The barrier of the US stopped the astronaut to Mars in 2029

President Donald Trump recently announced that the United States would seek to bring the astronaut to Mars within the next 4 years. That goal sparked many doubts, according to Volker Maiwald, engineer at the German space center (DLR). Mr. Trump does not provide detailed plans, but it is likely that the flight to Mars will depend heavily on SpaceX, the company founded and run by billionaire Elon Musk.

SpaceX plans to use the Starship super rocket is still in the process of development to bring people to Mars. Starship launched the 7th on January 16 on a test flight and achieved a part. The Super Heavy booster on its first layer is recovered by the chopsticks on the launch tower as expected, but the upper floor of the vehicle explodes after the fuel leak needs to be at the end of the burning process to fly high. Obviously, there are still many things to do with Starship, although Musk shared SpaceX aims to launch vehicles in unmanned missions to Mars in 2026. If the flight is successful, Starship will take the astronaut to Mars Mars 2028.

The issue of volume and closed system

Starship development progress is not the top issue in Maiwald’s concern. In May 2024, he and 4 researchers published an article on the Scientific Reports page about the feasibility of carrying people to Mars on Starship. For Maiwald et al., The main problem is mass. Based on the information available on SpaceX’s Mars plan, they conclude the amount needed to perform the Martian mission successfully, including astronaut, equipment, infrastructure, fuel, food , drinking water, air … larger than Starship can carry on a flight.

The main problem lies in the ability to recycle food, water and air. The more recyclable, the smaller the amount of materials to be carried in the journey. For example, plants are key factors that help speed up the recovery of consumption materials. They provide food and can grow by waste, and provide oxygen and remove carbon dioxide in the air. However, according to the research team, even if the recovery speed is 100%, it is not enough to lower the volume of materials, helping to meet the requirements of the task.

Fuel

To reduce the amount of spacecraft, fuel to fly to Mars, the vehicle carries with them. When on Mars, the use of local resources (ISRU) can produce new rocket fuel. Starship burns methane and liquid oxygen in booster missiles, but the exploitation of methane and oxygen from the atmosphere and water ice on Mars is not easy because the current technology has not met. The only ISRU experiment ever conducted outside the Earth’s atmosphere is Moxie, which takes place on the Perseverance self -propelled robot, according to Maiwald.

Moxie is an experiment to take advantage of the Fire Oxygen. In 2021, this was the first successful oxygen exploitation experiment from abundant carbon dioxide source in Mars atmosphere. According to NASA, 4 astronauts from Mars surface will need 7,000 kg of rocket fuel and 25,000 kg of oxygen. In addition, oxygen is needed to let the astronaut breathe when on Mars.

Initially, moxie produced 5 g of oxygen, enough for a astronaut to breathe for 10 minutes. Moxie is designed to produce 10 g of oxygen per hour when operating. When the experiment ended in 2023, it produced a total of 122 g of oxygen. Obviously, the United States needs to create a more efficient system to make the astronaut surviving on Mars.

Another idea is to launch several unmanned Starship ships carrying all fuel and oxygen that astronaut needs on Mars. With full supplies, astronauts can then produce oxygen and missile fuel necessary for the next crew.

Risk of radiation

The space environment is not a safe place, the astronauts will come into contact with the universe and solar radiation. Astronauts flying to Mars will suffer 700 times larger than the Earth. According to the European Space Exomars trajectory, the Flight of the Fire Flight will make the astronauts come into contact with the recommended amount of radiation in 60% of their lives.

On the surface of Mars, they are also not safer because the planet has no thick atmosphere and the magnetic field to protect the earth from the cosmic ray. Even there is a protective area on the Starship ship to hide when the solar storm broke out, the risk was reduced, not completely lost. On the International Space Station (ISS), the astronaut still suffers 200 times higher than the normal aviation pilot. Scientists are seeking to protect the spacecraft carrying people from this risk and initial research shows that Lithium is the most effective protective material but needs to study more deeply.

Another health problem not to be missed is the impact of micro -gravity on the human body. Muscle atrophy is a common disease that astronaut faces although drugs can reduce its effects. Recent research shows that micro -gravity can also destroy the astronaut’s vision. At least 70% of the astronauts living on the ISS 6 – 12 months are affected by neurological – visual syndrome related to space flight (SANS), consequences due to pressure from liquid in the brain tissue in the environment in the environment. micro -gravity.