Private projects of flights to Mars. Apparat - Magazine about the new society. How the Mars One project is developing

Hi all! Mars is an icy desert with an average temperature of about (-50) degrees, where sandstorms rage for many months. There is no magnetic field or ozone layer that would protect living beings from harmful cosmic radiation. But in just a few decades, Mars may become a new home for humanity... You are on the “Amazing Facts” channel - like and watch until the end! But it is known that the duration of the first mission will be one thousand one hundred days (1100). The UAE established its own space agency only in 2014, but it is already setting serious challenges for it. For example, already in 2021 they plan to fly around Mars.

prepared the material

Darina Obukhova

Over the past two years, nearly 200,000 people from 107 countries have applied to participate in the project to colonize Mars in 2024. The plans for the Mars One mission, which does not involve returning, are to send new participants every 2 years. Of all the applicants, only 1,058 advanced to the new qualifying stage. We talked with the potential first settlers of Mars and found out why they want to fly to the Red Planet without the right of return.

Mars One

project founder: Bas Lansdorp
project start: 2011
mission: human colony on Mars

The Mars One project was founded by Dutchman Bas Lansdorp. After becoming a Master of Science in mechanical engineering, he worked for 5 years at the Delft University of Technology, then (in 2008) founded the company Ampyx Power, which was developing a new way to generate energy using wind. In 2011, he sold some shares to launch Mars One.

The rovers Opportunity and Curiosity are currently operating on Mars. which deliver to Earth photographs of relief and data on the planet’s habitability. Every year there is more and more data on Mars, making it possible to colonize the planet: wind maps, the presence of perchlorates (perchloric acid salts), soil containing nitrogen, alkali and other substances (bringing its composition closer to the earth’s soil), an ancient cold lake in a crater, whose age is 3.6 billion years. The Mars One project aims to make life on Mars a reality for humans. The approximate cost of the first expedition is $6 billion, subsequent ones - $4 billion each. The mission's founders already have significant contracts with Lockheed Martin, which designed Phoenix in 2007, and Surrey Satellite Technology. In addition, it is planned to raise funds through a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, which offers bonuses for selfies and a message into space, as well as through the sale of rights to broadcast a reality show, which will begin at the stage of selecting participants.

Number of candidate applications
from different countries of the world

according to the official Mars One website

USA - 24%. India is in second place with 10% of the total number of requests, followed by: China (6%), Brazil (5%), UK (4%), Canada (4%), Russia (4%), Mexico (4%). ),

Philippines (2%), Spain (2%), Colombia (2%), Argentina (2%), Australia (1%), France (1%), Turkey (1%), Chile (1%), Ukraine ( 1%), Peru (1%), Germany (1%), Italy (1%) and Poland (1%).

Project foundation

Beginning of the international selection of astronauts

Start of preparation and training of selected candidates

2018

Launch of demo mission and communications satellite

Sending a research rover to Mars

Delivery of two residential blocks to Mars, two life support units and two power supply units

The rover sets up an outpost before the humans arrive, activates life support and energy supply units

2024

Launch of the first manned spacecraft with four astronauts on board

Disembarkation of the first group of people to create a settlement on Mars

Sending the next group of people (4 people), new modules, all-terrain vehicles
and other equipment

Criticism Mars One

Criticism of Mars one is mainly related to the technical and financial feasibility of the project. In 2012, Wired magazine, as part of an article on the most daring private space exploration initiatives, rated the credibility of the mission as only 2 points out of 10.

Rown Joseph, who in 2010 simultaneously developed his own marketing campaign, as well as branding, a candidate screening program and the financial side of a colony on Mars, calls Mars One nothing less than a scam: “They have no spaceship, no space port, no launch complexes - it’s scam and deception."

Chris Welch director of master's programs at the International Space University, stated that "even without taking into account the potential discrepancy between the project's revenues and its costs and questions about its long-term viability, the Mars One plans do not demonstrate a deep enough understanding of the problem to give us confidence that the project will be in able to fulfill my ambitious schedule.”

Space tourist Richard Garriott expressed: “There are many projects with viable start-up plans. But it’s not enough to just raise money to be able to do this.”

Robert Zubrin, an advocate for manned Mars exploration and founder of the Mars Society, also expressed skepticism about the mission's financial estimates, expecting that Mars One's proposed business plan would not cover its costs. Even based on the most optimistic calculations, this kind of program will not cost 6 or 10 billion, but several hundred billion dollars, and its development will take decades.

