There has been a lot of talk over the past few years about sending humans to Mars. With the technology of today, it is not expected that a human could survive the trip to the Red Planet due to radiation and the duration of the flight. As mentioned in an earlier post, the longest time-frame recommended to stay off planet is 6 months. During any amount of time in gravity less than that of Earth, the muscles and bone density shrink in the human body.
Currently, there are two groups working towards sending manned missions to Mars. The first group is, of course, NASA. They are on schedule for a manned mission sometime in the 2030's. The second group is called Mars One. They are planning an unmanned mission launch in 2018 and 6 years later, in 2024, they plan to send the first manned mission to Mars. Every 2 years, they will send 4 more qualified people to Mars.
Although I'm far from being the smartest or most physically fit person that would apply to go, if chosen, I would go in a heartbeat. I would most definitely miss my family and friends but would love the opportunity to go. Think of how terrified explorers from the past must have been to sail around the world, climb Mount Everest or dive deep into our oceans. Consider, especially the first people to risk travelling off our planet. I admire all of those people for being able to leave everything behind to venture into the unknown, never knowing if they would ever see their families again.
The Mars One mission is a one way trip to the Red Planet. Those going are expected to establish a base on Mars and spend the remainder of their lives there. Currently it takes about 7 and a half minutes for a signal from Mars to reach Earth. I think that would be the longest seven and a half minutes of my life to have to wait for news of the success (or failure) of the mission if I knew someone on board.
I would like for everyone that reads this to post a comment on whether or not they would go to Mars and leave life as they know it behind. What are you willing to trade for something you dream of? If a trip to Mars isn't in your future, what would you sacrifice for something you really wanted?
