ESA seeks volunteers for simulated trip to Mars

It certainly is a serious problem, between CMEs from the sun and cosmic rays from distant supernovae, there is a serious chance of the astronauts getting cancer at the end of the trip, presuming they survive at all.

What they need is shielding, but that costs weight, which is exactly what you dont need up there.

A "Cosmic Ray" is a single Hydrogen or Helium nucleus which can strike with the kinetic energy of a well struck tennis ball.

You will need to surround your spacecraft with a sphere of water 300 feet thick to keep them out.

Ten feet deep lead shielding around your spacecraft WORSENS the problem because the Cosmic Ray nucleii disentegrate in the lead and shower you with subatomic debris and gamma rays like an exploding grenade.

Once you are on Mars you better start digging.... fast... and very deep.

Hope they tell the volunteers such simple truths.

Peter.

Hope they tell the volunteers such simple truths.
Peter.

The volunters for this experiment won't actually be going to Mars.

Cosmic Rays have been seen by Astronauts.

See:
www.space.com/scienceastronomy/mir_lights_030416.html

Peter.

I heard the head of the agency running this simulation on Radio 1 this morning
driving to work.
The presenter was trying to make a correlation between that and Big brother.
It made for light hearted listining..
The interviewiee (?) commented that insted of looking for a group
of mal-adjusted unstable personalities they would require the opposite.

I think big brother should make the next series in conjunction with NASA
and when housemates get evicted the launch them out an airlock! :twisted:

On a more serious note.
I think the dangers & difficulties and endless things that can go wrong on this kind of long distance mission will
prevent it from happening for a very long while...
no matter what the optomists say...
I can't see it happening in my lifetime, but that maybe just me bieng
short sighted.

If you ever see the film "The Right Stuff" Frank you will discover that the original Astronauts were semi suicidal death defying Test Pilots.

Much crazier than those Big Brother Bores.

The first people on Mars will be similar courageous death defying risk-takers I have no doubt.

See:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Right_Stuff

Peter