It was “physically impossible with current technology for humans to survive a trip” to the Moon when the space race kicked off, too. The whole POINT of the space race was inventing the technology to solve those problems.
Space exploration nay-sayers really are the lamest people imaginable.
> It was “physically impossible with current technology for humans to survive a trip” to the Moon when the space race kicked off, too.
No, it wasn't. For one thing, the moon is a heck of a lot closer than Mars.
> The whole POINT of the space race was inventing the technology to solve those problems.
The point of the space race was to demonstrate technological superiority, especially with regard to missile capabilities, in the Cold War.
Calling people "lame" isn't going to address the realities of space travel, from the destructive effects of radiation on pregnancies to the physical and cognitive decline from living in a non-Earth environment for extended periods of time, effects that have been measured in astronauts who spent time on the ISS. Sending humans to Mars would practically be a death sentence for that subset of the species.
Humans on Mars will live in radiation shielded environments, and people have already endured longer space radiation exposure than received during the trip. At least the astronaut's sleeping habitat will be heavily radiation shielded on board the spacecraft.
Nuclear interplanetary craft will also shorten trip times appreciably within a decade or so.
ck2 · · focus · HN ↗
it's physically impossible with current technology for humans to survive a trip to Mars and live on the surface
space really, really wants to kill life
cosmic rays will kill humans before they even make it to Mars
there is no current technology that shields from cosmic rays
we should appreciate the earth greatly for its atmosphere and magnetosphere that shields us from them
best emulation idea so far is to surround astronauts with several feet of water
but we don't have the lift capacity for that much water weight
the total time on the moon outside the capsule per person maximum was 22 hours
the astronauts kept seeing bursts of light even with their eyes closed
when NASA inspected the helmets there were microscopic groove where some had made it all the way through
cosmic rays are physical particles traveling near the speed of light
the bursts of light were their nerves and other cells being destroyed by the cosmic rays
it was happening to their brains and CNS too
mice exposed to simulated cosmic rays became slow and stupid
SubmarineClub · · focus · HN ↗
Space exploration nay-sayers really are the lamest people imaginable.
vor_ · · focus · HN ↗
No, it wasn't. For one thing, the moon is a heck of a lot closer than Mars.
> The whole POINT of the space race was inventing the technology to solve those problems.
The point of the space race was to demonstrate technological superiority, especially with regard to missile capabilities, in the Cold War.
Calling people "lame" isn't going to address the realities of space travel, from the destructive effects of radiation on pregnancies to the physical and cognitive decline from living in a non-Earth environment for extended periods of time, effects that have been measured in astronauts who spent time on the ISS. Sending humans to Mars would practically be a death sentence for that subset of the species.
ElectronCharge · · focus · HN ↗
Humans on Mars will live in radiation shielded environments, and people have already endured longer space radiation exposure than received during the trip. At least the astronaut's sleeping habitat will be heavily radiation shielded on board the spacecraft.
Nuclear interplanetary craft will also shorten trip times appreciably within a decade or so.
See my other reply for more details...