Summary: Recent results from radiation assessments on Mars show that keeping astronauts safe from hazardous radiation if and when they travel to and from Mars will not be easy. Readings from the Radiation Assessment Detector on the Curiosity rover show that astronauts would receive significant doses of high-energy galactic cosmic rays on Mars. Scientists say that the results are not surprising, but it is the first time that there is real data that shows just how much radiation travelers would get from the flight there alone. The amount of radiation received would be comparable to getting a whole-body CT scan once every five or six days for the entire trip. However, even with the threat of these galactic cosmic rays, NASA officials said that it did not make the goal of sending astronauts to Mars by the mid-2030s impossible. The best way to reduce the risk of cosmic radiation would be to lower the time it takes to get to Mars. NASA has been experimenting with ways to make the spaceships go faster. Hopefully people will be able to create a solution to the radiation so that people can go to Mars soon!
Themes of Science:
1. Science is based on evidence - Researchers used evidence from the RAD aboard the Curiosity rover.
2. Science is collaborative - Both researchers and NASA and independent researchers such as Dennis Tito are looking for ways to solve this problem with radiation.
3. Role of motivation and curiosity - People are motivated by the prospect of going to Mars.
4. Role of credibility - The rover is credible because it actually went to Mars and measured the Radiation and the new views on whether or not we will be able to make it to Mars by the mid-2030s are more credible because there is now data from the RAD.
Katherine Gao Hour 1 Gabel
This was a really fascinating article! It is always interesting to see what new things researchers have discovered about Mars and what they are trying to do to send people to Mars. I never knew that radiation was a problem in sending people to Mars. Especially large amounts of radiation. I am glad to hear, though, that it won't make traveling to Mars in 2030's impossible. I look forward to hearing more about what will be happening to send people to Mars.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Chelsea about how this article was very interesting. One thing I was wondering about this article while I was reading it was why building a faster spaceship would reduce the amount of radiation the astronauts would be exposed to. Astronauts have been in space for a long time and there has not been a problem about this radiation. I found the answer to this on an article online. The article says that the cosmic rays do not reach Earth's surface and low Earth orbit because of Earth's radius of gyration in the Earth's magnetic field is just large enough to ensure that these cosmic rays don't hit Earth. The link to this article is, http://health.wusf.usf.edu/post/headed-mars-watch-out-cosmic-rays
ReplyDelete