S1 E1: Journey to the Red Planet
Dr. James Garvin and Dr. Paul Delaney set the stage outlining the extraordinary challenges and obstacles faced by the international space community in sending a manned mission to Mars.
46 minutes
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Taking a look at how challenges are being handled to prepare for a manned flight to Mars.
Dr. James Garvin and Dr. Paul Delaney set the stage outlining the extraordinary challenges and obstacles faced by the international space community in sending a manned mission to Mars.
46 minutes
The spacecraft that will take a crew to Mars will be assembled in space. Will the fuel be thermo-nuclear or super-heated charged particles? Engineers must get it right or the crew will die.
46 minutes
With zero gravity depleting muscle and cosmic radiation causing cancer, a three-year voyage to Mars in this environment could be punishing for the human body. How will we protect it?
46 minutes
The human spirit itself may be the Achilles heel of the Mars mission. Mental breakdown, sexual tension, near-suicide, and mutiny have already taken place on shorter space missions.
46 minutes
The last six minutes of the flight to Mars is the most dangerous. Only an inflatable aeroshell will protect the capsule as it enters Mars' atmosphere at a temperature of 4,000 Celsius and 16,000 kph.
46 minutes
Is there life on Mars? Scientists are combing the most barren places on Earth to search for clues. What if Mars has its own independently-created lifeforms that are deadly to humans?
46 minutes