When Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon in 1969, it was a glamorous moment for humankind. Since then, human space exploration has become more desirable and, with the increasingly dangerous implications of climate change, some would even say more urgent. The idea of humans in space is one thing, but humans living on Mars? Even better. The concept of a human mission to Mars isn’t a new one – it’s been around since as early as the 1990s, when an initiative known as “Mars Direct” was proposed by a pair of scientists hoping to send humans to the red planet by 1999. Once astronauts reached the red planet, the idea was to use the Martian atmosphere to produce oxygen, water, and enough rocket propellant to send the crew back home. A modified version of this mission was adapted by NASA as their “design reference mission,” but the plan never came to fruition. Since then, scientists have mapped the entire human genome, developed 3-D printing technology and created smartphones that recognize their owner’s touch. Still, is there enough advanced technology to transport a crew of humans to Mars? Researchers are working to answer that question. …show more content…
Although Mars One claims that “no new major developments or inventions are needed to make the Mars One mission plan a reality,” a recent study from MIT scientists tells a different story. The MIT study assessed the technical feasibility of the Mars One project and found that humans are unlikely to survive on Mars for more than a few months, mainly due to a lack of resources. The mass of the transport vehicles and crops needed is greater than what is currently available; furthermore, if the group is able to grow enough food to sustain the colony, the crops will produce dangerous oxygen levels, which the crew cannot survive unless some type of oxygen removal system is