14 DAY TRIAL // Scientists are so sure they'll be packing astronauts' bags and sending them to Mars in next to no time they're already talking routes and possible pit stops along the way.
For instance, a recent study authored by researchers with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology proposes that, when flying to Mars, it would be advisable to make a quick stop on the Moon.
The scientists say that, according to their calculations, having crews of astronauts first pay a visit to the Moon to refuel before moving on to Mars would reduce the mass of a mission to the Red Planet upon launch by approximately 68%.
This is because, rather than leave Earth with a full tank, spacecraft would only have to carry enough fuel to first get into orbit and then reach the satellite. Once here, they would get the rest of the fuel needed to reach Mars.
Mind you, the astronauts wouldn't even have to actually land on the Moon. Rather, they could simply position themselves in its orbit and then wait for tanks of gas to be sent their way for pickup.
“This is completely against the established common wisdom of how to go to Mars, which is a straight shot to Mars, carry everything with you,” explained researcher Olivier de Weck in a statement.
“The idea of taking a detour into the lunar system, it’s very unintuitive. But from an optimal network and big-picture view, this could be very affordable in the long term, because you don’t have to ship everything from Earth,” he added.
Of course, there's a slight flaw in this plan
This whole idea of making a pit stop on the Moon before moving on to Mars is based on the assumption that, by the time we get around to launching astronauts to the Red Planet, we'll also have developed at least some infrastructure on the satellite.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers say there is evidence that lunar soil and water ice in certain regions on the Moon might be mined and turned into fuel, but the fact of the matter is the technologies needed to do so haven't been developed yet.
For one thing, we'd have to have some sort of fuel-producing plant on the surface of the orb. Then, we'd have to have equipment to launch tankers into the satellite's orbit, where astronauts would be waiting for them to that they may continue their journey.
To be honest, setting all this infrastructure in place for just one Mars mission doesn't really make sense. However, if trips to the Red Planet were to one day become regular occurrences, the idea to build a pit stop on the Moon might actually prove fruitful.
In fact, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology specialists suggest that we build even more refueling stations along the way to Mars. They say that, on the long run, this would help considerably reduce the cost of journey to and back from the Red Planet.
“Resources such as fuel, and provisions such as water and oxygen, may be produced and collected along the route of space exploration. Materials produced in space would replace those that would otherwise be transported from Earth,” they argue.