We met with potential participants in the Mars One program.

Mikhail Rumyantsev

24 years old, physicist,
works as a programmer, Minsk

Did you have an interest in Mars before starting the Mars One project? How did you find out about the project and did you immediately decide to apply?

My interest in Mars is based on my fascination with new technologies.
Mars is the most tangible target for astronautics. This is a planet with resources that can be colonized.

There is known skepticism from some space agencies about the mission. There is an opinion that there is no technology for the existence of a colony yet. What do you think about it?

The point is that Mars One is based on technologies that already exist. Delivering people will be little different from delivering Curiosity. Long-standing NASA projects failed because at that time there was no technology to implement them. Now the organizers' attention is focused on 2018 - then they plan to send a drone that will choose a place to build a colony. It must be a place where there is water to reduce dependence on the Earth. The colonizers will have to develop and expand the built complex. The problem is to reduce the weight of the landing module in order to reduce fuel consumption, and therefore financial costs.

Soil research is being actively carried out on Mars. The latter were associated with a lake in a crater near the Curiosity base site. How do you see the resource potential of Mars? How will the colony be provided for?

the presence of life on Mars is an open question, to which the mission will provide an answer. Of course, the presence of water indicates that some form of life may have existed. Water on Mars is the same as on Earth, only in solid form, there may be a different tritium content ( superheavy hydrogen). I think that it can be used for technical purposes - for example, for taking a shower. As for food, at the initial stages you will need to bring it with you. Later - I see huge potential in 3D printing. This is the ability to create simple parts for equipment. I believe that someday there will be Internet on Mars. Already at this stage it will be possible to build a closed biological system in which water reproduction will reach 95%. It is also important that the initial settlement will be slightly recessed below the surface. It is important to provide protection from radiation, since Mars has a weak atmosphere.

Motivation and ability to work are most important
in Group. I have enough motivation.
I believe that people are capable of anything for a purpose.

What was included in the first tests?

There was a huge questionnaire that took me several hours to fill out. For example, the question: “How do you feel about the fact that you will never see your loved ones?” The first selection eliminated those who were romantic about the project. Also, technical education is a priority - not so much a formal one, but a way of thinking. Now you will need to undergo a medical examination.

The list of required qualities for a mission participant on the project website includes stability, creativity, adaptability, and the ability to joke. Which ones are your strong point?

The most important thing is the ability to work in a group and motivation. I have enough motivation. This is an opportunity to become part of a turning point project in human history. The final four will be people who can exist without conflict. They will be trained in a Mars-like environment - in Antarctica, in the desert. I believe that people are capable of anything for a purpose. In Mars One, it is not the individual that is important, but teamwork.

Photographer: Sergey Gudilin

How do you see your contribution to the mission?

This will be a research contribution - an analysis of the resources of Mars, its past. There will be unique conditions for people to interact - a new challenge. Colonization of space is inevitable, someday the Sun will go out, this is a natural stage in the evolution of a star. It won't be easy for anyone, but it's worth overcoming. The idealistic goal is to create a society, although in the initial stages creating a family will be impossible, for example, pregnancy in conditions of gravity different from Earth's has not been studied.

What do you see as the main potential of Mars One? Is this more of a reality show, an exploration, or truly a future place to live?

There is still a long way to go until the final stage, but I really hope that everything will work out. The main problem is financing; the mission will cost more than the announced 6 billion. The TV show model is good for monetization - the rights to broadcast the Olympics cost 20 billion, for example. I heard that the Mars One reality will be run by John de Mol, the creator of Big Brother. Bas Lansdorp is a very competent manager: contracts have already been concluded with serious sponsors.

Such missions will allow humanity to change its priorities. For example, the project’s campaign is currently not collecting the required amount on Indiegogo, but a new gadget for the iPhone is. People should think not only about how to buy a new device, but also how to make their life better. Starting with not throwing garbage on the street and parking in the designated places, and ending with solving global problems. The development of technology is ahead of the development of social consciousness. Mars One is a case where I put public interests above my own personal ones.

