A Trip To Mars
Recently, I watched the scientific documentary “The Mars Generation” on Netflix, and I found its content compelling enough to share with you. In addition to discussing the documentary, I will also explore some of the major current research related to the red planet, Mars.
All of Elon Musk’s initiatives, from Tesla electric cars to Starling Internet satellites, share a singular goal: establishing a Mars colony to enable the transition to a multi-planetary life.
Musk plans to undertake this Mars journey using the next-generation spacecraft, Starship, which has conducted three test flights so far. Despite an explosion during its first launch, each subsequent test has shown progress and yielded encouraging results for SpaceX engineers.
Elon Musk outlines the rationale for his project as follows:
“There are two paths. One path is we stay on Earth forever, and then there will be some eventual extinction event…The alternative is to become a space-bearing civilization and a multi-planetary species, which I hope you would agree is the right way to go.”
Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun in our Solar System, captivates almost everyone interested in astronomy. As the world grapples with worsening climate change, a recurring question arises: “Is there life on Mars?” This query has spurred numerous scientific inquiries and research.
Emirates Mars Mission
Research on Mars is no longer a domain exclusive to space pioneers like Russia and America; the United Arab Emirates has also launched a special mission to Mars named “Emirates Mars Mission.”
Additionally, the UAE is also the first country globally to establish a Ministry of Artificial Intelligence, inaugurated in 2017.
As part of this mission, a probe named “Hope” — “Al-Amal” in Arabic — was designed to study daily and seasonal weather cycles on Mars and investigate the causes of its drastic climate changes. Hope was launched from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center on 19 July 2020.
With this mission, budgeted at 200 million dollars, the UAE became the first Arab country to reach Mars.
The mission is led by Sarah Al-Amiri. Al-Amiri, a trailblazer appointed as the head of the Emirates Science Council in 2016 and serving as the Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology since 2017.
Scientific Goals and Achievements
The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) has revealed that 34% of the team that worked on the Emirates Mars Mission’s Hope probe were women and 80% of the scientific team for the mission consisted of women, as well.
In an interview with Euronews, Ibrahim Al Qasim, the Deputy Director General of the UAE Space Agency, explained that Mars was chosen for its significant interest within the global scientific community and that the UAE’s mission aimed to deepen understanding of Mars’ atmospheric layers.
Al Qasim added that this mission is very powerful and inspiring for the young people both in the UAE and the region, which was the main driving force to fund this mission initially.
Unlike the two spacecraft — Tianwen-1 and Perseverans — sent to Mars by China and the US, the Hope probe will not land on the planet, but will instead orbit for one Martian year (687 days on Earth).
Although the project aims to get a comprehensive view of weather events in Mars’ atmosphere, the main goal is to build human settlement on Mars within the next 100 years.
High-resolution images of Deimos, Mars’ smaller moon, were captured when Hope flew just 60 miles away, marking the first time regions on the far side of Deimos were observed.
Regarding the findings, Hessa Al Matroushi, EMM Science Lead stated:
“We are unsure of the origins of both Phobos and Deimos… One long-standing theory is that they are captured asteroids, but there are unresolved questions about their composition… Our close observations of Deimos so far point to a planetary origin rather than reflecting the composition of a type D asteroid as has been postulated.”
Following these breakthroughs, it was announced that the Hope probe’s mission would be extended by an additional year.
NASA’s Contributions To Humanity
Going back to the space station in the USA, one of the topics that caught my attention in this visionary documentary is the supply of drinking water for the astronauts.
Previously, astronauts relied on water bags for drinking water. Since 2010, a real-time water filtration system has been installed, recycling six thousand liters of water annually for the station. This focus on clean water is critical as over one billion people worldwide lack access to clean water.
Reaching Mars is costly, but but the quest has spurred numerous technological innovations that benefit humanity in various sectors today.
Technologies such as CAT scans, MRIs, miniature phone cameras are all developed through NASA’s space research.
The Apollo program alone significantly advanced computer technology. Going to Mars could push our technological capabilities even further.
NASA’s Share In The Federal Budget From Past To Today
Although American citizens contribute a considerable amount in taxes to NASA, the space program provides far more in return, enhancing communications, the Internet, weather forecasting, and more.
Theoretical physicist Dr. Michio Kaku underscores the importance of space exploration by suggesting that without continuous investment in space programs, technological progress could be set back by nearly a century.
NASA’s financial support has fluctuated significantly over the years. While it received 4% of the Federal budget during the Apollo era in 1955–56, this figure had decreased to just 0.4% by 2016. Comparatively, the agency’s total budget from 1958 to 2016 amounted to $574 million. This is starkly contrasted by the Department of Defense’s budget for 2016 alone, which was $587 billion, highlighting shifts in national priorities with each change of administration.
Cost Reduction Studies In Space Programs
Elon Musk’s innovation with reusable rockets is highlighted as pivotal for making Mars missions feasible this century. Dr. Kaku adds that reducing the cost of space travel, through cheaper rockets and better fuel, is essential for advancing beyond Earth.
It’s vital that leaders and countries prioritize space exploration. Jeff Bezos, with Blue Origin, and Sergey Brin, who is investing in a $250 million spaceship at NASA Ames, are notable competitors in this field. This burgeoning rivalry in space may soon turn the fantasies of science fiction into reality.
