Hopefully these astronauts will be able to determine not only is Martian habitation possible, but also that going there would be the best use of human resources.
(The Daily Yomiuri) The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration plans to send six astronauts on a 500-day mission to Mars, according to its final draft report on the Mars exploration program. [...]
The human mission to Mars is planned to take 2-1/2 years for the round-trip and will comprise three sets of vehicles.
Following President Bush's space mandate, NASA is planning on sending two unmanned rockets two years before it launches the astronauts towards the red planet. The rockets will carry habitation modules, as well as other equipment, within an eight month time frame.
A transport ship carrying the six member crew will follow, and their journey is expected to be at least six months.
(The Daily Yomiuri) On the surface, the crew will first conduct a short test to determine whether it is possible to stay for an extended period.
When this test is completed, and the astronauts are acclimatized to the environment, they will transfer to a long-stay habitat module where they will live for about 500 days. [...]
The project has also been designed to minimize the exposure of the crew to deep-space radiation and the zero-gravity environment.
While on the surface, the crew will probably be able to answer a number of questions, whether Martian dust fatal towards human flesh, or is the dust hazardous towards mechanical life.
If Mars is found to be fairly habitable, then the next quest will be to search for resources in order to stimulate its sister world (i.e. Earth) to migrate millions of miles away across space.
After all, if humanity is going to colonize the Solar System, they are going to need a pay check in order to motivate the masses.
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You can either visit the stars or watch them from afar.
But if you choose the former, you'll definitely get a better view.
~Darnell Clayton, 2007
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