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The Moon to Mars Plan: A possibility or fantasy?

President Bush placed the Mars missions high in his budgeting for the United
States government, but when the budget grew tighter, cuts had to be made. The
president, however, still strove to make Mars exploration possible. Although the
Martian Rovers are continually discovering new information about the red planet,
human trips still seem a thing of the distant future. But with Bushs new plans, a
trip from the Moon to Mars might make the expedition more possible.

Called the Vision for Space Exploration, the new plan works to implement a
sustained and affordable human and robotic program to explore the solar system
and beyond; extend human presence across the solar system, starting with a
human return to the Moon by the year 2020, in preparation for human
exploration of Mars and other destinations; develop the innovative technologies,
knowledge, and infrastructures both to explore and to support decisions about
the destinations for human exploration; and promote international and
commercial participation in exploration to further U.S. scientific, security, and
economic interests . NASA plans to delegate certain tasks in order to complete
their goals, though their plan lays out a specific implementation for flights to the
moon. Their four-part plan spans three decades, slowly expanding exploration
out over the solar system. Firstly, NASA focuses on the International Space
Station and returning the Space Shuttle back to usage in space flight. Then, by
2008, NASA plans to initiate a series of robotic missions to the Moon to prepare
for and support future human exploration activities, culminating in an extended
human expedition to the Moon somewhere between 2015 and 20201. These
explorations would be used to determine possibilities for future flights to Mars
and other locations in the solar system. Trips to Mars, however, will only be
considered after adequate knowledge about the planet, gained through robotic
missions and other such experiments proving how life could be sustained for long
periods of time without causing lasting damage to the human body. NASA third
section of the plan devotes itself to the development of space transportation for
missions that extend beyond Earths low orbit. Finally, NASA hopes to incorporate
international and commercial participation into its projects.

In order to further these future explorations, NASA is focusing on the search for
water on Mars, along with concentrating on the space bodies closest to Earth.
NASA scientists believe that the Moon offers the ideal solution for helping further
human space flight. One of the major obstacles NASA needs to overcome is the
lack of gravity in Space; humans tend to react adversely to a decrease in
gravitational force, as muscles lose mass, bones lose density, and the ability to
balance slowly declines. Therefore, in 2006 a group of mice will be sent into orbit
to test out a revolutionary solution to the loss of gravity. The mice will be sent
into space in a spacecraft that spins at a rate of 34 times per minute, generating
about .38g, which is the same as Mars gravitational force. Scientists plan to
study how this partial gravity will affect the mice, therefore being able to
determine how humans will react in a similar environment2. This simulated
gravity has also been speculated upon as a possible solution to the gravity

obstacle that stands in the way of extended human space flights. However, the
main problem I foresee with testing on mice that often the results are less severe
because of how small a mouse is when compared with the human body. While a
mouse may only be slightly affected by partial gravity, extended periods might
greatly affect a human in ways unforeseen by scientists. While I do not deny that
this testing does help scientist better predict human reactions, I have found that
the research fails to show how much greater the effects may be on humans than
on mice. Though scientists may know the effect exist, they may not understand
the gravity of them until human experimentation has occurred, which is why I
foresee long delays in the actual occurrence of human space flight for extended
periods of time.

The other problem facing astronauts is the need for food and air to supply these
long term missions. Transporting enough food and air for a year long journey
would be practically impossible with current technology. Instead NASA is looking
into the possibility of bringing plants to either the Moon or Mars, and setting up a
greenhouse on the planet. Because of the lower gravity and pressures in space,
greenhouse would actually be easier to construct and operate as compared to
those on Earth. However, forcing the plants to accept this sudden change may
take time. NASA is currently experimenting with plants in low pressure
environments. They are discovering that the plants need extra water to survive,
since in such a low-pressure environment, water is pulled out through the
leaves very quickly . However, the plants only perceived that they needed more
water; rather they were using up unnecessary resources because of the sudden
change in their environment. Scientists hope to identify what is causing the
plants responses, and therefore adjust them through biochemical engineering3.
Since the plants can provide oxygen and food to the astronauts, these
experiments may help advance future travels to Mars, as it would decrease the
mass of the cargo needed for long term travels.

The main obstacle facing NASA currently is the funding for these projects. Bush
plans to help NASA by allocating more funds to their research from the national
budget. However, this will not be enough to support the Vision for Space
Exploration project. Representative Dave Weldon, whose congressional district
includes Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, states that the House is hoping to
increase funding over time in order to augment NASAs current funding. The
amount of money requested by NASA originally was drastically cut, in order to
reserve funds for NASAs future projects. The House recommended saving $438
million by delaying the start of work on the Crew Exploration Vehicle NASA needs
to develop before it can send astronauts back to the moon. The panel also cut
$230 million from Project Prometheus, a mission to Jupiters icy moons which
NASA hoped to use to prove new nuclear propulsion engines necessary for a
mission to take humans to Mars .

With the numerous obstacles facing NASA, I foresee delays in their plans to
extend human space flight, mainly because they lack the necessary support to
fund their programs. Within the confines of their budget, it will take years for

them to be able to complete their research and build the necessary vehicles.
However, the possibility of human space flight to Mars remains strong, though
not possible anytime in the not-too-distant future. However, sometime, I can
definitely see humans spending extended time in Space, visiting other planets
and learning more about the solar system around us.

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