Artyom Goncharov

22 years old, engineer, Voronezh

“I read an article about the project back in 2011. I immediately wrote to the organizers, but they replied that everything was at the preparation stage and we should wait. I think that the final four will be people from different continents - two Americans or Russians will not be there. The main goal of the mission is to colonize other planets and create settlements. I think that Mars is suitable for life: the atmosphere protects people, there is a magnetic field. I think the equator will be chosen for the colony - during the day the temperature there is up to +30, at night up to –99. It will be possible to cope with technical means. I think that initial research will be aimed at how best to obtain water, oxygen, and equip the colony. Mars One succeeded in raising interest in space in a way that the government failed to do. If it doesn't exist, a similar project will appear. I think the final outcome depends on finances and the decision of some international organization. But sending people is inevitable. Even in the 70s, the USSR had a project for an interplanetary spacecraft, which was planned to be sent to Mars together with people.”

Alexey Kozhukhovsky

20 years old, Krasnoyarsk

“I became interested in Mars after reading the novel War of the Worlds.
I like that this is a mission without return: not just to fly back and forth, but to colonize another planet. The most rational way out is not to wait for terraforming, but to organize a colony on Mars in the near future and develop it. Gradually increasing the population, it will be possible to place production facilities that will emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, then plant microorganisms: some are capable of not only surviving, but also giving birth to offspring in the Martian atmosphere. The primary purpose of the mission is research."

Alexey Isaiko

35 years old, consultant in the field of television technology support, Moscow

“The beauty of the project is that all the technologies for its implementation are already available today. The only thing that can happen is their reduction in price or improvement. There was life on Mars, here I agree with Robert Zubrin: the ocean existed for a billion years. My goal in the project is knowledge, the opportunity to realize myself. The main potential is to create a future place to live. I have children, but at the time of the mission they will be 20 years old. I hope that Mars One will allow us to communicate with them, despite physical distances.”

Yulia Yaglova

37 years old, sales manager,
Ekaterinburg

“My favorite childhood book is “I'll Return in 1000 Years.” Soviet science fiction about a camp in which people of different professions from all over the world are preparing to become colonists on a distant planet. Mars One is a chance to make your dream come true. My most important skill is working in a team. The colonists will live in a narrow world and it is necessary that they do not kill each other, but work effectively. I have experience managing people of different ages and effectively organizing work.

Next year there will be a simulation of isolation - 50-60 people will be sent to a confined space for three months. 24 of them will undergo 10 years of training. For me, an expedition is a chance to live two different ones in one physical life. With 10 years of preparation, I will be able to live out my earthly life at an accelerated pace. In life on Mars, I set research tasks: I wonder how the functioning of the brain will change. In my free time, I want to work there writing music, programming, algorithms - things that there is not enough time for on Earth.”

Mars One is a Dutch project for an irrevocable expedition to Mars. According to the organizers, in 2023, a group of four volunteers will go to the red planet and stay there forever, earthlings will watch the life of the colonizers in the format of a reality show. It was immediately stated that life conditions on Earth and the Red Planet are completely different, and anyone who has been to Mars will no longer be able to exist here. Returning the crew is an impossible task. Some scientists have already stated that they consider the upcoming expedition a mass suicide.

Photo: www.mars-one.com

However, 200 thousand people from all over the world applied to participate in the expedition. 52 Russians qualified for the second round. AiF.ru spoke with applicants for participation in the mission about why they are going to leave Earth forever.

Photo: www.mars-one.com

Ilya Khramov: “Gagarin flew, and so can I”

Togliatti resident Ilya Khramov passed the first qualifying round for the Mars One project. Out of 200 thousand applicants, only 1058 people were chosen. The AvtoVAZ design engineer is not afraid that he may never see the Earth again, and is confident that in ten years he will become one of the first colonizers of the red planet.

Ilya Khramov. Photo: AiF-Samara / Ksenia Zheleznova

25-year-old Ilya Khramov is already recognized by townspeople. On Kommunisticheskaya Street he greets a resident of Tolyatti and says that he doesn’t know him, but most likely the man saw him on TV.

“The media beats me up, they call me every day. As soon as it became known that 1,058 people made it to the second round of Mars One, including 52 Russians, including me, the phone didn’t stop ringing,” says Ilya.

In May, Ilya saw information about the recruitment of colonists to Mars and was one of the first residents of Russia to post his video on the Mars One website. Contestants had to convince the organizers why they should fly to the red planet, prove that they have a sense of humor and then talk about themselves.

Ilya Khramov. Photo from personal archive

The Mars colonizer candidate shows a video he and his friend made. Wearing a hat with earflaps and a vest, Ilya jokes in English that there is no doubt that he is a real Russian, because that’s exactly how everyone in Russia dresses.

