence becoming the key to commercial success, a PR-driven future awaits.
The term "reality television" evokes a cheap media obsession with aspiring starlets and artificial plots drawn from the "real" lives of those who are willing to be owned by the celebrity production machine. This is not very consistent with high ideals and with scientific activity. But this is just an element of the hostility experienced by a part of the scientific community, which calls this initiative a hoax.
The video presentations of the applicants are very similar to the programs that are shown on "reality television" during the audition. The only thing missing is the songs. But along with optimism, there is also an element of insecurity. And reality TV, like the media in general, rarely misses an opportunity to build drama on weaknesses. Here is Gatenby's statement, "I try not to think about it," and Leaming's statement, "It's part of the sacrifice."
If Mars One really turns out to be a hoax, or falls apart before takeoff, in the midst of its wreckage will be failed astronauts - if not naive, then full of ideals and dreamily impractical, when they are beckoned by the rarest opportunity - to become the first to land, live and die on Mars.
The private company Mars One has been raising money for the first manned flight to Mars for two years now. They write about it in the press, the company enters into various partnership agreements, as if very soon earthlings will really live on Mars. Specially for Apparat, a journalist of "News of Cosmonautics", a graduate of the Moscow State Technical University. N. E. Bauman, Alexander Ilyin, a member of the expedition to the Martian Desert Research Station in Utah, compiled a FAQ in which he explained why Mars One would not send people to the Red Planet.
What is Mars One?
In 2012, Dutch entrepreneur Bas Lansdorp announced the Mars One project. He promised mankind to turn the first manned flight to Mars and the creation of a colony-settlement there into a grandiose reality show in which everyone can participate. And it has already begun. Since 2013, thousands of people around the world have been selected to become the first settlers on Mars. One stage of the selection took place, about a thousand people from 107 countries of the world passed it.
Interestingly, the company promises to deliver the colonists only one way. It's much easier than securing a round trip. In principle, if we discard numerous technical difficulties, this is quite feasible and can cost several times less than a “full-fledged” expedition (saying “many times less” about space expeditions, we mean not hundreds, but “only” tens of billions of dollars ).
By the way, the construction of a large colony and the appearance of "native Martians" are not included in the plans of Mars One. The idea is to give people the opportunity to die on the Red Planet, before that, of course, by entertaining the earthly audience with a unique TV show for some time.
And what, they have a chance to carry out the mission?
No, because it is expensive and difficult. According to the plans of the founder of Mars One, in 2018 a small automatic interplanetary station should launch to the Red Planet to demonstrate key technologies - film solar cells and technology for extracting water from Martian soil.
The Bas station is going to be ordered from the well-known American company Lockheed Martin. This small spacecraft is expected to be an almost complete replica of the Phoenix probe that explored Mars in 2008.
The Phoenix project cost US taxpayers $420 million, and it's highly unlikely that Mars One will be able to raise a similar amount. Attempts to raise money for the project (just a project - “paper”) of the probe using crowdfunding were unsuccessful. About the "iron" and there is no question.
Further in 2020, in Bass's fantasies, the launch of relay satellites (to broadcast a signal even when Mars and Earth are on opposite sides of the Sun), cargo for a future colony and a heavy rover.
It is worth recalling that the Curiosity project (the American large rover that is now working on the Red Planet) cost $ 2.5 billion.
They will sell the rights to broadcast and receive billions, as the organizers of the Olympic Games do?
Bas Lansdorp compares the broadcast of the landing on Mars with the broadcast of the Olympic Games and offers to make money on it. However, the founder of Mars One forgot that before "selling" the Olympics, the state spends a lot of money on its organization. In addition, 90% of life in space consists of routine operations, and in order to make money on their broadcast, one must be a producing genius.
And if he still finds the money, is it possible to fly to Mars?
Up to a certain point, the plans announced by Mars One remain within the framework of science fiction (who will give so much money for it?), But still scientific, but plans starting from 2020 are an ordinary children's fairy tale.
