Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live on Mars? Scientists are preparing astronauts for the visit. The flight there will take three years, and then they need to live there for a few months. After that, they have to go back home, which takes another three years. The astronauts need to survive with enough food and water during the whole trip. They have to live through six to seven years in space with only the food that they brought with them! Here is how the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are getting prepared for the visit.
First, NASA sent two twin six-legged rover robots, Spirit and Opportunity, to take pictures of Mars on January 3rd, 2004. They, and many others like them, sent photos of dried lake beds and water etched rocks. This excited Virginia Gulick enough to begin a different investigation on life and water on Mars, and how these vital resources disappeared from the ecosystem. She and her team of space investigators are starting to send out more robots every two years. But that wasn't the current main focus. Robots and space probes, or spacecraft that orbit the planet for information, found interesting readings of Mars as well, and this is giving scientists an idea of what the surface of Mars is like. They now realize that Mars is red because it's rusty. The iron it is made from made contact with water and oxygen, creating rust. Knowing where the astronauts are going to be living will help them practice and survive.
Next, an organization formed by NASA called the Mars Analog Research Station (MARS) looked all over Earth to find places that shared many similarities of Mars's surface and simulated the surface of Mars in labs. Places like Iceland and Canada are much like the polar caps on Mars, and places like southwest United States and Australia fit nicely for the rest of the rusty planet. In these areas, such as the volcano Mauna Loa in Hawaii, they set up space labs to pretend that they were on Mars so they knew what it would be like. When they went outside, they wore space suits. They ate space food and they slept in sleeping bags. They did everything they would do on a spaceship. Also in these labs, the scientists tested equipment they had created, like vehicles and space suits, so they knew if it would work on Mars.
Third, they thought about how they could make the food last longer and taste better. In the labs, they had space food recipe contests, trying new recipes made from freeze-dried and canned foods. NASA has been trying new methods of preserving food, as well, so that they don't need to take quite as much, and NASA has also been making space-friendly food equipment, much like the equipment for making food on Earth. Also, scientists have started investigating whether food can grow in space or not. If they can, gardening will be a useful tool when they're traveling to Mars and once on the planet. Then, they'd have tastier, fresher, healthier food. It will be a huge step forward if we learn how to garden out there.
NASA is going to keep sending robots to get more information on the planet and learn more about what it would be like to live on Mars. They're also going to be focusing on the amount of food and water and how they can eat on Mars and during the three-year-long flights. Soon, they'll be ready, and we'll get to see for sure if humans can live there and learn more about the planet's surface, air, gravity, life, and water. But for now, we have to be patient. NASA must make the trip as safe and healthy as possible before they leave. May we wish the astronauts who will eventually get to live on Mars good luck!
Sources:
#1: "Life on Mars? Not Yet" by Patrick Hamner
#2: "Mapping Mars: Robots on the Red Planet" by Janelle Bitikofer
#3: "Astronaut Food Takes Flight!" by Jennis Exlier