Still from the competition video. Photo: Screenshot from the site

“I attached a questionnaire and a motivation letter to the video, in which I compiled my psychological portrait. I sent everything, saw that more than 200 thousand people were participating, and, frankly, didn’t expect to go any further,” admits Ilya.

Competition video by Ilya Khramov

At the beginning of January, the Togliatti resident no longer doubted his desire to leave planet Earth forever and go to an unknown planet. The young man received a letter to his email confirming that he had successfully passed the first qualifying round and should prepare for the next stage - passing a medical commission and a personal interview.

Letter from the organizers of the Mars One project. Photo: AiF-Samara / Ksenia Zheleznova

“I saw the letter and I thought that’s it, there’s no turning back. I will do everything to pass all the qualifying rounds. I have no doubt that I will successfully pass the medical examination,” says Ilya. — I have already taken a vacation in order to have time to prepare all the documents for the second round. I have perfect vision, an athletic build, and besides, I don’t drink or smoke. I’m also ready for an interview, I speak fluent English.”

“Bring a magnet”

Ilya shows a faded photograph in which he is three years old. A blue-eyed child sits in his mother's arms. The young man will definitely take this photo with him to Mars. The son immediately informed his mother Lada Yuryevna about his participation in the Mars One project.

“Mom is skeptical about my desire to fly to Mars. She doesn’t even take it seriously, she laughs at me. Without much joy, he tells me which channel they showed me on again,” admits Ilya.

In front of Ilya is a photograph of his mother. Photo: AiF-Samara / Ksenia Zheleznova

Khramov says that from early childhood he was raised on science fiction literature. At home, on the bookshelf there are books by Kir Bulychev and the Strugatsky brothers. From the army, the Togliatti resident brought many works by the science fiction writer Sergei Lukyanenko, whom he constantly re-reads.

“I have always been attracted by the future and the unknown in literature, and the opportunity to fly to Mars is a dream come true and a step towards the future. I don’t want to become famous through this project, it’s more important for me to change my life. Yuri Gagarin and Neil Armstrong were not afraid to fly, so I’m not afraid either,” a participant in the Mars One project explains his desire to go into space. Khramov is not afraid that he will not return; he is ready for such a fate.

Ilya with friends. Photo from personal archive

Friends support Ilya, although they admit that before their friend had not yet passed the first round, they did not believe in his success. Someone tried to dissuade me, they asked me to stay because they would miss me. Now they write him messages: “Bring a magnet from Mars” or “You know, I would make a good flight mechanic, take me with you.”

A friend calls the young man, Ilya says that he will call back later and talks about how he will live without people close to him.

“On Mars it will be possible to communicate with people close to me, so I won’t feel lonely there. To do this, two satellites will be launched in 2018, which will communicate between astronauts and the Earth,” says Ilya. “If the Earth is overpopulated, I think that someone close to me will be able to fly to me, I will take their place.”

In case of overpopulation of the Earth, Ilya will wait for his mother on Mars. Photo: AiF-Samara / Ksenia Zheleznova

Responsibilities of colonialists

The first four colonizers will have to arrange the space base, maintain equipment and explore the planet.

Mars Photo: www.mars-one.com

“I'm fascinated by the research I could do on Mars. In addition, in case of a breakdown, I can repair the equipment. We will be preparing for the flight for nine years, so there is no doubt that we will go into space prepared,” says Ilya.

A young man shows a tattoo on his arm that depicts the things he won't be able to take with him to Mars: drums, a guitar, books, a city and cassette tapes.

A tattoo to commemorate life on Earth. Photo: AiF-Samara / Ksenia Zheleznova

“I’ll have to leave my snowboard on Earth, but I think I can come up with something similar there and ride through the Martian dust on a board,” says Ilya.

The next qualifying round will take place on March 8th. Then it will become known whether Ilya will increase his chances of flying to Mars or whether he will still remain on Earth, despite his dreams of space.

Anastasia Barkhatova: “I’ll fly away forever - it will be interesting”

Anastasia Barkhatova graduated from Chelyabinsk University with a degree in microbiology. She works as a laboratory assistant at a blood transfusion station and says her duties include checking blood for the presence of HIV and hepatitis. I accidentally found out that you can become a participant in the project to relocate to Mars from a note on a Dutch website.

