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NASA plans to send astronauts to Mars in 25 years, despite the difficulty of this task in the light of deadly radiation and the risks associated with vision loss and osteoporosis, officials said Tuesday. from NASA.
"With the current budget, or with a slight increase, it may take 25 years to solve these problems," said retired astronaut Tom Jones.
These problems are important because the red planet is about 225 million kilometers from Earth and takes nine months.
This is a time of great risk for astronauts, while scientists warn that long periods of time are spent in areas of low gravity, as it would disrupt the work of the blood vessels in the retina, resulting in progressive vision loss.
Long stays in space also cause a loss of calcium in the bones.
Scientists are struggling to clearly identify the effects of a mission on Mars for a year.
"We need to start focusing on some basic techniques," Jones told reporters in Washington.
He stressed that the protection of the human body against these consequences was based on reducing the duration of the trip to Mars, including by means of nuclear propulsion systems.
A solution to the problem of radiation must also be found. During the flight to Mars, the astronaut is exposed to radiation levels equivalent to the amount of exposure throughout his career.
Tom Jones admitted that "the solution is not yet in the protection of cosmic rays and cases of solar explosion".
However, the experts have identified several techniques to develop, especially from the planet.
In anticipation of human transmissions, NASA launched the Insight probe in May, which is expected to land in Mars on November 26th.
The mission's budget is $ 993 million, to study its internal structure to better understand how rocky planets form the solar system.
A new mission in 2020 would send a new vehicle to Mars to determine the viability of the Martian environment and look for signs of a previous life.
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