In 2022, six large modules should be sent to Mars: two residential blocks, two blocks with life support systems, two cargo / storage blocks. It seems that the creators of Mars One themselves do not know how much these modules will weigh: they give numbers from 8 to 16 tons. To date, the heaviest cargo delivered to Mars - the same Curiosity rover - weighed about 900 kilograms. People have never delivered anything heavier to the Red Planet.
Mars has a very weak atmosphere: the pressure at the surface of the planet is about the same as on Earth at an altitude of 30 kilometers - only 1/100 of normal Earth pressure. It is very difficult to slow down in such an atmosphere: we need not small capsules, which we see when watching astronauts land on our planet on TV, but giant "umbrellas" - brake screens. Yes, and parachutes for Mars will be large and heavy. Moreover, at the last stage of landing, you still have to use rocket engines, which require fuel reserves.
There is still no answer to the question of how to land eight-ton modules on Mars. By the way, the loads must land with very high accuracy: the colonists will not run hundred-kilometer marathons in spacesuits in search of them.
How Mars One plans to send people to Mars
2011 - Founding of Mars One.
2013 - The selection of astronauts launched worldwide.
2015 - Start of training for selected cosmonauts.
2018 - Launch of a communications satellite to Mars.
2020 - Sending a rover to Mars and launching a second communications satellite into orbit around the Sun.
2022 - Launch of six cargo missions to Mars.
2023 - Rover prepares the base for the arrival of the colonists.
2024 - Departure of the first colonists from Earth.
2025 - Arrival of the first team of colonists on Mars.
2026 - Departure of the second team of colonists.
And what will happen to the first colonizers?
Two hundred days of weightlessness in the volume of a small country house, and then huge overloads during atmospheric entry and the need to control the landing. Yes, Bas should recruit supermen for crews!
Life support supplies, ship reliability, navigation, communications - all this is simply not considered in the Mars One "project". The official answer to all questions: engineers will make, develop, invent. Supplying the colony with food should cost at least one billion dollars every two years, in reality it will be more expensive.
There are many technical issues: energy supply for the colony and equipment (sunlight on Mars is 2.3 times weaker than on Earth, but there are no solar-powered bulldozers on Earth either), resource extraction, radiation protection on the way and on Mars . There are no calculations of the necessary reserves of the life support system, the area of greenhouses and solar panels, psychological moments are not considered - and after all, the colonists in the Mars One project go to Mars not to build a new world, but to die there. Very little attention is paid to the extraction of water from the soil of the Red Planet. Ice in ordinary Martian soil is only a few percent. And this is not even 10% of all the technical problems of the “daring undertaking” of Mars One.
So Mars One are scammers? Or are they just delusional?
Sometimes it is very difficult to draw a line between enthusiasts who believe in themselves and underestimate the difficulties, and crooks. However, in a couple of years it was quite possible to understand that the project was untenable, or to hire consultants who would explain this. And since there are no changes, and PR and attempts to raise money continue, it is logical to assume that these are not ordinary enthusiasts. Well, it would not be superfluous to note that Mars One collects money not only from sponsors and large companies. Everyone who believed in the Mars One project and applied to become the first colonizer of the Red Planet had to pay a small fee - about $ 15 (the amount depends on the country where the future "space explorer" comes from).
Interestingly, Bas Lansdorp did not want to answer the question of how many people have already donated their hard-earned money. The founder of Mars One said the exact number is "difficult to count." According to unofficial information, the number of participants is about 200 thousand people. It is unlikely to be enough to fly to Mars, but for the current expenses of an entrepreneur from Holland - quite.
When can we really fly to Mars?
Unfortunately, no government space agency currently has realistic plans for a manned mission to Mars. In Russia, the construction of a lunar base is considered as a goal for 2030-2040, and Mars is left for later. China, after the construction of a multi-module orbital station ("Chinese" World ""). In the United States, after the cancellation of the logical and understandable Constellation program (the cancellation took place due to a combination of reasons, the main of which is lack of money), projects for manned deep space exploration are constantly being reviewed. And Mars - in these projects - no earlier than 2030.