“I immediately applied,” says Nastya. — It must be in English. I know it and am improving it, it is the official language of the expedition, at the next stages requirements will be imposed on the level of proficiency in it. I also had to state my motivation so that the organizers understood what was pushing me to Mars.”

Entered half a percent of the chosen ones

Anastasia’s relatives are physicists by training. Barkhatova admits that since childhood she has been fascinated by space, microbiology and science fiction; “The Andromeda Nebula” by Ivan Efremov was her favorite book. I was interested, but not to the point of fanaticism. I didn’t even think about going to Mars before the project.

Photo: www.mars-one.com

“I was included in half a percent of the chosen ones, this cannot but rejoice,” Barkhatova says frankly. “Almost two hundred thousand people from one hundred and forty countries of the world expressed a desire to take part in this fantastically interesting project; as a result, a little more than a thousand people completed the first stage. Among them is me.”
Nastya says she learned about her victory at the first stage on January 1, from an official email. For her it was the best New Year's gift.

Nastya was born in Verkhneuralsk. She graduated from ChelSU, did an internship at a research institute in Obolensk, and got a job at a blood transfusion station, as she had planned in her last year at university. Neither relatives nor colleagues knew that he was participating in the Mars colonization project. Until the last - until Nastya won the first stage.

So, waving her hand to her friends and family, Nastya will fly off to Mars. In ten years, if the remaining tests pass. Photo: AiF

Don't waste your time thinking

“The relatives, to put it in Russian, were stunned,” says Nastya. - Colleagues too. A trip to Mars is a one-way ticket. It was immediately stated that life conditions on Earth and the Red Planet are completely different, and anyone who has been to Mars will no longer be able to exist here. But I’m not worried or afraid: the project is too significant and global to waste time on thinking. Yes, we won’t be able to have children and start families, but I agree to sacrifice our usual way of life for the sake of life on Mars. I’ll fly away forever - it’s very interesting.”

As reported on the official website of the project, among those who passed the first stage are people aged from 18 to 81 years. The main condition for all applicants is excellent health: 100% vision, blood pressure within normal limits, no chronic diseases, height from 157 to 190 centimeters. Next, new challenges await the lucky ones, although it has not yet been disclosed which ones.

Anastasia Barkhatova told AiF readers that she is not at all afraid of moving to Mars. Photo: AiF

“I’m really looking forward to the next stages,” says the microbiologist. “I know that if successful, I will have ten years of preparation for the trip, because the resettlement itself is scheduled for 2025.” By 2015, six groups of four people will be formed, and the first robotic vehicles to Mars are scheduled for 2018.”

Having learned about the victory in the international project of their fellow countrywoman, Chelyabinsk residents reacted differently. Some people consider the relocation to Mars to be nothing more than another “duck”, others are sure that everything will be limited to passing the selection process, and no one will fly into space, still others, and the majority of them, are sincerely happy for Anastasia. And they even envy her a little.

Objective of the project

Mars One is a private project led by Bas Lansdorp, its goal is to fly to Mars and establish a colony on its surface. A feature of the project should be the broadcast of the entire mission on television.

According to project organizers, Mars One is not an aerospace company, so the development, production and launch of spacecraft will be carried out by subcontractors. The company employs only 8 people.

Project plan

Official website of the Mars 1 project contains a description of the stages that must be implemented during 2011 - 2029. Each of the planned stages, starting from the fourth, was postponed twice by two years.

Implemented stages

• 2011 - start of the project, searching for potential suppliers of aerospace components in the USA, Canada, Italy and the UK;
• 2013 - the start of the international selection of applicants for the flight.
• 2015 - the beginning of training among the selected 24 applicants, practicing life skills in isolation and in conditions similar to those on Mars.

