VASIMR Rocket can take you to Mars in 39 days

[Crichigo]

I hope it'll work. We are going to experience the same emotion that people back in 1969 experienced when Neil Armstrong became the first man on the moon.

Also I hope that we (humans) don't overexplore Mars as we are doing with Earth. By the way, you might know that Europe, one of the moons of Saturn might also have oceans under its 21Km of ice. I think Europe is going to be the next objective of humanity but it won't be now or any time soon, says Stephen Hawking.

 

[mfb]

There are suggestions for unmanned probes to Europa. Manned missions ... probably not in our lifetime.
By the way: Europe is the continent on earth, Europa is a moon of Jupiter (not Saturn).

There are also some other moons that could have water below their surface.

 

[Monsterboy]

@Dotini

All that makes it look like Zubrin underestimated the radiation problem , but I didn't really get an accurate answer , there are many other things he said of which I am not sure of , like the rotating spacecraft idea to produce artificial gravity , everyone is aware of the idea but the centrifuge must have a diameter of 1km in order to prevent nausea among astronauts.

So its best if he can come up with a peer reviewed paper or something as mheslep suggested to make his points clear.

http://news.discovery.com/space/history-of-space/mission-to-mars-health-risks-1107181.htm

 

[mheslep]

The Cruise Phase poses a significant radiation problem due to the cumulative effects of isotropic Galactic Cosmic Radiation over 400 days.

Zurbrin's contention is that the concern over GCR for a Mars vorgage is overblown, as the crews on the ISS have been exposed to GCR for similar periods, and the GCR energies are such that the Earth's magnetic field provides little protection to GCR, unlike solar radiation. Extreme solar events in deep space, being directional, can be addressed by means of a water wall, as is routinely done on the ISS

 

[Dotini]

A brief NASA video on the dangers of radiation to Mars-bound astronauts. In short, they may exceed the maximum permitted lifetime limit of radiation dosage on the round trip alone. They don't rule out eventual manned flight to Mars, but do require a new set of technological solutions to be found.
http://www.space.com/21365-will-radiation-kill-mars-astronauts-video.html

 

[mheslep]

A brief NASA video ...

Credit at the end was "Space.com", not NASA.

"exceed the maximum permitted lifetime limit of radiation dosage on the round trip alone."

A maximum lifetime dose of 1 rem/yr cuts lifetime due to cancer risk by 51 days supposedly. For comparison smoking a pack/day cuts 6 years. I suspect the radiation harm would have double or triple to give pause to any serious candidates for the trip.

 

[mfb]

The lifetime radiation limits for astronauts are quite arbitrary. Compared to all the other risks of sending astronauts nearly 1000 times further away than ever before, I think an increased risk of getting cancer is not the most pressing issue. Sure, you have to consider shielding, especially against the sun. But it does not make a trip impossible.

 

[Dotini]

But it does not make a trip impossible.

Agreed.
But it makes it unlikely if you're entrusting NASA with its current standards to do the job of getting a person to Mars and back.

 

[mfb]

Well, invent new limits for trips to Mars ;).

 

[Monsterboy]

Well , Mars One doesn't appear to be depending on VASIMR but they don't seem to be doing any better either.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...net-colony-suffocate-months-study-claims.html

MIT study says even if their astronauts get to Mars alive , the first fatality will occur in 68 days.

 

[Dotini]

NASA has awarded prize money to five members of the public for their ideas about how to limit astronauts' radiation exposure during journeys through deep space.

http://news.yahoo.com/5-mars-mission-radiation-shield-ideas-win-nasa-112310679.html