Currently, no state space agency has real plans for a manned flight to Mars.
It was possible to fly to Mars (as they say among "space" fans, to carry out a "flag pole") in the 80s of the XX century. However, after automatic interplanetary stations found out in the 60s and 70s that Mars was not at all the planet of canals and the beautiful Martian Aelita from Tolstoy’s novel, but a lifeless desert, interest in this once mysterious world decreased significantly.
Now, if it is worth flying to Mars, it is not for a single landing, but to create a large colony and subsequent terraforming (turning Mars into a semblance of the Earth). Such a complex program cannot be carried out without the space industry, in particular the lunar industry, so the path "to Mars via the Moon", which is being considered in Russia, looks quite logical.
An interesting project called Mars One plans to populate the planet with people.
It is planned to send a crew of four people on a trip for 7 months, then send a new team and so every two years new people will join the settlement.
The first settlement is planned to be created in April 2023, and by 2033, more than 20 people will live and work on Mars.
The Mars One project team has been working on this plan since early 2011. In that first year, extensive and exhaustive studies of the feasibility of the idea were carried out, all the details were studied with numerous specialists and expert organizations. This analysis included not only technical elements, but also a comprehensive discussion of financial, psychological and ethical aspects.
Mars One has an impressive list of people who support the mission to Mars. One of them is Prof. Dr. Gerard Hooft, a 1999 Nobel Prize-winning physicist.
Chronology
2011
In 2011, members of the Mars One project worked non-publicly on the mission. After the mission was planned, Mars One contacted the suppliers of the necessary components. All potential suppliers were enthusiastic about the apolitical, commercial, manned mission to Mars and confirmed their ability to produce components as needed.
2013
This will be the year in which astronaut selection begins. Who will be one of the first four people on Mars and of those who will follow them every two years after that? Anyone who feels they can do the job can apply for this position. There will be a total of 40 astronauts. Of those wishing to fly, the strongest physically and mentally will be selected.
Mars One will build a replica of a Martian desert settlement on Earth to train astronauts and provide realistic environments to test equipment. The selection of astronauts and their training in a simulated Martian base will be broadcast on television and on the Internet for public viewing.
2014
This will be the year in which preparations for the support mission will begin. And it will last until the launch in 2016. The production of the first Martian communications satellites will also begin. (Photo: Surrey Satellite Technology)
2016
The support mission will be launched to Mars in January 2016. The module will land on the Red Planet in October 2016 with a cargo of 2500 kg of food or other materials. The landing will be made near the place where the outpost is supposed to be located.
2018
A rover will land on Mars in 2018. While the general location of the base will be known, the task of the rover will be to find the best location in this area.
2021
In 2021, all components of the settlement will reach their destination. In general, these will be two residential modules, two life support modules, a second support module, and a second rover. The two rovers will transport all the components to the found base location and prepare them for the arrival of the astronauts.
2022
All water and oxygen to create the atmosphere will be ready in early 2022, when the ground crew receives the go-ahead to launch the first team. Each component of the transport ship will be launched into low Earth orbit, where they will be assembled together. September 14, 2022 will go down in history as the start of the flight of the first four astronauts after the last check. Each stage of this flight will be available for viewing on the project website 24/7.
2023
Astronauts will land in 2023 and become the first people in history to set foot on Mars. They will connect all the modules of the settlement together with the help of rovers. They will then install solar panels and begin their great exploration of Mars, their new planet.
2025
In June 2025, the second group will land. By the time they arrive, the construction of the Martian base will have already been completed. The second group will also bring new equipment. For example, it could be a few more rovers that will help them explore their new planet.
Can astronauts have babies on Mars?
In the early years, a settlement on Mars will not be a good place for children to live. The choice of medical facilities will be limited and the group will be too small. In addition, the human ability to reproduce in reduced gravity is not known, and there is not enough research on whether a fetus can grow and develop normally in such conditions. Therefore, Mars One strongly advises the residents of the settlement not to try to have children.
In order to create a real Martian colony, having children is very important. This will be an important moment in research on Mars.