Current and upcoming stages

• 2020 (previously 2016/2018) - start of a demonstration mission, including sending a lander to test solar panels and methods for extracting water from Martian soil. A communications satellite should also be launched, the task of which will be the constant transmission of data from the surface of Mars. It is also planned to conduct an experiment on growing Tal's rhizomes on the Martian surface, in special protective containers;
• 2022 (previously 2018/2020) - a second communications satellite should be launched into orbit around the Sun (to point L5 to ensure uninterrupted data flow), equipment for the construction of a colony and an unmanned rover with a trailer should arrive on Mars, which will determine the most suitable place for colony and prepare the surface area for the arrival of cargo and the placement of solar panels;
• 2024 (previously 2020/2022) - the launch of 6 cargoes is planned: two residential blocks, two blocks with life support systems, two cargo/storage blocks;
• 2025 (previously 2021/2023) - cargo should be landed on Mars next to the rover, after which it will begin to prepare the base for the arrival of people: it will deliver blocks to a predetermined location, launch energy supply and life support systems to create 3000 liters of water and 120 kg of oxygen ;
• 2026 (previously 2022/2024) – it is planned to send a transit module, a MarsLander spacecraft (landing module) with a crew of four people, into earth orbit. whose task will be to assemble the complex and two booster stages. Then they will be replaced by the first four of the mission, who will go to Mars in a manned spacecraft. At the same time, life support cargo for the second crew will be sent;
• 2027 (previously 2023/2025) - a lander with the first crew lands on Mars (the transit module will remain in heliocentric orbit). After recovery and acclimatization, the colonists will have to install additional solar panels and assemble all the modules, including two residential blocks and two life support systems for the second crew, into a single complex;
• 2028 (previously 2024/2026) = planned launch of the second crew of 4 people;
• 2029 (previously 2025/2027) - landing on Mars of the second crew of 4 people, new modules, all-terrain vehicles and equipment. This cycle must be repeated every two years.
• 2035 (previously 2031/2033) – by this year the number of colonists should reach 20 people.

Flight to Mars

The launch windows are determined by the relative positions of the Earth and Mars; the flight will be carried out according to the so-called Gomanovsky trajectory(Homan-Vetchinkin orbit). The starting window will open every 2 years. The flight time to Mars will be about 7 months, this will reduce the effect of cosmic radiation on crew members. To save fuel, cargo missions may last longer.

Lander

Preparations for the landing module to be sent to Mars as part of the first stage of the mission began in 2014. The first prototype of the lander, which will be sent to Mars in 2020, is being developed with the participation of Lockheed Martin. The basis for the development will be the Phoenix lander, which landed on the red planet in 2008. The Mars One module will require more energy, for this reason the solar panels of the module will have a larger area and a slightly different shape than the batteries of the Phoenix module.

Connection

Communication must be provided by satellites located in orbit around the Sun, Mars and Earth. If the communication signal speed is equal to the speed of light, the minimum signal arrival time will be three minutes, the maximum - 22 minutes. When the Sun hides Mars from the Earth, communication becomes impossible without the use of intermediate relay satellites. The ability to use the Internet is limited due to significant signal delay, but the colonists should be assisted by a server with pre-loaded data available at any time, which will periodically synchronize with Earth. The broadcast of the life of the colonists will be shown on Earth around the clock.

Radiation and exposure of colonists

Data obtained during the flight of the transit capsule with the Curiosity rover showed that the amount of radioactive exposure for a mission with a permanent settlement will not exceed the limits accepted by space agencies.

Radiation on the way to Mars

Data published in the journal Science in May 2013 show that the radiation exposure for a 360-day round trip flight is 662 ± 108 millisieverts (mSv). 95% of the radiation detected by the RAD instrument is cosmic rays from the depths of the galaxy, from which protection is difficult without the use of too much shielding mass. During the 210-day journey, the Mars One crew will receive a radiation dose of 386 ± 63 milliSieverts. The amount of exposure will not exceed the upper limit of accepted standards:

The European, Russian and Canadian space agencies take the limit to be 1000 mSv, NASA the range is from 600 to 1200 mSv, depending on gender and age.

Radiation shelter in the Mars transit capsule

On the way to the red planet, the team will be protected from the solar wind by the structure of the ship; the total shielding protection throughout the flight will be 10-15 g/cm². During solar flares or bursts of solar radiation, such shielding will be insufficient, and the astronauts will move to a special radiation shelter surrounded by a reservoir of water, which will raise the level of protection to 40 g/cm². Bursts of solar radiation occur on average once every two months, only 3 or 4 times during the flight, and each burst does not last more than a couple of days.

Radiation on Mars

Although the surface of Mars receives more radiation than the surface of Earth, a significant portion of the radiation is blocked there. The level of radioactive exposure on the surface of Mars is 30 microsieverts per hour during solar minimum; during solar maximum, the equivalent radiation dose is reduced by a factor of two. Provided that the colonists spend about three hours out of 3 days on the surface of the planet, the level of their own radiation exposure will be 11 mSv per year. Residential modules of Mars One will receive reliable protection from radiation, since they will be covered by several meters of soil; 5 meters of soil provide protection similar to the earth’s atmosphere and shielding of 1000 g/cm².

