Practice flying to Mars - Term 2: What is the solution to the problem

Term 1: Hammering the 'human' problem

It is to create the best conditions for those "fire travelers" to read books and newspapers, watch movies, practice sports, so that they forget the monotony and boring during the multi-month flight. immediately

Cultural interference is also taken into account

From the star, the earth is just a tiny star in thousands of stars.How much will this astronaut 'psychological disturbance' be?Now, no one can predict it!

Astronaut Jean-Pierre Haigneré recounted: ' When flying on the MIR station, I had to carry the' tools' to be able to take photos and film in the universe. I also have a saxophone with me, although at the beginning, my greatest happiness was to carry out professional work on the station '.

Another source that can cause discord in the flying community is probably the difficulties in the 'multicultural' area, the lack of understanding and sympathy for each other creates 'collisions' when on duty. collectively, leading to phenomena is called 'collective stress'. It is possible to extract a small example from the Concordia station in Antarctica during the World Cup a few years ago: while the French had a habit of watching and chattering, the Italians preferred to be quiet. Looking at the appearance, this is not remarkable, but it is the "enduring moods" between the French and Italian "factions" that have made the dissatisfaction and discomfort in the collective compressed throughout the season. solution.

So how to develop optimal training plans to equip future stars with the ability to cope and fight effectively against lonely, cramped, lack of daily activities? and the cultural difference? For example, would an affordable mixed-country fleet have to keep the air, no small collisions during the journey? Here, psychologist Elisabeth Rosnet also counts on another aspect, which is emotional: 'If there is a love flourishing in the universe, it would be a good thing if both of you are still there.' alone 'before takeoff. But what happens when couples have to be separated from each other so that a person can carry out the task for a long time in a far away place? It is very difficult to imagine possible situations '. So, is it possible to apply an 'iron discipline of the military' to prevent situations where members of the crew can 'break through'? In general, should there be a 'favor' for the crew in private activities, or a team selection that all members have the ability to live well and 'know how to keep themselves'? And how can I guarantee that the crew will have enough autonomy to handle all the situations in a place far away from the earth?

520 days in the simulator space

In 2009, six volunteers will be locked in a spaceship model to fly for nearly a year and a half. This program is within the framework of '500 Mars Test', according to the initiative of the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos and the European Space Agency (ESA). Four Russians and two Europeans will live in a 200m2 compartment, without any windows or glass. And in order to be able to check and evaluate the members' reactions in the best way, all communication between 'inside' and 'outside' is fixed according to the difference in time between Earth and Mars. minutes, which means that all communication signals will have to 'wait' 20 minutes later to reach the destination. It also means that the crew must know how to handle the worst situations - the technical problems of the equipment or the health status of the members - autonomously, not waiting until 40 minutes later, or more, to get direction from 'ground'!

10 years of experience should be enough!

Conquering stars is like the risky voyages of navigators like Magellan, not merely a 'stroll' to the moon of the last century.

Finally, this year, experts can only be sure of one thing: they have to urgently prepare their own training plan to 'autonomize' the fleet with many hypothetical situations to experience in the coming years. next. CNES doctor Antonio Guell said that ' psychological state for flight crews is our immediate job in the next decade, with more than 10 training sessions in a state of isolation and detention. braking '.

Also a question: how is the psychological reaction of people seeing the earth from a star? Hard to guess! Because then, the earth will appear as a tiny star in millions of other stars in the sky, but if it is not determined in the right direction, it is difficult to know what is the 'burial place' of the team. fly. So, this mood will cause many other moods to arise: is the fear that will never return to the earth is an unbearable mental disturbance? It must be only when people set foot on the ground of Mars and turn to face the earth, it was only a distant little spot, then we knew that mood.

Still according to the judgment of a 'precedent', astronaut Jean-Pierre Haigneré, ' the flight to Mars in the future needs individuals who have a great sacrifice spirit. Before starting, they had to be mindful of the situation where they had to accept the most expensive price for themselves. One day they might not return to Earth. In this adventure, there must be an exceptionally special thought and consciousness about life, that is, the fulfillment of a purpose and the fulfillment of a mission rather than the protection of one's own life by all price. However, this concept is not yet a way to approach the problem for the journey to Mars . '

So, what is the most important thing in the 'human' field for this long flight? That is, astronauts must be aware that they will have to play the role of a Christophe Colomb or a present-day Magellan on uncertain journeys to find new lands, but not simply think it was a trip Travel around Earth orbit or on the moon. It will also be, ' for the future of mankind we may have to sacrifice '. And finally, if the future astronauts have not yet directed themselves into that sense and mood of their own body, they will be hard to 'fly'!

Which ship will be chosen for the Mars journey?

Which model would be most appropriate to cross the 60 million-kilometer stretch?Currently, there is no space agency with a sample project, but they are all rushing to design ideas.From the 1960s, Russians conceived many plans to land on Mars.In the late 1980s, it was the Russians themselves who proposed models of starry spacecraft operating with solar panels.For its part, American engineers of Lockheed Martin Astronautics said in 1990 that it could reduce 10 times the cost of a Mars trip with the condition of 'light flight' and the use of energy sources' on the spot. ', like producing methane from this red planet's carbonic gas.Meanwhile, Europe is actively researching full missile systems and proper flight routes.Finally, the star project may have to mobilize the cooperation of many countries and design according to the model of the ISS station.