Can traveling to Mars become a reality?

The United States plans to launch 10 exploration spacecraft in the next 10 years to explore whether life survives on Mars.

The first time humans flew to Mars was on July 15, 1965. The Mariner 4 probe launched by the United States observed Mars at a distance of 9,280 kilometers from Mars and sent back 23 photos of Mars. . In 1971 and 1975, the Mars probes launched by the former Soviet Union and the United States made soft landings on the surface of Mars respectively, tested the Martian soil, and conducted life science experiments. Only then did the veil on Mars gradually be lifted.

Mars was called "Yinghuo" in ancient my country because it resembles a red flame and its brightness is changeable and confusing. We now know that the distance between Mars and the Earth is about 370 million kilometers, which is 1,000 times the distance from the Earth to the Moon; Mars is smaller than the Earth, with an equatorial radius about half that of the Earth, and a mass a little more than 1/10 of the Earth; Mars orbits It takes 687 days for the sun to make one revolution, and one rotation takes 24 hours and 37 minutes. The day and night cycle is very similar to that of the Earth. Mars has four seasons, but each season lasts for 6 months. The atmosphere on Mars is quite thin, and the main component is carbon dioxide; The surface temperature on Mars is 28°C during the day and -132°C at night; the surface of Mars is frozen and there is no water. It seems impossible for "Martians" to survive in such an environment. But compared to other planets, Mars is closer to the earth and more suitable for human habitation and tourism.

The Earth and Mars are so far apart, how to solve the interstellar communication between them? Scientists have imagined a relay-type plan: transferring spacecraft several times, mainly because it is impossible to carry enough fuel for one direct flight. The general idea is to establish three space stations in the space between the Earth and Mars, namely the low-Earth orbit space station, the free point space station between the Earth and Mars, and the Mars orbit space station. These three space stations are both transfer stations and can replenish fuel. The transportation line will be as follows: take the space shuttle from the earth to the first stop, the low-Earth orbit space station, transfer to the transfer spacecraft to the second stop, the Free Point Space Station, refuel here before taking off and docking with the survey spacecraft. This kind of survey spacecraft uses nuclear power to sail on a fixed orbit. When the survey spacecraft carries the transfer spacecraft close to Mars, the transfer spacecraft breaks away from the survey spacecraft and flies to the third station, the Mars Space Station. After arriving at this station, you will transfer to the Mars lander and land on Mars, thereby achieving Mars landing. It can be seen that traveling to Mars is much more complicated than landing on the moon, and it is time-consuming and requires a lot of money.

Interestingly, perhaps as a coincidence, Mars has two satellites orbiting it. "Phobos" is 20 kilometers in diameter and takes 8 hours to orbit once; "Deimos" is 11 kilometers in diameter and takes 30 hours to orbit once. Both satellites have atmospheres and small gravity, so the transfer spacecraft does not need to land here, but only needs to dock. These two small satellites are natural space stations where humans can build camps.

American scientists have proposed a plan to immigrate to Mars called the "Louis Space Settlement". The idea is to send a huge spaceship to Mars, which should accommodate 10,000 people. This spacecraft does not land on the surface of Mars, but hangs above Mars. The spacecraft carries a variety of terrestrial organisms, and it will rely on energy recycled in space to keep running, and can be harvested locally on Mars. The spacecraft is equipped with thousands of solar panels to make full use of the sun's rays to generate energy.

In the first few years of the 21st century, it will be possible to send homes and equipment to Mars, and later it will be possible to send astronauts to Mars. However, the distance between the Earth and Mars is far, and the journey takes more than half a year. The loneliness of space is another problem. However, humans always have ways to overcome these obstacles. In the 21st century, traveling to Mars will eventually become a reality.