Total exposure

During the 210-day flight, the crew will receive a radiation dose of 386 ± 63 mSv; on the surface of the planet, the colonists will receive a radiation dose of 11 mSv per year. This means that the safe period of stay for colonists on Mars will be about 60 years.

Criticism

The technical feasibility of the project and its financial organization are subject to numerous doubts.

One of the 100 finalists, Irish physicist Joseph Roche, was interviewed in mid-March 2015, exposing the financial and organizational failure of the project. According to him, funding for the project, according to the organizers, should be provided by the candidates for future colonists themselves: “When you go through the selection procedure, you receive points, but you can only score them by buying goods under the Mars One brand or donating money to the fund... In February, the finalists were given a list of tips and recommendations for contacts with the press. It says: “If you are offered a reward for an interview, please donate 75 percent of it to the Mars One project.” But the scientist was much more worried about the superficial procedure for selecting and testing colonists. A multi-hour personal interview and psychological and psychometric tests were turned into a ten-minute Skype conversation by the project's chief medical specialist.

An interesting project called Mars One plans to populate the planet with people.

It is planned to send a crew of four people on a journey for 7 months, then send a new team, and so every two years new people will join the settlement.

The first settlement is planned to be created in April 2023, and by 2033, more than 20 people will live and work on Mars.

The Mars One project team has been working on this plan since early 2011. In that first year, extensive and exhaustive research was carried out into the feasibility of the idea, all details were studied with numerous specialists and expert organizations. This analysis not only included technical elements, but also comprehensively discussed financial, psychological and ethical aspects.

Mars One has an impressive list of people who support the mission to Mars. One of them is Professor Dr. Gerard Hooft, physicist and Nobel Prize winner in 1999.

2011

In 2011, members of the Mars One project worked on the mission privately. Once the mission was planned, Mars One contacted suppliers of the necessary components. All potential suppliers were excited about the apolitical, commercial, manned mission to Mars and confirmed their ability to produce components as needed.

2013

This will be the year in which the selection of astronauts begins. Who will be one of the first four people on Mars and of those who will follow them every two years after that? Anyone who feels they can handle this task can apply for this position. There will be a total of 40 astronauts there. From those wishing to fly, the strongest physically and mentally will be selected.

Mars One will build a replica of a Martian desert settlement on Earth to train astronauts and provide a realistic environment to test equipment. The selection of astronauts and their training at the simulated Mars base will be broadcast on television and online for public viewing.

2014

This will be the year in which preparations for the support mission begin. And it will last until the launch in 2016. Production of the first Martian communications satellites will also begin. (Photo: Surrey Satellite Technology)

2016

The support mission will be launched to Mars in January 2016. The module will land on the Red Planet in October 2016 with a cargo of 2,500 kg of food or other materials. The landing will be made not far from the place where the outpost is supposed to be located.

2018

A rover will land on Mars in 2018. While the general location of the base will be known, the rover's task will be to find the best location in that area.

2021

In 2021, all components of the settlement will reach their destination. In general, these will be two residential modules, two life support modules, a second support module, and a second rover. Two rovers will transport all the components to the found base location and prepare them for the arrival of the astronauts.

2022

All the water and oxygen to create the atmosphere will be ready in early 2022, when the Earth crew gets the go-ahead to launch the first crew. Each component of the transport ship will be launched into low Earth orbit, where they will be assembled together. September 14, 2022 will go down in history as the start of the flight of the first four astronauts after the last check. Each stage of this flight will be available for viewing on the project website 24/7.

2023

The astronauts will land in 2023 and become the first people in history to set foot on Mars. They will connect all the settlement modules together using rovers. They will then install solar panels and begin their great exploration of Mars, their new planet.

2025

The second group will land in June 2025. By the time they arrive, the construction of the Martian base will already be completed. The second group will also bring new equipment. For example, these could be several more rovers that will help them explore their new planet.

Is it possible for astronauts to have children on Mars?

In the early years, a settlement on Mars will not be a good place for children to live. The choice of medical facilities will be limited and the group will be too small. In addition, the human ability to reproduce in low gravity conditions is unknown, and there is not enough research on whether a fetus can grow and develop normally in such conditions. Therefore, Mars One strongly recommends that residents of the settlement not try to have children.

In order to create a real Martian colony, having children is very important. This will be an important moment in exploration on Mars.