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NASA Contest Wants Your Ideas to Keep Astronauts Safe on Mars
Space.com ^ | Elizabeth Howell

Posted on 05/10/2015 6:37:58 PM PDT by BenLurkin

The "Journey to Mars Challenge" will give a $5,000 award to each of the three winning participants who describe an original idea that could assist the human exploration of Mars. The proposal must be "technically achievable, economically sustainable, and minimize reliance on support from Earth," NASA wrote in a statement about the challenge.

"This could include shelter, food, water, breathable air, communication, exercise, social interactions and medicine, but participants are encouraged to consider innovative and creative elements beyond these examples," NASA added.Because launch costs are considered one of the key barriers to space exploration generally — and Mars exploration, especially — NASA says it could use some ideas on what to bring on these missions and how often to resupply them.

The resupply aspect is especially important to the space agency because resupply opportunities to Mars would happen only every 500 days; the respective orbits between Earth and Mars make it more difficult to send spacecraft at other times. By contrast, the International Space Station has resupplies every few weeks or months.

(Excerpt) Read more at m.space.com ...


TOPICS: Travel
KEYWORDS: mars; nasa; spaceexploration
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To: cripplecreek
The moon is a far tougher environment but its much closer.

How so, tougher? We saw the Apollo astronauts moving around with no problem. How is a near zero atm. pressure tougher than a 0.01 atm. pressure? Well, there's temperature, but like I say, it didn't bother the astronauts, although I guess they did avoid the "noon sun". But still, I find it hard to think that this is a deciding issue. If you had a base, you could stay inside as necessary.

21 posted on 05/10/2015 6:58:10 PM PDT by dr_lew
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To: BenLurkin

Transgender bathrooms for sure
And safe zones where they can’t listen to Fox News


22 posted on 05/10/2015 7:06:51 PM PDT by silverleaf (Age takes a toll: Please have exact change)
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To: BenLurkin

Dig down, way down to the center of Mars. And over the hole put up an aluminum sealed fully oxygenated atmosphere. Set up cell collectors and pipe electricity down to the inside to light up the cavern. Grow greens, and try to iniate some kind of life that they bring from the Antartic, something that likes COLD and dry.


23 posted on 05/10/2015 7:07:05 PM PDT by rovenstinez
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To: dr_lew

The temperature differential between day and night on the moon is far more extreme than it is on mars. That .01 atmosphere is considerably more than the hard vacuum of the moon. There’s also the 2 weeks of day and night of the moon vs 26 hour martian day.

The nearness of the moon makes it a smarter test bed. We’ll need to be living on the moon to in the future if we intend to be a spacefaring race anyway.

Plus, I’m assuming you suggested it for a reason.


24 posted on 05/10/2015 7:08:57 PM PDT by cripplecreek ("For by wise guidance you can wage your war")
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To: 9thLife

Not only that, but I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.


25 posted on 05/10/2015 7:16:44 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For those who do not, no explanation is possible)
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To: cripplecreek
Plus, I’m assuming you suggested it for a reason.

I guess "closer" covers it, but it doesn't really. It took the mighty Saturn rocket ( which we no longer have !!! ) to send three men to the moon, so what about Mars? ... never minding the years long versus days long journey? The energy requirements are made all the more greater by the greater mass of Mars.

It just seems to me that if we were in a position even to realistically contemplate a manned journey to Mars, building a moon base would seem so easy that we might as well do it first, as a staging point if nothing else.

26 posted on 05/10/2015 7:23:25 PM PDT by dr_lew
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To: BenLurkin

Send some deep penetrating nuclear warheads to see if you could wake it up tectonically and to melt the ice.


27 posted on 05/10/2015 7:26:49 PM PDT by PAR35
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To: dr_lew

How about just get astronauts into space again.


28 posted on 05/10/2015 7:31:59 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; Not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: dr_lew

It just seems to me that if we were in a position even to realistically contemplate a manned journey to Mars, building a moon base would seem so easy that we might as well do it first, as a staging point if nothing else.

* * *

A successful permanent settlement on the moon would be politically fraught. If someone made a go of it there, they’d be sitting in a tactically superior position to all nations on Earth, if it ever came to another big shootin’ war. Rocks are cheap. (Read “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress” if you’re not familiar with it.)

Mars is lots further away, and politically, that’s probably an advantage.


29 posted on 05/10/2015 7:34:23 PM PDT by Hetty_Fauxvert (FUBO, and the useful idiots you rode in on!)
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To: BenLurkin

To keep the astronauts safe we should send Secretary Kerry to negotiate with the Marslims.


30 posted on 05/10/2015 8:21:40 PM PDT by Rockpile
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To: BenLurkin

They must roll out their metallic space blankets and bang their foreheads into the red Martian dirt five times a day.


31 posted on 05/10/2015 8:54:25 PM PDT by tumblindice (America's founding fathers: all armed conservatives.)
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To: tumblindice

yeah but aiming towards Mecca will be difficult


32 posted on 05/10/2015 8:58:57 PM PDT by xp38
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To: BenLurkin
send democrats, they know how to do everything along with environmentalist
33 posted on 05/10/2015 9:23:14 PM PDT by goat granny
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To: xp38

Good point. And if they accidentally point their buttocks towards Earth, Barry will trade them to ISIS for five times as many Muslim jihadists to-be-named, after QB Brady gets a stern brow-beating from an old man with very bushy eyebrows.


34 posted on 05/10/2015 9:30:09 PM PDT by tumblindice (America's founding fathers: all armed conservatives.)
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To: BenLurkin

Don’t go.


35 posted on 05/10/2015 9:34:21 PM PDT by <1/1,000,000th%
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To: BenLurkin

I am not solving their problems for a mere $5,000.


36 posted on 05/10/2015 10:25:23 PM PDT by doug from upland (Obama and the leftists - destroying our country one day at a time)
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To: BenLurkin

How about ditch the designated hitter?


37 posted on 05/10/2015 10:27:37 PM PDT by doug from upland (Obama and the leftists - destroying our country one day at a time)
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To: BenLurkin

38 posted on 05/10/2015 10:31:59 PM PDT by doug from upland (Obama and the leftists - destroying our country one day at a time)
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To: BenLurkin

Hire more African-Martian policemen in the troubled Olympus Mons region.


39 posted on 05/10/2015 10:35:33 PM PDT by kidd
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To: BenLurkin

This is really about how to keep NASA funding safe.


40 posted on 05/10/2015 10:37:59 PM PDT by Theophilus (Be as prolific as you are pro-life.)
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